The Dangling Carrot of Reading: Technology?

Kate MillerED 670.52

Are students like goldfish?Area of Focus Statement

•This study will focus on the use of technology in the classroom and home setting to motivate students to read.

•Can technology motivate students to read? As a teacher, I wonder if this technology can be used to engage the disengaged reader, that child in all of our classrooms, which brings me to my research.

Personal Lens

I am a reader. I buy books

regularly for my classroom library, perform read-alouds, and hold book talks.

Reading Interest Inventory- Student Inspiration

Setting

Elementary school in Maryland near D.C.PBIS School- Gold RatingTargeted Title 1Demographics- 393 total students

◦38% African American◦35% Latino◦17% White◦4% Asian◦6% 2 or more races◦ http://www.mdreportcard.org

Key Terms

Technology -software, e-readers, and other digital tools that can be used to help enhance the reading experience.

Motivation -something that encourages students to desire to complete a task; in this case, read.

E-reader- an electronic device that can be used to store e-books and manipulate digital text

Research Question

How can I use technology to motivate enthusiasm for reading in intermediate students?

Literature Review

Changing Role of Literacy◦“Literacy has expanded from traditional notions

of reading and writing to include the ability to learn, comprehend, and interact with technology in a meaningful way.” (Selfe cited in Pianfetti, 2001, p. 256).

◦Coiro mentions: “Never before has it been more necessary that children learn to read, write, and think critically. It’s not just point and click. It’s point, read, think, and click” (Tapscott cited in Coiro, 2002, p. 459)

Motivating Students to Read◦Teachers have read and discovered that for

students to be interested in a book it needs to appeal to them either by topic or on a level they are comfortable reading. (Worthy, 2002)

◦The Kindle (by Amazon) appealed to the students for its “convenience and coolness factor.” (Larson, 2010, p. 20)

Benefits of Using E-Books◦“E-books are a high tech tool through which

they may begin to enjoy a basic appreciation of literature’s beauty, formal varieties, and unique opportunities on the literary lane of accumulated wisdom.” (Agee, 2003, p. 5)

◦E-books are affordable, can be modified to meet the reader’s needs, enhance comprehension, and appeal to the technology enthusiast in all of us. (Larson, 2010)

Studies of Using Technology to Enhance Reading◦The potential of digital books is just being

realized at its surface, with more discoveries to be unleashed.

◦As e-readers and digital books continue to make their way into classrooms, more studies need to be conducted to evaluate their value to reading and comprehension.

Summary ◦Digital media is our future and many people

gain information from places like the Internet, so the ability to use those resources in the most effective way is a much needed life skill for our students. More research is needed to discover benefits of e-books and digital readers in the 21st century classroom.

Methodology

In order to make changes in our ever changing school settings, teachers need to be active participants in assessing the needs of their students in order to make learning optimal for all students.

According to Marzano, “Educational research is a key factor in enabling school administrators, principals, teachers, and parents to make sound decisions” (Johnson, 2008, p. 11).

“when a situation is observed and there is recognition that something within that situation could probably have been done better.” (Mertler, 2000, p. 15)

Participants

4th grade students56 total students Students will be chosen from my

homeroomClass Demographics

◦45% African American◦34% Latino/Hispanic◦21% White

http://www.mdreportcard.org

Data Collection Methods

Reading Interest Inventory

Reading LogsInterviewsObservationsE-reader notes

Intervention Evaluation

I plan on allowing two students a week to have access to an e-reader in order to see if there is a difference between a non e-reader week and comparing a week with the digital reader by:◦Using their reading logs◦Reading e-book notations created by the

students

Procedures of Verification

Notes from e-readersData from “Ticket to Read”Reading surveys and comparing them to

the interview dataComparing pre and post survey

informationReviewing my reflexivity journal

Ethical Considerations

Permission from:◦ My administrator◦ Loyola◦ My students’ parents

Anonymous Surveys using a Google Doc FormConfidentiality- no names will be used, will use

initial/number combinations; All documentation will be secured in a locked

cabinetIndividual log-in and passwords for “Ticket to Read”

Proposed InterventionAction Planning

•14 week program

• Assign students to read at least 20 minutes a night, but permit the use of websites and e-readers. (See resources for a complete list of websites)

•I plan to lend out two e-readers to 2 students per week and see if the use of e-readers and websites increase student reading over time versus traditional books.

• After the 14 weeks of the program, I will collect the materials to retrieve data.

Members of Action Research TeamAction Planning

• Teacher Researcher• E-Coach• Reading Teacher• Students and Parents• Loyola Professor

Negotiations to be UndertakenAction Planning

• Permission from Loyola University will need to be obtained by submitting the appropriate forms

• Completed the online education component of ethical research considerations

• Permission from my principal

• Send home a letter home to my students’ parents

•Distribute materials and passwords

TimelineAction Planning

Week 1 •Send out parent permission letters

Week 2 •Administer surveys and distribute e-readers, website codes and addresses, and demonstrate reading log entries

Week 3 •Interview students and have them begin to use reading logs

Timeline continued

Weeks 4-12

•Have students continue to use reading logs

Week 13 •Begin post-program interview

Week 14 •Administer post-survey, collect reading logs, e-reader data

Resources

Reading LogsE-readersComputersSurvey (Pre- and Post)Internet and access to the following

websites◦http://www.tumblebooks.com◦http://www.tickettoread.com◦http://www.childrenslibrary.org◦http://www.storylineonline.net

References

Agee, J. (2003). Exciting e-books: A new path to literature. TechTrends, 47(4), 5-8. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Applegate, A. J., & Applegate, M. (2010). A study of thoughtful literacy and the motivation to read. Reading Teacher, 64(4), 226-234. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. doi:10.1598/RT.64.4.1

Barone, D., & Wright, T. E. (2008). Literacy instruction with digital and media technologies. Reading Teacher, 62(4), 292-302. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. doi:10.1598/RT.62.4.2

Buzzeo, T. (2007). Literacy and the changing role of the elementary library media specialist. Library Media Connection, 25(7), 18-19. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Coiro, J. (2003). Reading comprehension on the internet: Expanding our understanding of reading comprehension to encompass new literacies. Reading Teacher, 56(5), 458- 64. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Gambrell, L. B. (2011). Motivation. Reading Teacher, 64(6), 459. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. doi:10.1598/RT.64.6.10

Johnson, A. P. (2008). A short guide to action research (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Kenny, R., Gunter, G., & Association for Educational Communications and Technology, W. C. (2004). Digital booktalk: Pairing books with potential readers. Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Larson, L. C. (2008). Electronic reading workshop: Beyond books with new literacies and instructional technologies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(2), 121-131. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. doi:10.1598/JAAL.52.2.3

Larson, L. C. (2009). E-reading and e-responding: New tools for the next generation of readers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(3), 255-258. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. doi:10.1598/JAAL.53.3.7

Larson, L. C. (2010). Digital readers: The next chapter in e-book reading and response. Reading Teacher, 64(1), 15-22. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. doi:10.1598./RT.64.1.2

Marklein, M. (2010). Can college students learn as well on iPads, e-books? Retrieved from USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-08-10- ebooklearning10_CV_N. htm#

References (continued)

Marzano, R.J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

McKenna, M. C. (1991). Computerized reading assessment: Its emerging potential (reading technology). Reading Teacher, 44(9), 692-93. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Mertler, C. (2006). Action research: Teachers as researchers in the classroom. Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage.

Mills, G. (2000). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Rasinski, T. V., & Padak, N. (2011). Who wants to be a (reading) millionaire?. Reading Teacher, 64(7), 553-555. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. doi:10.1598/RT.64.7.14

Sagor, R. (2000). Guiding school improvement with action research. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.Weber, C. L., & Cavanaugh, T. W. (2006). Promoting reading: Using ebooks with gifted and advanced readers. Gifted Child Today, 29(4), 56-63. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

White, T. G., & Kim, J. S. (2008). Teacher and parent scaffolding of voluntary summer reading. Reading Teacher, 62(2), 116-125. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. doi:10.1598/RT.62.2.3

Worthy, J. (2002). What makes intermediate-grade students want to read? Reading Teacher, 55(6), 568-69. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.