Emerging Technology Tools That Support Literacy

By Tammy Stephens

The definition of literacy is changing. “Students must be given the opportunity to become engaged in exploring, thinking, reading, writing, writing, researching and inventing, problem-solving and exploring the world.” Wisconsin DPI Wisconsin Educational Information & Technology Plan (2003) pg. 12.

This article focuses on new and emerging technologies that support literacy and the research that supports them.

The FastForWord family of products develops the critical thinking, listening, and reading skills that are necessary for success in the classroom, the workplace and in everyday life. Information can be obtained from the Scientific Learning Web site at http://www.scilearn.com/ .

In 1994 and 1995, founding Scientific Learning scientists from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and Rutgers University conducted initial controlled studies to measure the effectiveness of the technology, methods and applications that formed the basis of Fast ForWord http://www.ecs.org/clearninghouse/18/84/1884.htm .

There is a large body of research that shows a strong connection between writing and reading. Process writing can be supported with a variety of technology such as portable keyboards and graphic organizer software . Last year the Institute of the Advancement in Education (IARE) released the study Graphic Organizers: A Review of the Scientifically Based Research http://www.inspiration.com/research (2003). The newest version of Inspiration and Kidspiration has a feature that makes it compatible with Smartboards. There is also a version of Inspiration available for handhelds.

There are also some programs such as E-Rater http://www.ets.org/criterion / and My Access http://www.vantagelearning.com/product_pages/myaccess.html that evaluate  students' writing skill and provide immediate feedback to both the instructor and student.

A research study on these types of tools was completed by Leacock, C. (2004). Scoring free-responses automatically: A case study of a large-scale assessment. Examens, 1 (3). http://www.ets.org/research/dload/examens-leacock.pdf

D igital media alows students to demonstrate knowledge through multiple menas of expression. Teachers report improved student motivation and confidence when doing projects that incorporate digital media to document an event or communicate knowledge. These types of projects can also provide opportunities for students to collaborate with one another and build interpersonal and social skills. Apple's iLife suite http://www.apple.com/ilife or Windows Movie Maker are commonly used by students for video editing.

Video Blender is a multimedia program that allows students to create animated stories from pictures of clay characters that they make, or pictures they have painted http://www.tech4learning.com/videoblender/ .

An excellent example of how digital media can be used for teaching and learning is available in the article Christie, Alice Phd. Language Arts Comes Alive as Middle School Learners Become Information Producers Meridian : A Middle School Computer Technologies Journal http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/win2004/laalive/index.html .

A number of school districts are using technology tools to collect, organize, analyze, disaggregate and report on student achievement data. One popular program is the NWEA MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) http://www.nwea.org/assessments/ a computerized assessment program that adapts the difficulty of the questions to the learner's level and provides educators with immediate information on student reading levels.

For additional literacy resources check out our Literacy Sites Web Page at http://www.thestephensgroup.com/literacy_sites.php .

Another good book for research on Literacy and Technology is Gura, Mark & Reissman Rose The Best of Learning & Leading with Technology on Language Arts: Making Literacy Magic Happen ISTE (2001). It's a compilation of articles on Literacy that have appeared in ISTE's Learning & Leading with Technology.

Check out our graduate course on Using Technology Tools to Support Literacy on our Graduate Course page at http://www.thestephensgroup.com/graduate_courses.php .