Improving Literacy Through Technology

This commentary on edweek.org ties in literacy rates with 21st century skills and outlines how an emphasis on digital media and proficiency can help increase academic achievement.

Using new, innovative technology can help students who are struggling with language to increase their vocabulary and form associations between what they're learning with the real world, say the authors of this commentary. Also, becoming familiar with technology helps kids gain the skills they need in order to be successful in a global economy.

What I thought was most interesting about the article was the suggestions they outlined to promote technology in the classrooms. Some I'd heard many times before—increasing research to see what works and what doesn't, forming a teacher support network to help educators become more tech-savvy—but others were a little more unfamiliar. For example, the authors suggest forming a "digital-partnership school" to test different digital approaches to instruction, and creating a "place in every community" where students can come to beef up their technology and language skills.

What do you think? Would those suggestions help promote the use of technology in the classroom? Can technology really impact literacy rates as dramatically as this commentary suggests?