Interactive Learning Fails Reading Test

motivator_bob writes to tell us the Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the latest craze of interactive computer software is actually hurting the education level rather than helping it. From the article: "Parents have also bought into the enthusiasm for technology, spending millions on educational computer games for their young. However, research published in the journal Education 3 to 13 has found that pupils who use interactive programs cannot remember stories they have just read because they are distracted by cartoons and sound effects."

Comments

Re:I'll say

[bunratty]

RTFA. The program that read the story didn't cause problems. It was the program with the gratuituous animations that had nothing to do with the story that distracted kids from the story and caused a drop in comprehension.

I know from experience at a company that makes a very successful literacy program that a computer reading a stories to children and providing exercises in phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension can help children's reading and writing skills immensely. At that company, competing "edutainment" programs were dismissed as inferior, and this study proves that the "entertainment" portion just distracts kids away from the education part of the activity.

Re:Hear, Hear!

[omeomi]

Kids today barely read at all, and their writing is awful.

That's just not fair. People have been using the "kids today" argument since the beginning of time. Your parents complained about "kids today" when you were a kid, and your grandparents complained about "kids today" when they were a kid. Kids today are the same as kids have always been. Some read plenty, some write well, and many are just plain stupid. I'm 27, and I remember wondering why so few of my classmates enjoyed reading. I also remember wondering why my teachers always picked the most boring books they could find. Nobody should have to read Dandelion Wine...and why we never got to read Slaughterhouse V in school is a mystery....but anyway, if kids today don't read, how do you explain the ridiculously popular Harry Potter series? How do you explain the bustling kids section at pretty much every bookstore? How about complaining that parents today don't spend enough time reading to their kids so that they're interested in reading at a young age? That's certainly true in plenty of cases...I have to say that if I had to choose between my child spending an hour playing an educational game on their computer or spending an hour watching TV, I'd go for the computer every time. Not to mention the tremendous resources the web has to offer a curious child. I don't think the computer is ever going to replace a good teacher, but it certainly is a better supplement than nothing.