The Effects of Technology Use in
Literacy Instruction
Annie Harary
Education 702.22
Fall 2009
Table of Contents

Introduction
–
–
–
Statement of the Problem
Review of Related Literature
Statement of the Research Hypothesis
Statement of the Problem
Technology is continually evolving and is a major part of our daily lives,
especially in the lives of our students. While more students in New York City are
meeting and exceeding State standards in reading, 57.6% in 2008 versus
68.8% in 2009, 3 out of 10 students in grades 3 to 8 are not reading at their
grade level. New York City students are still underperforming versus New York
State, having scored 12.3 points below students from the rest of the state on
the 2009 state reading tests (“New York City,” 2009). Integrating technology into
literacy instruction can be a solution to this problem.
Review of Related Literature
Theorists
 Howard Gardner: Multiple Intelligences Theory
–

Musical, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Logical-Mathematical, Spatial,
Linguistic, Intrapersonal, and Interpersonal Intelligences
(Gardner and Walters, 1993)
Lev Vygotsky: Social Development Theory
–
–
–
Social interaction
More Knowledgeable Other
Active role in learning (“Social Development Theory,” n.d.)
Review of Related Literature

Electronic Books / CD-ROM Storybooks
–
–
–
–
–

Helps students develop phonemic awareness, phonics,
fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension
More inclined to read again
Removes burden of decoding
Individualized support
(Levefer-Davis & Pearman, 2005; Matthew, 1997; Mollin,
2005; Pearman & Lefever-Davis, 2006)
Interactive Whiteboards (Shenton & Pagett, 2007)
–
–
Engage and facilitate student participation
Variety of multimodal texts
Review of Related Literature

Artificial Intelligence (Sternberg, Kaplan, & Borck, 2007)
–
–

Laptops (Barone & Wright, 2008)
–

Enhance writing skills
Immediate and increased feedback
Increases motivation, comprehension, writing competency,
and critical thinking skills
Digital Storytelling (Robin, 2008)
–
–
Visual images paired with written text increases
comprehension
Encompasses multiple literacy skills
Review of Related Literature

Studies
–
–

Comprehension scores are higher when reading electronic books/CD-ROM
storybooks vs. traditional printed books (Doty, Popplewell, & Byers, 2001;
Grimshaw, Dungworth, McKnight, & Morris, 2007; Matthew, 1997)
Read Along vs. Traditional Read-Aloud – LCD Projector increases student
attention and retelling scores (Black, Brill, Eber, & Suomala, 2005)
Cons
–
–
–
–
Motivation diminishes as whiteboards become more familiar; little to no
training in using interactive whiteboards (Shenton & Pagett, 2007)
Teachers feel underprepared; lack of technical support (Barone & Wright,
2008)
Distracted by features of electronic texts – see more as a game; not
everyone comprehends better using these (Matthew, 1997)
Become dependent on the program to decode and read the story for you
(Lefever-Davis & Pearman, 2005)
Statement of the Hypothesis

HR1: 27 Second-Grade students in P.S. X
will increase their reading comprehension
skills if technology is integrated into their
reading activities over the course of four
weeks.
References






Barone, D., & Wright, T. E. (2008). Literacy instruction with digital and media technologies. The Reading
Teacher, 62(4), 292-302. Retrieved September 20, 2009, from Academic Search Premier
database.
Black, N., Brill, A., Eber, D., & Suomala, L. (2005, July). Using technology to compare the instructional
effectiveness of read aloud and read along materials in an elementary classroom. Retrieved
September 12, 2009, from ERIC database. (Eric Document Reproduction No. ED496975).
Doty, D. E., Popplewell, S. R., & Byers, G. O. (2001). Interactive CD-ROM storybooks and young readers’
reading comprehension. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 33(4), 374-384.
Retrieved September 13, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.
Gardner, H., & Walters, J. (1993). A rounded version. In F. Schultz (Ed.), Notable Selections in Education
(pp. 308-318). Connecticut: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin.
Grimshaw, S., Dungworth, N., McKnight, C., & Morris, A. (2007, July). Electronic books: Children’s reading
and comprehension. British Journal of Educational Technology, 38(4), 583-599. Retrieved
September 13, 2009, from Education Research Complete database.
Lefever-Davis, S., & Pearman, C. (2005, February). Early readers and electronic texts: CD-ROM
storybook features that influence reading behaviors. Reading Teacher, 58(5), 446-454. Retrieved
September 12, 2009, from Education Research Complete database.
References







Matthew, K. (1997). A comparison of the influence of interactive CD-ROM storybooks and traditional print
storybooks on reading comprehension. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 29(3),
263-75. Retrieved October 1, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.
Mollin, G. (2005, September). Hoover elementary turns to LeapFrog SchoolHouse. T.H.E. Journal, 33(2),
48. Retrieved September 17, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
New York City students make progress in every grade on state reading tests (2009, May7). Retrieved from
http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/mediarelations/NewsandSpeeches/2008-2009/20090507_ela.htm
Pearman, C. J., & Lefever-Davis, S. (2006, March). Supporting the essential elements with CD-ROM
storybooks. Reading Horizons Journal, 46(4), 301-313. Retrieved September 17, 2009 from
Education Full Text database.
Robin, B. R. (2008). Digital storytelling: A powerful technology tool for the 21st century classroom. Theory
into Practice, 47(3), 220-228. Retrieved September 12, 2009 from Education Research Complete
database.
Social development theory (Vygotsky) (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2009, from
http://www.learning-theories.com/vygotskys-social-learningtheory.html
Sternberg, B. J., Kaplan, K. A., & Borck, J. E. (2007). Enhancing adolescent literacy achievement
through integration of technology in the classroom. Reading Research Quarterly, 42(3), 416-420.
Retrieved October 2, 2009, from Education Research Complete database.