Developing Tools for Assessing and Using Commercially Available Reading Software Programs to Promote the Development of Early Reading Skills in Children

Abstract

As computers become an increasingly ubiquitous part of young children's lives there is a need to examine how best to harness digital technologies to promote learning in early childhood education contexts. The development of emergent literacy skills is 1 domain for which numerous software programs are available for young learners. In this study, we developed 2 tools that can support early childhood educators in the selection and use of early literacy software. First, based on models of reading and input from experts in reading research, we developed a taxonomy of reading skills. We then used this taxonomy to assess the literacy skills being trained in 30 commercially available software programs designed for children in preschool, kindergarten, and Grade 1. Our results indicated that although some skills were trained in a developmentally and pedagogically appropriate manner, others were absent or had incomplete presentations. The software programs were also evaluated for quality to determine whether the programs utilized the instructional supports available in technological formats. There was great disparity across and often within programs such that many software programs provided few or limited examples for each skill, few opportunities for practice, and not all programs had the capacity to shift learners across levels of difficulty. These findings suggest that educators should carefully plan which software packages they wish to use to support ongoing instruction in preliteracy skills.

Keywords:

• computer software
• technology
• emergent literacy
• reading development