Examining Preadolescents' Online Literacy Practices: A Survey

• In Event: Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: Research on Literacy Development for Preadolescents

Abstract

This study used survey methods to examine preadolescents’ online literacy practices. The Survey of Internet Use and Online Reading was administered to 1,261 fourth and fifth grade students to understand: (a) types of Internet activities students engaged in inside and outside of school; (b) perceptions of print and digital media and comparisons between those media; (c) students’ skills in reading and writing online; and (d) gender differences in Internet activities, preferences, perceptions, and skill. Results revealed significantly different patterns for in-school and out-of-school Internet use, gender differences in the types of media-related tools students preferred, and consistent differences in the manner in which males and females used digital tools and their self-perceptions of skills in using such tools.

Authors

• Amy Carter Hutchison, Iowa State University

• Jamie Colwell, Old Dominion University