Automatic short-answer grading has been studied for more than a decade. The technique has been used for implementing auto assessment as well as building the assessor module for intelligent tutoring systems. Many early works automatically grade mainly based on the similarity between a student answer and the reference answer to the question. This…

In this commentary, the author explores the tension between almost 30 years of work that has embraced increasingly complex conceptions of digital reading and recent studies that risk oversimplifying digital reading as a singular entity analogous with reading text on a screen. The author begins by tracing a line of theoretical and empirical work…

As literacy and reading evolve, it is important to identify and describe the strategies and skills used in constructing meaning. This study examines online multimodal reading (OMR) strategies: those used in constructing meaning from multimodal information sources (e.g., images, audio, written words) on the Internet. Participants read online…

The relationship between computer-based and paper-based testing may vary. Students with special needs may or may not perform better on computer-based testing compared to paper-based testing. Over the past few decades, computers and technology have increased in society and in classrooms. The use of technology has increased during the era of the…

This study examined the effect of the reading environment, i.e., documents presentation and possibility of text-highlighting, on readers' integrated understanding, as well as the interplay between the reading environment and overt reading processes (i.e., online integrative processes) in forming intertextual connections. University students (N…

An inferential comprehension intervention addressing reading comprehension difficulties of middle schoolers was tested. Method Students in Grades 6 to 8 (n = 145; 53.8% female; 71% White; 24% Black) who failed their state literacy test, were randomly assigned to tutor-led, computerized, or business-as-usual [BaU] interventions. Results The…

Underdeveloped reading skills can have major implications in students' adult lives, and virtual students' reading comprehension has been steadily declining. This qualitative study explored virtual high school English teachers' perceptions of graphic novels as supplemental tools for improving students' reading comprehension. Through a multiple case…

Background: During digital reading on internet-connected devices, students may be exposed to a variety of on-screen distractions. Learning by reading can therefore become a fragmented experience with potentially negative consequences for reading processes and outcomes. Objectives: This study investigated the effects of on-screen distractions, as…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference between student ELA growth scores among two intervention programs based on the delivery method. Multiple tools have been implemented in schools to improve student learning outcomes in reading. These include but are not limited to Reading Plus (RP) and Leveled Literacy…

This study describes the development of an innovative multimedia application and examines teacher perceptions of its usefulness in assisting students with imagery deficit to visualize the reading comprehension. Students with good reading skills can easily create mental representations from oral or written language, and their sensory system quickly…

Research continues to demonstrate that motivated readers read more, yet too often students are not exposed to genres that might motivate them to continue reading. Further, students might not be encouraged to read outside their preferred reading genre. When students are unmotivated to read, they often do not read or do not finish the books they…

Lyon (1998) called reading "critical to a child's overall well-being." Given the ubiquity of text in their lives today, reading skills can help students lead productive, meaningful lives. But what about elementary student readers with ASD? Senokossoff (2016) argued that "in addition to the social and emotional difficulties that…

This article describes a short-term longitudinal study conducted in low-performing rural primary schools in South Africa. The authors were involved in developing a two-year multimedia reading programme for rural South African children in grades 1-3, and sought to assess key learning outcomes in existing school computer laboratories. The programme…

The Design Implementation Framework, or DIF, is a design approach that evaluates learner and user experience at multiple points in the development of intelligent tutoring systems. In this chapter, we explore how DIF was used to make system modifications to iSTART, a game-based intelligent tutoring system for reading comprehension. Using DIF as a…

This study sought to examine the effectiveness of Reading RACES (RR), a computer program designed to deliver a repeated reading intervention with culturally relevant passages. Specifically, this study examined the effects of RR on the oral reading fluency (ORF) and comprehension gains for first-grade learners in an urban setting and whether these…