Technology for Reading and Writing in a Content Area

I began my teaching career 8 years ago as a 7th grade language arts teacher. I remember often getting frustrated at how low (below grade level) the abilities of the students coming to me were. I would get upset when I saw that they either: (a) didn't have reading and writing assignments in other subjects (like math); or (b) even if they did read and write, teachers would ignore reinforcing reading and writing skills, dismissing it with "It's not my job to teach reading and writing... that's what Language Arts class is for."

At that time, I also saw a disconnect because I saw the growth and potential of the Internet and technology, yet there were no computers in the classroom. I had also been a computer programmer for a while (2 years professionally, though I had been programming computers since using DOS and MS-BASIC when I was a 3rd grader.) I expressed concern about this to one of the assistant principals, explaining what would later be affirmed by Kinzer (2003) and Leu (2002): traditional definitions of literacy are no longer sufficient and that it is critical for students to learn how to learn, how to analyze, and how to navigate in a world of new media and information technology.

Although the AP agreed with me, most people from the principal to the community dismissed it at the time. Now, however, that is not the case. People from the President of the United States down to a kindergarten student are starting to realize that the ways they must be literate are vast and varied.

Ironically, many people equate computers, technology, and multimedia as being the antithesis of literacy, as the antagonistic foe of "written language" (books.) This could not be further from the truth. Although it is true that many forms of media are now audio-visual and thus do not engage the reader in visual text processing and construction, the Internet is still chock-full of written content. Web 2.0 tools like blogs have caused an unprecedented explosion in the amount of written content being created and shared. Proper spelling has reemerged has a priority due to the necessity of search engines and global communication. Quite contrary to stoic traditional beliefs, reading and writing skills may be more important and valuable than ever, and fortunately there are many ways technology tools can help.

Reading
Two of the most common and popular computer-based tools for improving reading are through the use of interactive/multimedia books and evaluation/tracking systems.

Interactive books. I remember when my family first installed a "SoundBlaster" audio card in our computer during the late 1980's. For the first time, our computer could churn out more than blips and bleeps -- suddenly, fully-orchestrated music and voice narration existed. One of the first games to take advantage of this was "Reader Rabbit," which combined a visual and interactive experience with spoken words and phonetics to assist in the decoding practice.

Over the two decades since then, this use of computer media has seen a lot of use. One example I use with primary students is Starfall.com, a free Flash-based online system. These types of books allow students to click on words to hear decoding and pronunciation. There are also animations and interactions within the books themselves, making them motivational and engaging. Small games are incorporated to practice such skills.

There are many sites and programs such as these. Their primary intent and focus is on decoding and verbal fluency. Although this is a great first step, it is disappointing that in 20 years we have not seen the technology go further. There is room for advancement and improvement in this area. What would next steps look like? Well, students can currently hear narration and words -- but the programs do not require the students themselves to read out loud. Some systems allow students to record and play back their own voices, which is a start, but there is no assessment of their actual ability. With modern technology, shouldn't we be using voice recognition to engage, assess, monitor, and dynamically adjust instruction for the user?

Evaluation/Tracking systems. Another use of technology is to serve as a repository, database, or assessment tool for student reading progress and comprehension. Two examples of this are Accelerated Reader and Scholastic Reading Inventory/Scholastic Reading Counts. These programs are used to evaluate student reading levels based on comprehension abilities. For example, SRI can determine a student's lexile score and make recommendations for books based on appropriate reading level and students' own interests. Students can then read those books and take comprehension quizzes in Scholastic Reading Counts about elements of the story they read. Such tools can be motivational and can certainly provide useful data for tailored instruction or targeted interventions. One obvious improvement seems like it would be an "all-in-one" literacy system that includes interactive and engaging digital books and games and an assessment/tracking system to determine performance in fluency, comprehension, and literary analysis.

Writing
Although topics and purposes of written assignments may vary dramatically between content areas, there is one thing that stays the same: the writing process. Let's look at the standard phases of the writing process -- for any content standard -- and see how technology can help.

1. Prewriting: Think and organize your ideas.
   
   One of the most difficult things for students to do well when writing is to structure and organize their ideas and information in a logical way. Visual organizers such as webs, Venn diagrams, compare/contrast columns, and outlines have long been used on paper to help students organize and plan their writing. There are now virtual versions of these planning and organizing tools that go one step further because they are dynamic and easily changeable, which is important when planning because ideas need to be quickly moved or modified. Furthermore, all of the typical drawbacks of paper -- use of resources, easy-to-lose, and hard to share or replicate -- are avoided. Examples of these useful tools include Kidspiration/Inspiration, Webspiration, Text2MindMap, and Read-Write-Think.
   
   
2. Drafting: Begin to write down and structure the thoughts and supporting details.
   
   Drafting is one area where computer technologies may provide little to no advantage -- other than speed an efficiency. One would think hand-writing a draft may be faster than typing it, and in some ways it is. But consider the previous prewriting tools -- using these tools with typed text, students can quickly and easily cut-and-paste their existing written text and notes into a draft-paper format, saving time while simultaneously making the cognitive connection between visual-spatial organization and final verbal/textual structure. Drafting most often occurs in word processing software such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or OpenOffice.
   
   
3. Revising and Editing: Revising looks at how the structure, organization, and choices for words and supporting details might be improved. In editing, writers make sure the "mechanics" are correct -- spelling, grammar, punctuation, formatting.
   
   There are many, many ways computer software improves the editing and revision process. For one, proofreading is easier (for the author and especially for other readers) in typed format than it is when reading handwriting. More importantly, there are tools that are specifically useful. Highlighting or font colors can be used to check for important elements such as topic sentences, transitions, and supporting details. I also have my students use these tools to point out spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors on peer papers. Many programs also have a built-in dictionary and thesaurus which can help students quickly choose the most appropriate words to use. Finally, the ability to cut and paste blocks of text allows students to quickly omit, rearrange, or insert text in appropriate locations... a feat that is nearly impossible on paper.
   
   In addition to the word processing tools, multimedia can prove extremely useful in the editing and revision process. For example, students can use microphones to record themselves reading their own papers as well as their classmates'. By doing so, the flow (sentence fragments, missing or misspelled words, etc) and structure of the writing may become clear in a way that would not have occurred with silent reading.
   
   These are some of the key reasons that multiple studies have shown increase in effective writing skills and performance when using a word processor (Kulik, 2003, p.60; Roblyer, 2006, p. 300).
   
   
4. Publishing: Make the written work presentable and easily consumable by your target audience.
   
   Computer technology has made a huge and obvious impact on publication. In the past, a "finished paper" might look like a rewrite of the edited draft using indelible ink. Through the use of desktop-publishing and presentation software, anyone can now produce finished products to rival professional publications... and the Internet even allows sharing and distribution of that work to a mass audience. In short, there is no longer any reason that the "classroom" experience needs to be inauthentic or inferior to the professional world.

References

Kinzer, C. K. (2003). The importance of recognizing the expanding boundaries of literacy. Integrating Reading Online, 6(10).

Kulik, J. (2003). Effects of Using Instructional Technology in Elementary and Secondary Schools: What Controlled Evaluation Studies Say. Arlington, VA: SRI International.

Leu, D. J., Jr. (2002). The new literacies: Research on reading instruction with the Internet. In A. E. Farstrup & S. J Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction. (3rd ed., pp. 310-336). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Roblyer, M. D. (2006). Integrating Educational Technology Into Teaching (4th Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.