E-Reader Apps and Reading Engagement: A Descriptive Case Study

• In Event: 49.089 - Poster Session 9
  In Poster Session: 49.089-3 - E-Learning, E-Readers, and Information and Communications Technology Literacy

Abstract

Recently, education leaders have focused on the potential for e-books and related software applications (e-reader apps) to improve student reading motivation in elementary school. However, little is known of how teachers and students use e-reader apps in practice. This case study applies concepts of reading engagement and sociocultural theory to describe how two fourth-grade teachers integrate an e-reader app with reading instruction, and student responses to this technology-mediated instruction. Drawing on a rich set of interviews, observations, digital archives, and survey data, we find that teachers used e-reader apps as a summative assessment tool to monitor student comprehension, but not as a tool to foster reading motivation. Students responded to teachers’ instruction in ways that emphasized extrinsic motivation.

Authors

• Ayesha Hashim, University of Southern California

• Vanessa Wanchanit Vongkulluksn, University of Southern California