Teaching English With Technology

Teaching English with Technology, 16(3), 3-16, http://www.tewtjournal.org 3
THE EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
ON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ LITERACY ACHIEVEMENT
by Kara Robinson
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic College Burraneer
Cronulla, New South Wales, 2230, Australia
kara.robinson @ syd.catholic.edu.au
Abstract
This literature review presents a critical appraisal of current research on the role technology
integration plays in high school students’ literacy achievement. It identifies the gaps within the
research through comprehensive analysis. The review develops an argument that the use of
laptops in secondary English classrooms has a significant impact upon students’ literacy
achievement in both a positive and negative manner. The literature review begins by exploring
early research and finds that there is a lack of longitudinal studies regarding laptop integration.
This is a result of the trend at the time, which was to focus on the impact on student and teacher
attitudes rather than the impact on literacy. Through the critical appraisal of current research it is
revealed that the attitudes and beliefs of individual teachers to laptop integration is the leading
cause of student literacy achievement. The literature review progresses to explore the challenges
facing educators and the concerns for educators.
Keywords: technology; integration; laptop; literacy; high school; teaching
1. Introduction
Many secondary schools at the start of the 21st century are very traditional in their approaches
to teaching literacy in English classrooms, educating for example via pen and paper methods.
In the context of this review the term ‘literacy’ refers to the ability to read and write. Also,
when using the phrase ‘literacy achievement’ I am referring to students’ levels of proficiency
in the streams of reading and writing. In many secondary English classrooms within Australia
each student has access to a laptop. The review of current literature has revealed that in some
cases they are rarely accessed as a tool for improving literacy, the review also exposes a
correlation between this finding and individual teacher perceptions. This idea is explored in
greater depth later in the literature review. To put it simply, laptops are not successfully
utilised in the classroom to improve student literacy.
The question of whether laptop integration has positively or negatively impacted
student learning is hotly contested in the literature thus far. Overall, literature offers
conflicting answers to this question. However, many seem to agree that there are many
barriers, such as funding and teacher training, which inhibit schools and teachers to

Teaching English with Technology, 16(3), 3-16, http://www.tewtjournal.org 4
effectively utilise laptop integration in the secondary English classroom. Few deny the
growing influence of technology and its use in teaching students who use digital technology
daily. These results are often found within the same research and by reviewing the literature
on these studies, this literature review explores some of the limitations of the research
methodologies.
Currently there is a significant gap within the current bodies of research, as much of
the research focuses on best practice for teachers, rather than the implications of laptop use on
students’ literacy. This review aims to fill this gap by looking closely at these implications.
As there is paucity in the research from Australia in the interest of this literature review the
case studies drawn from are primarily based in the United States. Research that emerges in the
US is useful for studying Australian context as the American educational context does have
some parallels to the Australian context.
2. Why are educators just expected to use laptops in classrooms?
It has been the experience of the author that for many educators it is an expectation that
technology such as laptops and the day-to-day learning experiences be integrated into the
curriculum. However, often educators are left questioning why, as often there is little
understanding of the pedagogical implications. It is the intention of this literature review to
answer this question by looking closely at those studies which explore pedagogical
inferences. As Hsu (2011) puts it, often the expansion of information and communication
technology infrastructure in schools is just expected to promote learning through its very
presence. As a result the integration of technologies used outside the classroom such as word
processors, e-mail, digital video, and the Internet must be part of the 21st century secondary
English classroom.
These technologies have changed the landscape of skills and competencies needed for
literacy in profound ways (Watts-Taffe, Gwinn, Johnson, & Horn, 2003). There is an
increasing demand for students to be competent in their ability to access, interpret, compare
and contrast, synthesize, and communicate ideas electronically through the use of laptops and
additional technologies. Therefore, in the secondary English classroom the strands of literacy,
technology and literacy instruction are quickly converging, and are lagging behind changes
made in other aspects of students’ lives. As a consequence of this teachers must be challenged
to not only integrate the use of laptops with traditional aspects of pen and paper literacy
instruction but they must also engage students in emerging technological literacies. Linik
(2011) has found the scientists “posit that digital native students' brains are actually

Teaching English with Technology, 16(3), 3-16, http://www.tewtjournal.org 5
developing in new ways because their gray matter is constantly engaged with digital devices.
When neurons fire together, they wire together, making connections based on their interaction
with technology” (p. 25). The implications of this observation is that inevitably students in
secondary English classrooms are hardwired to engage with digital devices, in a way that may
not be the case for many educators who are responsible for the introduction and instruction of
digital technologies, such as laptops, in these classrooms. Therefore, a conclusion could be
drawn that simply using laptops in the secondary English classroom does not promote
learning educators are challenged to integrate laptops in a pedagogically sound way.
3. What does early research say about laptop integration?
Early research notes that specific benefits of laptop integration included increased student
motivation (Gardner, Morrison, Jarman, Reilly, & Helena, 1993; Rockman, 1998) and a shift
toward more student-centred classroom environments (Rockman, 1998). It is important to
note and take into consideration early research exploring laptop integration because literacy
education is not static and is constantly changing; therefore, it is essential to reflect on where
research has come from. The use of laptops is a relatively new phenomenon beginning in the
early nineties. As a result, there is little research that studies the long-term effects of laptop
usage on literacy achievement in secondary schools. A report conducted by Gardner et al.
(1993) found that the positive literacy outcomes attributed to laptop integration were limited
to the fact that students could make use of word processors and publishing software, and that
most of the curriculum learning outcomes in writing can be addressed through this software.
The authors also concluded that there were notable benefits to be gained from the use of spell-
checking and thesaurus facilities; however, over time this understanding has been often
refuted amongst educators. This Ireland-based study was founded on tests and questionnaires
that were completed by the students from the ages ten to fifteen across nine schools over one
school year. The study also drew on the experiences of teachers and students, which they
recorded in diaries for the purpose of the study, combined with the observations of a research
team. By making no use of quantitative data, they left obvious holes in their conclusions – as
teachers and students kept diaries for the purpose of the study, this may have tarnished the
honesty and integrity of their responses. This lack of quantitative data also limited the aspects
of student achievement that could be accurately measured. They found that the impact of
laptops after one year was at best marginal on achievement in mathematics, science and
writing, however, this is based only on observations and qualitative data. It is important for

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the reader to note that much has changed in secondary English classrooms and this study was
focused on student-centred experiences, as was the trend at the time.
Also conducting research during the nineties, Fisher and Stolarchuk (1998) in their
Australian study of laptop use in middle school science classrooms found out that the
classrooms that made use of laptops had the most positive impact on student learning and
attitudes when skills and the process of inquiry were emphasized. Their study was designed to
assess the effectiveness of laptop integration, students’ attitude and achievement outcomes.
Student’s perceptions of the classroom environment were also utilised to determine this
effectiveness. Achievement was measured using a scale from Test of Enquiry Skills among
other quantitative instruments which were administered to over eight hundred students in
years eight and nine, in fourteen independent schools across four Australian states in 1995.
One of the limitations of this study has been that all qualitative data was collected from only
two of the fourteen schools in 1996. It is unlikely that by collecting data from only two
schools has given a clear and broad enough understanding of the experiences of students and
educators making use of laptops in secondary classrooms. By prolonging time between the
study and the collection of the qualitative data the authors of the study have inadvertently
extended the chance of the data reflecting the current classroom environment rather than the
environment from the previous year. It is important to note that unlike Gardner et al. (1993)
the focus was also on student attitude to laptops rather than on their achievement against
learning outcomes. Correspondingly, Fisher and Stolarchuk (1998) reported a more positive
relationship between laptops and student attitudes than between laptops and academic
achievement. Rockman (1998) reached similar conclusions to Fisher and Stolarchuk (1998)
and Gardner et al. (1993); a majority of teachers in laptop schools reported an increase in
cooperative learning and an improvement in project-based instruction. There is very little
early research that focuses on the long-term effects of laptop integration on literacy, as laptop
integration was in its early stages and laptop use was not widespread.
4. Laptop integration in the 21st century
As research moved into the 21st century, new digital literacy skills became part of the
demands placed upon schools to develop 21st century competencies (Spektor-Levy & Granot-
Gilat, 2012). As a result of these newly found needs federal legislation in the United States
mandated that technology be integrated into school curricula because of the popular belief
that learning is enhanced through the use of technology (Davis, 2001). This phenomenon is
not unique to the United States; other countries, such as Australia, have also implemented