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In the popular imagination, at least, technology is increasingly viewed as an enemy of reading. Tales of 140-character , dwindling comprehension, and loss of the ability to focus and think critically have become more and more common, with pointing to a familiar culprit鈥攖he cell phone. Research appears to ground some of the fears in science: Several new studies suggest that , for example, when reading occurs on digital devices instead of more traditional formats like paper books or magazines.

But other research points to benefits when digital tools like embedded dictionaries, shareable comments, or animated illustrations are available to readers. When used well, experienced educators say, technology can dramatically improve early reading instruction inside classrooms, revealing areas that students struggle with, providing a tangible record of growth over time, or motivating students to continue taking steps forward. Over time, a smart mix of print-based and tech-powered options enable students to flex their literacy muscles, reflect on their progress with intention, and develop into more thoughtful, proficient, curious readers.

Record and Review

When testing her third- and fourth-grade students on fluency, teacher Megan Ryder realized that while she could hear her students reading, they couldn鈥檛 hear themselves. To solve the problem, Ryder turned to the popular , which allows students to record themselves鈥攖hough any recording app, like Apple鈥檚 default Voice Memos, can work just as well. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to record your voice,鈥� she tells her students. 鈥淵ou can listen back to how you're doing. It鈥檚 going to be really cool, and then we can talk about how we can continue to make great growth.鈥�

In small groups of four or five at a time, Ryder models the activity. The first time students record themselves is practice; students read a series of phrases aloud without recording, then press the red button when they鈥檙e ready. The next time, Ryder might highlight an area of focus, like reading accuracy. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to do the same thing, then let鈥檚 go through and see if we can find any words that maybe we made a mistake on,鈥� she says. 鈥淏eforehand, I ask the kids if there are any words they noticed that are challenging that they want to go over before they record so that they鈥檙e not super-worried,鈥� which she says can impact their reading performance.

As she listens back to the recording with the student one-on-one, she鈥檒l ask questions like 鈥淗ow was your reading pace?鈥� or 鈥淒id you understand what you read?鈥� Students tend to overestimate their mastery of certain concepts or ideas, and reading is no different. While providing feedback on areas where the student is doing well is key to motivation and engagement, the process must also be a vehicle for clarification: 鈥淗aving them listen back is important. There have been many times when I gave them feedback, and we didn鈥檛 have an iPad, where I said, 鈥業鈥檓 noticing that we鈥檙e having a hard time with this word.鈥� If a student says, 鈥榃ell, I said that correctly,鈥� and I know that they didn鈥檛, this serves as a nice little reality check.鈥�

Turn the Captions On

can be your secret weapon for improving students鈥� reading skills, and your class will be none the wiser, writes Alise Crossland, a senior researcher at American Institutes for Research. A flick of a button transforms videos into an opportunity to hone and sharpen a number of crucial literacy skills like word recognition, decoding, reading speed, and fluency.

Struggling readers can benefit from both seeing and hearing words they鈥檙e unfamiliar with simultaneously, she says, while more reluctant readers who generally avoid reading activities 鈥渃an add many hours of reading practice and literacy skill development.鈥� While students must eventually graduate to book reading, English language learners (ELLs) can practice reading new words while seeing how they鈥檙e spelled onscreen and connecting the sound and pronunciation of words with their written form in context.

When working with lower-level readers, videos aimed at their areas of interest or created for a younger audience work best, Crossland says, from an animated action film to an interview with their favorite celebrity. 鈥淓ntertaining, brief videos tend to have less challenging vocabulary, and your students will still receive the literacy benefits of reading while listening,鈥� she says.

To extend the impact outside of her classroom and infuse more passive entertainment with a bit of hidden purpose, Katherine Gardner, who teaches English as a second language, suggests that families turn closed captioning on at home while children are watching TV.

Help Them See Their Growth

鈥�Motivation is part of reading,鈥� writes educator Jason DeHart, and so is 鈥渃lose and careful work on the mechanics of the process itself.鈥� Creating digital video portfolios allows students to watch themselves grow as readers in real time, offering a motivational boost that keeps them plugging along while diligently developing their skills. Recorded audio lets students assess auditory aspects of reading, like their tone, pace, or fluency. Video, on the other hand, provides the same opportunity with an added benefit for teachers, who can see things like a student鈥檚 eye movement, body language, or facial expressions as they track along with the text.

A single video can illuminate how emergent readers and writers are 鈥渃onnecting letters, sounds, concepts of print, and reading,鈥� . A handful of videos are the initial brushstrokes in the larger picture of growth over time. Across the span of a school year, a student could look back and see their nervousness and trepidation with reading slowly fade away, replaced by growing confidence and composure.

Consider pairing this type of video creation with light reflection. Instructional coach Alissa Alteri Shea has early elementary students answer simple questions like 鈥淗ow are you feeling?鈥� and 鈥淲hat was the most important thing you want to remember?鈥� Their responses鈥�Don鈥檛 give up鈥� Try your best鈥� You can do it鈥�鈥攑ainted on rocks with vibrant colors, could serve as powerful reminders on their continued journey with reading.

Provide Reading 鈥楻ole Models鈥�

Just as mentor texts model what strong writing looks like, it鈥檚 often helpful for students to regularly hear a skilled reader鈥攕omeone whose reading habits they can model. provides them with just that: a recorded reading from a fluent reader whom students can listen to as they read along in their books. Generally used with a single student or in small groups, this tactic 鈥渉elps to build fluency skills including proper phrasing and expression... helps students improve sight word recognition... helps build comprehension... and allows students to hear the tone and pace of a skillful reader,鈥� write the authors at Reading Rockets, a national public media literacy initiative.

After selecting a reading passage that is slightly above a student鈥檚 independent reading level, students listen to the audio recording while following along with a paper copy. The next time, the student will read along with the audio, but out loud. The third time, they鈥檒l turn off the audio and read the passage by themselves as many times as they need to until they feel comfortable and confident. Reading Rockets suggests , , or when looking for read-along options, though teachers can also create their own audio recordings for students to use.

Lean Into Accessibility Features

Gardner had a goal when her school went one-to-one: She wanted to prevent the iPads that all of her students received from becoming sit-and-get assessment tools. She aimed instead to use them in 鈥渃reative and innovative ways to guide, model, or prompt us into learning how to read and write.鈥�

Accessibility features like 鈥攚hich reads any text available on the iPad out loud鈥攈ave been especially beneficial for her classes of kindergarten and first graders, who are all ELLs.

Gardner creates digital poetry journals for her students to boost their vocabulary acquisition on a number of topics鈥攆or example, she might gather a collection of poems about the holiday season. With Speak Selection, students can independently open the poetry journal on their iPads and have a poem read aloud to them as many times as they like. After repeated listenings, students then record themselves reciting the poem. 鈥淲e also talk about how if you鈥檙e at home and maybe you don鈥檛 have somebody there to help you when you鈥檙e reading something on the iPad and don鈥檛 know what it says鈥攐r if nobody at home speaks English鈥攜ou can use this tool at home on your device to support you in practicing your reading skills,鈥� she says.

Students can also use speech-to-text features like Dictation on the iPad or Voice Typing in Google Docs by themselves, create their own text鈥攎aking up a short story or recounting a recent memory, for example鈥攖hen record themselves reading it.

Get Them Writing to Read

鈥淲ordless videos鈥� are a great way to get students reading, writing, and retelling, Gardner says. These types of short animated clips require students to pay close attention as the story unfolds鈥攊nferring critical details about the narrative from the events that happen on the screen, the facial expressions and body language of characters, and even the background music.

To start, everyone watches a short clip together鈥攍ike this Disney animated video about a in a pet store. Next, students write a brief description of what they think happened in the video. Gardner has a clear, established classroom routine to fall back on: Whenever students produce a writing sample, they know they鈥檙e going to be recording themselves reading it. So when they鈥檙e finished with their writing, students read the stories they鈥檝e crafted into the recording app on their iPads, which Gardner reviews. Gardner has used a number of videos from , including these: