Did you know… In 1820, Only 12% of the people in the world could read and write, I’m so glad we have reversed the trend. Over the last 65 years, the global literacy rate increased by 4% every 5 years. In 1960, our rates were at 42% and in 2015 were are at 86%, according to Roser and Ortiz. Reading is an invaluable skill that most people in the world understand but as the world moves towards online courses and online education, some educators and researchers see a shift from reading content materials to diversifying media as a way for students to access the curriculum.  

Reading is a powerful activity, but it is not on its own. Reading is part of every child's educational foundation, and it is closely linked to excellent math, speaking, writing, and listening skills. Educational researchers, veteran teachers, and school districts must work together to create effective reading activities to teach their students about reading comprehension.

Face-2-Face vs. Online Reading 

Let us look at how the current reading activities impact both brick-and-mortar and online students. Unfortunately, online students are not fairing nearly as well as their brick-and-mortar counterparts. According to a survey of grades and comprehension rates in Michigan, high school students taking online courses we're not passing the same courses at the same level as face-to-face students. Even if a student had taken a face-to-face course but failed and decided to take an online summer recovery course, they still did not do as well as students who took some recovery courses at school. This information is surprising, given the fact that summer courses have a much lower bar to pass.

We must diversify our media when it comes to online reading

What does this mean? It means that the current way online students are being taught is nowhere near as effective as it needs to be to have a successful online grade school and high school program. One way to conquer online learning is to provide students with a variety of media to refer to. It is not enough for kids to simply read what is on the screen and then perform a multiple-choice questionnaire. Have students conduct some research of their own, watch a video, listen to audio, and complete a few handwritten writing exercises. Also, creating at-home projects is another way to teach kinesthetically, which many online schools fail to do (Ralph & Michael, 2020).

One of the best methods to ensure that online students develop the reading comprehension skills they need for the rest of their lives is to have every child read and practice these skills below:

Seven Strategies to Teach Students Text Comprehension by Reading Rockets:

1. Monitoring comprehension. Students who are good at monitoring their comprehension know when they understand what they read and when they do not. ...

2. Metacognition- thinking about their thoughts before during and after reading

3. Graphic and semantic organizers- illustrate concepts and relationships between concepts in a text or using diagrams.

4. Answering questions- They (1) Give students a purpose for reading (2) Focus students' attention on what they are to learn (3) Help students to think actively as they read (4) Encourage students to monitor their comprehension (5) Help students to review content and relate what they have learned to what they already know

5. Generating questions- students become aware of whether they can answer the questions and if they understand what they are reading.

6. Recognizing story structure- students learn to identify the categories of content (characters, setting, events, problem, resolution

7. Summarizing aloud- requires students to determine what is important in what they are reading and to put it into their own words.

   I challenge you to transform your online course.

   This technique works in a brick-and-mortar environment and understanding the push to move online has been challenging for some teachers in their online classrooms. Every student has to engage with the text whether aloud or with peers. Of course, there are other strategies out there, like small groups where each child can take turns reading to their fellow students in reading roles (Ginsberg, et al, 2020). So let’s diversify our reading materials and provide continuous practice for our students to succeed.  

References

Adler, C.R “Reading Rockets” https://www.readingrockets.org/article/seven-strategies-teach-students-text-comprehension

Ralph, Michael. "Teaching Strategies of Award-Winning Online Instructors." Edutopia, George Lucas Educational Foundation, 17 Apr. 2020, www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-strategies-award-winning-online-instructors.

 Ginsberg, Marnie, et al. "How to Teach Reading Online." Reading Simplified, 30 Sept. 2020, readingsimplified.com/how-to-teach-reading-online/.