USING TECHNOLOGY TO MOTIVATE

RELUCTANT READERS

MY CONCERNS Many of my reading students can read,

but do not. As they continue through school, their

reading abilities weaken further. The dichotomy between their reading level and the required reading level grows.

This can have a dramatic impact on students’ future education.

STRATEGIES Video newscasts to build schema Virtual tours to guide students through

the novels Audio books with listening station Audio recordings of book discussions PowerPoint for final project

DATA COLLECTION Teacher observation Student questionnaire Photographs Student reflections Teacher journal Record of the number of pages

students’ read Analysis of group discussions

RESULTS Using the computer improved

motivation and quality of work Audio books kept students motivated,

focused, and increased fluency Audio recordings of group discussions

helped students stay focused and improved quality

Technology changed their attitudes IEP Behavior Disorder read 130 pages

first quarter and 3,644 pages during the study.

The 25 students read 19,101 pages

CHANGES IN ATTITUDE

Before After Change Overall0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Strongly +PositiveNeutralNegativeStrongly -

COMPUTER

En-joy-

ment

Easy to Use

Use Again

Learn More

Keep Using

0

5

10

15

20

25

Strongly +PositiveNeutralNegativeStrongly -

ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTES -COMPUTERS

My favorite part of the lit. circles is when we work on the computer. I love to make presentations on it because I can take my ideas and turn them into reality. I wish that all of the things we did included working on the computer.

- Student 2’s journal

AUDIO BOOKS

Opinion Reading Easier Use Again0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Strongly +PositiveNeutralNegativeStrongly -

ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTES -AUDIO BOOKS

I can never concentrate or question while I read, so the CD helped me quite a bit. - Student 3’s Journal

I like the tape, but I wish we had it a lot more because it helped me understand the book better.- Student 4’s Journal

A bad thing about the book on tape is it is too slow.Student 6’s Questionairre

TAPED DISCUSSIONS

Opinion Easier than Writing02468

101214161820

Strongly +PositiveNeutralNegativeStrongly -

ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTES -TAPED DISCUSSIONS

The discussions were definitely the best part. I don’t like writing that much and it was much easier to explain where I could use tone to get my message across. - Student 5’s Journal

My favorite part was responding because I got to hear what other people thought about the book.- Student 6’s Journal

The discussions weren’t that much fun, but it let me know how much I actually know about the book.- Student 3’s Journal

I didn’t like the discussions because they were really boring and not as much fun as other things._ Student 7’s Journal

MUSIC AND VIDEO

Music t

o Und

erstan

d Cult

ure

Video

to Und

erstan

d Artic

le02468

1012

Strongly +PositiveNeutralNegativeStrongly -

ILLUSTRATIVE QUOTES -OVERALL COMMENTS

What I liked about literature circles was the computer, groups, and book. I think it is a cool idea and so fun.

- Student 8’s Journal

It was a lot of fun, and it help me understand a lot of things that if they didn’t have those materials, I probably never understood.

- Student 9’s Questionairre