Literature Review (Phase1)

Running Head:
EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION
Technology Integration and Reading

Comprehension within 2nd Grade Classroom:
Review of Literature
Lilit Bayburtian
University of Maryland University College
EDTC 670 Dr. Green
Abstract
This literature review examines ten research based articles conducted in various
classrooms around the world and analysis the effects of technology on improvement of
reading comprehension. Based on these articles, students favorably respond to
introduction of technology and produce better results in that area. Even though todays
world revolves around technology; educational technology in this range is not yet fully
explored. More research is required to fully understand how technology can assist
students to improve their reading comprehension and what technological advances are
the best to be used in a classroom. As for now, teachers base their lessons both on little
research that has been done and on trial/error method by learning through progression.
Keywords: technology, reading comprehension, literacy, literacy skills, literacy
development
Technology Integration and Reading Comprehension within 2nd

Grade Classroom: Review of the Literature
Introduction
Reading comprehension is the ability to read a text, process the content of that
text, and to comprehend its meaning. The more students read, the better developed
their reading comprehension become. Reading comprehension is an essential skill to
develop early in students schooling. Without comprehension of a text, students are
unable to understand basic elements of the story, the sequence of the story, and the
story line, which in turn deters them from enjoying reading books and hinders further
literacy development. This literature review examines ten research based articles on
educational technology used in the classroom to improve students reading
comprehension.
Description of the Issue and Technology Used
In second grade, the language arts curriculum focuses mainly on developing the
fundamental skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. The majority of second
graders have already learned how to read and are working on reading to learn.
However, some students experience reading difficulties, which puts them at a
disadvantage. According to Roblyer and Doering (2010), students who learn English as
a second language typically experience this problem. In order to address students
learning issues, they will be provided with a Chromebook laptop to enable individual
work through access to educational software and educational sites provided by the
teacher. Young children are becoming increasingly exposed to and interested in
reading via online electronic storybooks (e-books), which have been found to promote
language and literacy skills such as phonological awareness, word recognition, and
fluency (as cited in Ciampa, 2012, p. 27). E-books are great visual and auditory
sources to help students build their comprehension skills by motivating reluctant readers
to enjoy reading books. The computers pronunciation of text reduces the burden of
decoding for the reader, so he or she can devote more attention to processing and
comprehending to derive meaning (as cited in Ciampa, 2012, p. 29). Many e-books for
children are programmed to be interactive and include multimedia effects such as
written text, oral reading, oral discourse, music, sound effects, and animation. They
enable young children even before school age to engage in listening to and reading
stories independently by visually following the stories using a digital system (Korat &
Shamel, 2012, p.137).
Positive Outcomes
Comprehension is usually one of the higher and more complicated steps of
literacy skills to achieve. Even students who decode and read fluently have difficulties
comprehending material read. For ESOL students this step is more difficult to attain.
With the new multimedia programs that include spoken models, ESOL students can
use the computer to help them practice their oral English language production (Roblyer
& Doering, 2010, p.299). Comprehension is also dependent upon a readers
motivation and interest to simultaneously connect and apply ones prior knowledge of
topic in an effort to locate, understand, and use information effectively (Ciampa, 2012,
p.30). When using digital story telling sites, students will be able to retell the story
previously read in their own words, which in its turn will strengthen their comprehension
skills. Comprehension instruction consists of activities that develop childrens abilities
and strategies for understanding written language (Henry, Catsek, Robets, Coiro, &
Leu, 2004, p.27). Especially, for ESOL students who develop basic communication skills
before developing academic language, it is very important to be exposed to literature
both read to them and to be read independently. Digital storytelling facilitates students
learning and retaining new information. Moreover, digital storytelling draws the interest
of students with diverse learning styles and can also promote group work and increase
their sense of achievement (Torres, Ponce, & Pastor, 2012, p. 3). Students should be
exposed to expressing their responses both orally and in written form to help them
develop both their written and oral comprehension. By writing in response to reading,
students are constructing meaning from text as they practice sound-symbol
relationships (Henry, et. al., 2004, p.28). According to self-determination theory, people
tend to prefer activities that are valuable to them or to someone they care about. If the
theme is important to a person then it creates more positive results. It is human nature
for people to engage in activities in which they are interested. Generally speaking,
intrinsically motivated behaviors result in active engagement and high performance (as
cited in Park, 2013, p.47). Students will be able to practice this skill through the use of
educational software Kidspiration. They will use of pictures, texts, and words the
students will build skills necessary for reading comprehension. They will be able to use
themes that interest them and will use the interactive software to showcase their work.
Teachers continually make decisions about what to teach and how to deliver
instruction, modifying instruction to meet each childs needs and drawing upon a
particular literacy framework to link their practice to theory (Park, 2013, p.29). Todays
technology allows teachers to implement more and more motivating lessons for
students to engage. With the vast number of educational websites and software
available, teachers are to choose what is applicable in their classrooms and for their
students. Technology use in the classroom must be high quality and directly related to
the schools curriculum. Most importantly, it must be engaging (Bell, 2008, p.63). With
the use of technology students will be able to be in charge of their learning (to some
degree). They will be able to set a goal, adapt to this new approach, manage their time,
practice necessary skills, and reflect on their accomplishments. Self-regulating
students are not only more likely to succeed academically, but view their futures
optimistically (as cited in Lan, 2012, p.3). Positive effects of digital storytelling are
many. As sited in (Torres, Ponce, & Pastor, 2012, p. 3), studies have shown that
multimedia in teaching facilitates students learning and retaining new information.
Moreover, digital storytelling draws the interest of students with diverse learning styles
and can also promote group work and increase their sense of achievement. Ultimately,
it also constitutes a useful way of working on how to arrange information. As Robin
(2006) points out, students who participate in the creation of digital stories may develop
enhanced communication skills by learning to organize their ideas, ask questions,
express opinions and construct narratives.
Another instructional strategy that was found successful in building
comprehension skills is the use of pictures to express ideas. ESOL students, who have
limited English language vocabulary may resort to using pictures to explain their
thinking. Pictures as words are one primary medium through which adults provide new
knowledge or communicate new concepts to children, particularly when young children

cannot fully understand adults words or express themselves (Hsiao, 2010, p.144).
When presented with an opportunity to write and illustrate a story of their choosing,
young students usually spend more time producing an elaborate illustration to go with a
simple 2-3 sentence writing. Through the use of technology such as Kispiration, Clicker,
and digital storytelling, students will be able to substitute words with pictures and still
produce a meaningful story.
An additional instructional strategy in building comprehension skills is the use of
story mapping. According to research done by Wade, Boon, and Spencer, (2008),
story mapping is a beneficial intervention for elementary-age students to enhance their
reading comprehension abilities of specific story grammar components. This study
provides new insights into the use of technology-based applications, such as
Kidspiration software to improve students comprehension skills via the use of visual
and auditory supports for elementary-age students with learning disabilities. Literacy
response via technology empowers students creativity and the quality of the end
product (Bell, 2008, p.58). When using Zimmer Kids, Story Bird, or any other
educational digital storytelling site, students are likely to use their imagination and
creativity and make the project stimulating for themselves. In 2010, Korats study on the
effect of reading electronic books showed that children who read the e-book exhibited
significant progress in word meaning and word reading compared to ones in the control
group. Thus, the use of electronic books promotes better results constructing necessary
literacy skills. In a world where students are learning many of their literacies through
use of the Internet and new forms of technology, teachers must think carefully about
modalities of teaching (Bell, 2008, p.61). It is imperative to include technology into our
lesson plans; however, technology should be a new and improved means of instruction
and should not be used just for the sake of using it. New technologies are demanding a
new understanding of teaching and learning; positively engaging students in the
process is critical for success (Bell, 2008, p.61).
Challenges Present
The use of electronic storybooks in early childhood classrooms has proven to be
an effective way to motivate and engage students into reading/listening to books;
however, educators should be mindful of what sites/software they are using to promote
literacy. Moody (2010) found that lower quality e-storybooks may offer distracting digital
features including animations and sounds unrelated to the story. Consequently, it will
deter students from acquiring necessary literacy skills to just spending time doing busy
work. Educators should work towards providing high-quality evidence-based emergent
literacy instruction during the critical developmental time period of early childhood,
especially for children who are most at risk due to poverty, disabilities, and ESOL. As
cited in Moody (2010), digital animations range from supportive, supplementary,
considerate hotspots to unsupportive, incidental, inconsiderate hotspots that are
irrelevant to the story, distracting, and often unrealistic.
Another drawback to electronic books and educational software such as
Kidspiration and Clicker is the tracking possibility. Some sites and software allow
teachers to track students progress and/or lack of it, but not all. Moreover, young
students may need more supervision and guidance when working on-line.
Conclusion
Retellings and other response activities encourage students to create versions
of text using their own language. As students reconstruct stories they practice
sequencing events, identifying main ideas within a variety of text structures, and making
personal connections to the story elements(Rhodes & Milby, 2017, p. 255). Sites such
as Zimmer Kids and Story Bird provide students with opportunities to practice these
skills while keeping them engaged and motivated. Kidspiration interactive software
allows children to retell the story with the help of through story mapping and graphic
organizers. Research has indicated that the use of retellings also enhances students
ability to answer questions and improves overall text comprehension (Rhodes & Milby,
2017, p. 255). With so many educational technologies available, research indicates that
reading comprehension can be improved and achieved through systematic use of
adequate, teacher selected sites and software. All the sites and software mentioned in
this project can be adapted to any elementary classroom and individual student. Thus,
use of digital story-telling, Kidspiration and Clicker software, and educational
comprehension building sites promote and improve reading comprehension amid
students.
References
Bell, A. (2008). Technology environments and competency: Emerging themes. English
Bulletin, 58(2), 57-64. Retrieved from:
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
sid=de517be9-1128-40ac-8355664d6fa19474%40sessionmgr114&vid=50&hid=113
Ciampa, K. (2012). ICANREAD: The effects of an online reading program on grade 1

students engagement and comprehension strategy use. Journal of Research on
Technology in Education. 45(1). 27-59. Retrieved from:
http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
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Henry, L. A., Catsek, J., Robets, L., Coiro, J., & Leu, D. J. (2004). Case technologies to
enhance literacy learning. Knowledge Quest, 33(2), 26-29. Retrieved from:
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Hsiao, C. (2010). Enhancing childrens artistic and creative thinking and drawing
performance through appreciating picture books. International Journal of Art
& Design Education, 29(2),143-152. Retrieved from:
Knurzen, B. & Kennedy, D. (2012). The global classroom project: Learning a second
language in a virtual environment. Electronic Journal of E-learning, 10(1), 90106. Retrieved from:
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Korat, O. (2010). Reading electronic books as a support for vocabulary, story

comprehension and word reading in kindergarten and first grade.
Computers & Education, 55(1), 24-31. Retrieved from:
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Korat, O. & Shamir, A. (2012). Direct and indirect teaching: using e-books for supporting
vocabulary, world reading, and story comprehension for young children. Journal
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Moody, A.K. (2010). Using electronic books in the classroom to enhance literacy skills in
young children. Journal of Literacy & Technology, 11(4), 22-52. Retrieved from:
Parette, H., Hourcade, J., Dinelli, J., & Boekmann, N. (2009). Using Clicker 5 to
enhance emergent literacy in young learners. Early Childhood Education
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Running Head:

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

Technology Integration and Reading

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

Technology Integration and Reading Comprehension within 2nd

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

knowledge or communicate new concepts to children, particularly when young children

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

Ciampa, K. (2012). ICANREAD: The effects of an online reading program on grade 1

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

Korat, O. (2010). Reading electronic books as a support for vocabulary, story

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

technology to support readers with disabilities. Reading Teacher, 61(3), 255-259.

Yu-Ju, L. (2013). The effect of technology-supported co-sharing on L2 vocabulary

EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON READING COMPREHENSION

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