Technology-based reading intervention programs for elementary grades: An analytical review

In modern societies, the role of reading is becoming increasingly crucial. Hence, any impairment
to the reading ability can seriously limit a person's aspirations. The enormous importance of
reading as an essential skill in modern life has encouraged many researchers to try and find more
effective intervention approaches. Technology has been used extensively to assist and enhance
literacy learning. This analytical review aims at presenting a comprehensive overview of the
existing research on technology-based or technology-assisted reading interventions for elementary
grades, between 2000 and 2017, along with analyzing various aspects of these studies. After
extensive research, 42 articles have met the inclusion criteria, which have evaluated a total of 32
reading programs. The studies are classified into six categories of phonological awareness,
phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, and multi-component. Each reading category begins
with a brief introduction. Then, the content and instructional mechanisms of each program
in the category is explained, alongside the outcome of its interventions. It is found that vocabulary
interventions, as well as using mobile, tablet and other non-computer technologies are
massively overlooked. Furthermore, a very limited number of programs focused on fluency, none
of them addressed all its components. In addition, despite the required long-term practice for
fostering fluency, the reviewed studies have an average intervention time shorter than other
intervention categories. This paper provides researchers and solution developers with an extensive
and informative review of the current state of the art in reading interventions.
Additionally, it identifies the current knowledge gaps and defines future research directions to
develop effective reading programs.