Cathy Burnett is Professor of Literacy and Education at Sheffield Institute of Education, Sheffield Hallam University, where she leads the Language and Literacy in Education Research Group. Her current research interests focus on the relationships between technology, literacy and education. Co-edited collections include New Literacies around the Globe: policy and pedagogy and Literacy, Media, Technology: past, present and future. She is also Vice President of the United Kingdom Literacy Association.
Guy Merchant is Professor of Literacy in Education at Sheffield Institute of Education, Sheffield Hallam University, and is a founding editor of Early Childhood Literacy. He specialises in research into digital literacy and the interrelations between children and young people, and new technologies of communication. He co-authored Web 2.0 for Schools with Julia Davies, and co-edited collections including Virtual Literacies, New Literacies across the Globe, and Literacy, Media, Technology: past, present, future.  Alyson Simpson is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney’s Sydney School of Education and Social Work. Her research interests include the role of children’s literature in education, dialogic learning and the impact of digital technology on reading practices and pedagogy. She has served as a consultant to numerous state and national education bodies, and is the author of The use of children’s literature in teaching: A study of politics and professionalism within teacher education.  

Maureen Walsh is an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University (ACU) and an Honorary Professor at the University of Sydney’s Sydney School of  Education and Social Work. She has published in the areas of TESOL, children’s literature, reading education and visual literacy. Her research has focused on the impact of digital communication on literacy education and she has developed a theoretical framework based on multimodal literacy in several publications.


Cathy Burnett is Professor of Literacy and Education at Sheffield Institute of Education, Sheffield Hallam University, where she leads the Language and Literacy in Education Research Group. Her current research interests focus on the relationships between technology, literacy and education. Co-edited collections include New Literacies around the Globe: policy and pedagogy and Literacy, Media, Technology: past, present and future. She is also Vice President of the United Kingdom Literacy Association.
Guy Merchant is Professor of Literacy in Education at Sheffield Institute of Education, Sheffield Hallam University, and is a founding editor of Early Childhood Literacy. He specialises in research into digital literacy and the interrelations between children and young people, and new technologies of communication. He co-authored Web 2.0 for Schools with Julia Davies, and co-edited collections including Virtual Literacies, New Literacies across the Globe, and Literacy, Media, Technology: past, present, future.  Alyson Simpson is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney’s Sydney School of Education and Social Work. Her research interests include the role of children’s literature in education, dialogic learning and the impact of digital technology on reading practices and pedagogy. She has served as a consultant to numerous state and national education bodies, and is the author of The use of children’s literature in teaching: A study of politics and professionalism within teacher education.  

Maureen Walsh is an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University (ACU) and an Honorary Professor at the University of Sydney’s Sydney School of  Education and Social Work. She has published in the areas of TESOL, children’s literature, reading education and visual literacy. Her research has focused on the impact of digital communication on literacy education and she has developed a theoretical framework based on multimodal literacy in several publications.