1 PREFERRED CITATION: Hobbs, R. & Smith, L. (2018). Digital Authorship: Issues and Implications for Educators. Primer 46(2), 7 – 17. PREPUBLICATION COPY Digital Authorship: Issues and Implications for Educators By Renee Hobbs and Lourdes Smith ABSTRACT In this essay, the term digital authorship in examined in relation to literacy learning. We reflect on two critical issues that are sometimes overlooked features of digital literacy in relation to the pedagogical practices of digital authorship. Teachers who are advancing literacy in the context of digital authorship are attentive to the different stages of the creative process and have a solid understanding of the use of mentor texts and remix practices in relation to the law of copyright and fair use. We consider how these issues apply in the context of digital storytelling and show how a variety of hands-on pedagogical practices and digital platforms support students’ identities as digital authors. We acknowledge the need for teachers to demonstrate tenacity in the face of some particular delights and tribulations of digital authorship as it occurs in the institutional context of schools and schooling. Keywords: digital literacy, media literacy, literacy, learning, digital, authorship, mentor texts, remix, pedagogy *** Although many learners use Instagram, Snap, Twitter and Facebook, we wonder: do they see themselves as digital authors when they make a post or tweet? Do they recognize their own abilities to remix and reuse materials found online? Do they think of themselves as digital authors? And because we teach current and future teachers, we also wonder: How do current and future teachers use and explore user-generated content in their own classrooms? How will they help learners to create using language, images, sound and multimedia? Historically, the concept of authorship includes at least three meanings: an author can be understood as a text originator, as a concept or idea creator, and even as a publisher. Today these meanings are conflated in the online environment. With the rise of publishing platforms like WordPress and YouTube, young people now have the access to digital tools that enable them to create and publish content themselves. Sometimes this work may attract large audiences and even rival professional productions. Text is no longer just words on paper. Text can be audio, video, images, interactive games, interactive websites, digital environments, software applications, and social media (Woodard and Coppola, 2018). With these changes brings about many needs for ourselves, as teachers, for our schools and standards, and most importantly, for our students. The nature of authorship is changing because of the ways that technology is changing the practice of reading and writing (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, & Cammack, 2004).