BUILDING LITERACY AND MEDIA SKILLS WITH TECHNOLOGY-ENHANCED READING RESPONSE

"I'd rather give up my kidney than my phone," remarks a teen in a study on adolescents' use of technology (Henley, 2010). Studies have demonstrated that adolescent students can use technology to engage with their academics, communicate with others and build social relationships, delve into topics studied in school, and enjoy the process (Evans, 2011). Research on reading motivation (Cambria & Guthrie, 2010) suggests that adolescents do more reading if they feel confident, connected, if they feel the reading is relevant, if they have freedom and if it is a social endeavor. There is a strong rationale for using technology to enhance literature response, and the Middle Grades Teacher Education program at Saint Leo University applies various practices of incorporating technology into literacy response including the creation of interactive, multimedia reports, online book discussions, book trailers and social media for both the purposes of enhancing university students’ learning, but also for them to learn to apply effective practices as teachers. The paper will detail these practices and include data collected through the process detailing students’ perceptions about the experiences and their effectiveness as well as observations from the professors. Preliminary results suggest that incorporating technology into reading response increases both enjoyment of learning but also promotes critical thinking and deep discussion.