Debate Team A FSO

There is increasing evidence that the use of computer technology can positively effect the acquisition of literacy skills in students of all abilities and ages. Using technology to enhance reading and writing instruction can make learning activities more fun and help to create a lifelong love of reading. Through the use of special software programs, children with special needs can be exposed to literacy without being directly taught through task-oriented lessons. Computer-aided reading and writing activities can help students to develop a broad appreciation for and understanding of literacy.

Children with visual impairments and visual processing difficulties can have larger sized text and extra spacing between words. Text can be repeated as often as necessary and the rate or pace of speech can be adjusted for students with auditory processing difficulties. The use of graphics, sound, and animation can help to motivate and encourage children to complete reading tasks more successfully.

Computer-aided writing software can assist students with handwriting and other expressive writing problems. Talking word processing programs can make writing tasks easier for students with learning disabilities. Creative writing programs can help stimulate children’s creativity and make them more successful at writing stories and assignments. Word prediction programs are available and can offer students help with spelling, word finding, and auditory processing difficulties. Good writing programs include features such as text-to-speech with male and female voices, the ability to enlarge text, different font choices, the use of color coding and highlighting, spell checkers and grammar and punctuation dictionaries.

The use of “textisms” can improve literacy among pupils by giving them extra exposure to word composition outside the school day, it was claimed.

But academics from Coventry University said there was “no evidence” that access to mobile phones harmed children’s literacy skills and could even have a positive impact on spelling.

According to the report, the association between spelling and text messaging may be explained by the “highly phonetic nature” of the abbreviations used by children and the alphabetic awareness required for successfully decoding the words

"A UK study of three thousand children aged nine to sixteen suggests something that may not come as a shock to geeks: using technology increases a child's core literary skills. As Researcher Obvious put it, 'The more forms of communications children use the stronger their core literary skills.' And for those of us worried about a world of 'tl;dr' and 'Y U H8n?' the research claims that 'text speech' does not damage literacy.

Boster’s study (2004) of 2,500 sixth and eighth graders in Los Angeles showed a statistically significant increase in math achievement scores when students used digital video.

In a study reviewed by the Milken Exchange (Mann et al., 1999), teachers using the West Virginia Basic Skills/Computer Education (BS/CE) program found that all their fifth graders’ test scores rose on standardized tests, with the lower achieving student scores rising the most. Other findings revealed that BS/CE was more cost effective in improving student achievement than class size reduction, increasing instructional time, and cross-age tutoring programs.

students delivered lectures along with their teachers. They became socially aware and more confident, communicating effectively about complex processes. They became independent learners and self-starters, worked well collaboratively, and developed a positive orientation to their future. Children were seen as learners and as expert resources, as they were challenged by complex and open-ended problems. These are the skills that will enable students to live productive lives in the emerging age of communication. Moreover, technology use in the classroom helped to decrease absenteeism, lower dropout rates, and motivate more students to continue on to college

Research literature throughout the past decade has shown that technology can enhance literacy development, impact language acquisition, provide greater access to information, support learning, motivate students, and enhance their self-esteem

computer technology provides abundant opportunities for students to build or modify their personal knowledge through the rich experiences that technology affords.

One study, The Reporter Project, used multimedia technology to enhance sixth-grade students’ information gathering and writing skills. The Reporter Project was developed and tested in sixth-grade classrooms for two years and showed that students made statistically significant improvement in their recognition and use of elements such as main ideas, supporting details, and cause and effect relationships. Their writing was also more cohesive than their control-group peers who were taught using similar materials and sequences but without the use of technology.