The Impact of Technology on Reading Instruction

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine if struggling readers could benefit from integrating technology into reading instruction, and to analyze the effects of technology integration in order to relate these influences to future instructional methods within the reading curriculum. The measurement tool was a reading comprehension test, part of the DIBELS program, in which students’ ability to read and understand what they are reading was measured. Comprehension, fluidity, decoding and basic recall were slightly higher after the integration of the student-centered technology, however, critical thought and higher order thinking skills (making predictions, inferences) did not seem to be increased (or decreased) based on the technological integration. Research in this area should continue because there is little supported research that relates reading instruction to technology, despite the fact that today’s students are well accustomed to these potential learning tools.