Pioneering Literacy – New Campaign for Grade-Level Reading report seeks to help parents and teachers utilize technology in the digital age

Pioneering Literacy in the Digital Wild West: Empowering Parents and Educators, a new report from The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, is a must read for educators and community leaders.

It examines the role technology can play in improving children’s reading proficiency, how technology can support parents and educators, what matters most for early literacy innovation with technology and recommendations for supporting technology pioneers in digital information. We all agree that technology is a critical tool for leveraging learning. The question is how?

This report provides context, identifies challenges and opportunities, and gives recommendations for how families, schools and communities can amplify learning through technology.

Wonderopolis®, created by NCFL and funded by Verizon Foundation, is cited as one of six pioneering projects that support families and communities (page 12). Its emphasis on social media and multimedia learning was cited as a way to inspire conversation, vocabulary building and further exploration.

One of the report’s key recommendations is to create a place in every community where children, parents and educators can experiment together with online and offline literacy materials. Wonderopolis is truly accomplishing that goal.

Just last week, NCFL visited a classroom in Dublin, Ohio, and spent time with educators and young students who used Wonderopolis to energize and inspire learning in the classroom and at home. This is just one example from a mother in her own words:

Good morning, Mr. Prosser! Just wanted you to know that (my son) came bouncing home about the seahorse wonder you showed in library yesterday. He told me all about it. So, he woke me up at the crack of dawn so we could watch the wonder and look up some other ones. We have spent the early hours watching and reading together. I can’t think of a better way to spend our time together. He thinks Wonderopolis (and Mr. Prosser) are just way cool.

If you aren’t visiting Wonderopolis.org on a regular basis, check out today’s Wonder of the Day and find out what you’ve been missing.

And, for the full report, which gives instructive ideas on how to leverage the power of technology can boost a child’s reading skills, click here.

The Campaign for Grade Level Reading is a nationwide effort founded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and supported by efforts from nonprofits and communities. The report’s authors include Lisa Guernsey of New America Foundation and Michael Levine of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center.