Gap in Research on Technology and Early Literacy
- There is a scarcity of research investigating the relationship between technology and the development of early literacy skills. Several studies and reviews have investigated the number of articles on technology in the major literacy journals, and their findings support the claim that there is a dearth of empirical research on the relationship between technology and literacy (Andrews, 2004; Burnett, 2009; Kamil & Lane, 1998; Lankshear & Knobel, 2003; NICHHD, 2000; Tracey & Young, 2007).
- My own study of the top five educational technology journals found a similar absence of research on technology and early literacy.
- In addition to the scarcity of research on the subject, most of studies that have examined technology and early literacy have done so from a cognitive processing theoretical perspective, which as Lankshear and Knobel (2003) note, “marginalizes the interest many early childhood educators and researchers have in…research that looks at social and cultural aspects of literacy acquisition in relation to new technologies” (p.63).
References
Andrews, R. (ed.) (2004). The impact of ICT on literacy education. London, UK: Routledge Falmer.
Burnett, C. (2010). Technology and literacy in early childhood educational settings: A review of research. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 10, 247-270.
Dickinson, D.K. & Neuman, S.B. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of early literacy research (Vol. 2). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Kamil, M.L., & Lane, D.M. (1998). Researching the relationship between technology and literacy: An agenda for the 21st century. In D.R. Reinking, L.D. Labbo, M.C. McKenna, & R. Kieffer (Eds.), Literacy for the 21st century: Technological transformation in a post-typographic world (pp. 323-342). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2003). New technologies in early childhood literacy research: A review of research. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 3, 59-82.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: Reports of the subgroups (NIH Publication No. 00-4754). Washington DC: UC Government Printing Office.
Tracey, D.H., & Young, J.W. (2007). Technology and early literacy: The impact of an integrated learning system on high-risk kindergartners’ achievement. Reading Psychology, 28, 443-467.
Burnett, C. (2010). Technology and literacy in early childhood educational settings: A review of research. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 10, 247-270.
Dickinson, D.K. & Neuman, S.B. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of early literacy research (Vol. 2). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Kamil, M.L., & Lane, D.M. (1998). Researching the relationship between technology and literacy: An agenda for the 21st century. In D.R. Reinking, L.D. Labbo, M.C. McKenna, & R. Kieffer (Eds.), Literacy for the 21st century: Technological transformation in a post-typographic world (pp. 323-342). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2003). New technologies in early childhood literacy research: A review of research. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 3, 59-82.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: Reports of the subgroups (NIH Publication No. 00-4754). Washington DC: UC Government Printing Office.
Tracey, D.H., & Young, J.W. (2007). Technology and early literacy: The impact of an integrated learning system on high-risk kindergartners’ achievement. Reading Psychology, 28, 443-467.