Usage of Internet

Introduction

As increasingly more schools achieve Internet capabilities and as educational technology is increasingly promoted throughout the United States and elsewhere, students and teachers can participate in a wide range of literacy activities. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2001), 98 percent of U.S. public schools and 77 percent of classrooms in those schools were connected to the Internet by Fall 2000. Some educators claim that ready access to computers and increased use of computers in K-12 education has a beneficial effect on educational outcomes specifically in the area of reading ability.

But are classroom computers and access to the Internet in instructing students improving their academic achievement? Research reports and articles on the effectiveness of technology in the student learning environment reflect a variety of opinions and conclusions. On one end of the research, studies show the positive impact of technology on student learning while on the other end, critics question the use of technology in classrooms because of the resources it requires.

Research Question

The proposed study will address the following general research question: Is there a relationship between the use of computer

Internet Use 3

technology, specifically the Internet, and student achievement in reading?

Review of Literature

This literature review provides information on studies relating to the use of computers and their effect on reading abilities and achievement. Although there are very few studies on the use of the Internet and its effect on reading, much of the following research correlates to the use of computers, computer software and its relationship to student achievement.

James Kulick (1994) used a research technique called meta-analysis to aggregate the findings from more that 500 individual research studies of computer based instruction. He found that on average, students who used...