Technology and teaching children to read
I have finally completed reading the thirty (30) page NEIRTEC report “Technology and teaching Children to Read, ” This report was very informative and of great educational value for me as an educator ,it was simple to read and the format of the information was organized and well structured. It provided me with an interesting outline of how to create a framework to integrate reading and technology, one of the burning questions that plagued me as I struggled through this course. The report reassured me that multimedia is a critical resource, which should be available in every classroom .Moreover, it presented information on the National Reading Panel review on technology and reading research conducted between 1987 and 2002 giving valuable insights into the five critical components of reading and ways technology can be integrated to enhance the teaching of these areas. A detailed outline of examples of the potential uses of the technology to support teaching was also included in the appendix.
Recommendations for the teaching of each component were suggested, these were informed by research studies in which various software were used to teach reading. The report also addressed the issues of motivation and other considerations necessary for maximizing the benefits of technology integration. I was really impressed by this report and I have already made two additional copies for my colleagues at school since, “current research points to many exciting possibilities for technology to enhance reading instruction and there is great potential ready to be explored by schools, technology developers and researches.”(p.20) My only concern however is whether the use of technology will soon make teachers obsolete since technology can; present information and activities ,assess students’ work ,respond to students work and ,provide scaffolding for struggling readers.