PURCHASING TECHNOLOGY FOR LITERACY INSTRUCTION

Purchasing Technology Related To Literacy Instruction



Purchasing Technology Related To Literacy Instruction

Introduction

Educational researchers and practitioners alike assert that the potential of new technologies for learning is likely to be found not in the technologies themselves but in the way in which these technologies are used as tools for learning. In literacy instruction, technology has both traditional and authentic uses. A traditional use of technology is skills reinforcement; for example, students who need additional practice in reading might work individually on computers equipped with reading-comprehension software (Claudia and Lawrence, 2008). An authentic use of technology is using it as a tool to accomplish a complex task; for example, students who are creating a written report might use the Internet for research, word-processing software to write and format the text, and hypermedia software to add images. Therefore, it makes sense to consider the variety of uses as they illustrate best practices.

Purchasing Technology Related To Literacy Instruction

Although many reviews of empirical studies and volumes of observations relate to the use of new technologies in support of literacy education, two challenges emerge when educators look for evidence that might anchor recommendations for using technologies in literacy instruction. These challenges are the "moving target" problem that is inherent in the subject being researched, and the scarcity of comprehensive literacy studies offering informed commentary.

The "Moving Target" Problem: Much of the evidence that the researchers have been able to generate with regard to educational technologies is about innovations that aptly are described as a "moving target" (Claudia and Lawrence, 2008). In other words, even as researchers begin to describe empirical evidence supporting the effects a particular technology on an educational practice, that technology itself is changing and in some cases even becoming obsolete. In addition, the evolving nature of educational technologies precludes any efforts to predict the success of, and establish guidelines for, subsequent educational practices. "As newer technologies of information and communication continually appear, they raise concerns about the generalizability of findings from earlier technologies," note experts. "It is important to be cautious about generalizing findings from traditional texts to different forms of hypermedia because each technology contains different contexts and resources for constructing meanings and requires somewhat different strategies for doing so" (Claudia and Lawrence, 2008).

Scarcity of Comprehensive Literacy Studies: Not only does technology change faster than guidelines for innovations can be established, but relatively few thorough studies have evaluated the efficacy of new technologies for literacy education. For example, a review by experts examined literacy research during the years between 1990 and 1995. This review looked at four mainstream literary journals with the highest citation rates for literacy research: Reading Research Quarterly, Journal of Reading Behavior (since changed to Journal of Literacy Research), Written Communication, and Research in the Teaching of English. In the two reading journals, only 1 percent of the articles dealt with technology issues. In the two writing journals, only 5 percent of the articles dealt with technology issues. In summary, experts note, research into the problems and ...