Text Messaging and the Effects on Childrens Learning to Read - Annotated Bibliography Example

?Text Messaging and the Effects on Children’s Learning to Read Annotated Bibliography Aker, J.C., Ksoll, C. & Lybbert, T.J. (n.d ABC, 124: Can youtext me now? The Impact of a Mobile Phone Literacy Program on Educational Outcomes. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://mitsloan.mit.edu/neudc/papers/paper_197.pdf Examined the effect of literacy in mobile phones on the academic outcomes of selected students in Niger, considered one of the poorest countries in the world. The findings indicate a strong positive relationship between mobile use and improved academic performance, specifically in the area of mathematics. Though the results established clear links between academic performances through increased mobile phone literacy, the participants being young adult students are not consistent with the subject of the current research. The information contained in this research would not be useful for the current study. Alleyne, R. (August 2009). “Mobile phone text messaging is making children more impulsive, claim researchers.” The Telegraph. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6005772/Mobile-phone-text-messaging-is-making-children-more-impulsive-claim-researchers.html Examined the effect of text messaging in terms of children’s diverse mental abilities, such as trains them to be fast but inaccurate. The author cited various researches being conducted to validate the contentions and interesting results were divulged. “The use of mobile phones is changing the way children learn and pushing them to become more impulsive in the way they behave" (Alleyne, 2009, par. 10). Although some results were interesting, citing contents from this article could prove to be inaccurate as the actual studies conducted were not revealed nor cited appropriately; therefore, this article is deemed inappropriate to be used for the current research. Coe, J.E.L. & Oakhill, J.V. (2011). “‘txtN is ez f u no h2 rd’: the relation between reading ability and text-messaging behavior.” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Volume 27, Issue 1, pages 4–17. Presented a comprehensive study to determine “whether or not there is a relationship between children's reading ability and text-messaging behaviour. The aims of this study were to compare good and poor readers on their amount of usage of mobile phones, the frequency and type of text devices they used, and the speed at which they could read messages in ‘text’ versus those written in formal English” (Coe & Oakhill, 2011, par. 1). The findings of the research indicate that “better knowledge of textisms is positively related to reading skill” (Coe & Oakhill: Discussion, 2011, par. 6). The study is a useful source of credible and authoritative information of the current research given the authoritative stance of the authors, methodology, participants and interpretation of results. The information contained herein would prove to be most useful in the current study. Huang, L. (2008). “The Death of English (LOL).” Newsweek. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://www.newsweek.com/2008/08/01/the-death-of-english-lol.html Provided an interesting discourse on the effect of texting on the English language through a discussion of contemporary text messaging phenomena, particularly in the English speaking world. Initially provided some crucial statistics that reveal increasing trends in text messages globally and in Britain. Through citing famous personalities who were supposedly openly alarmed on the effect of text messaging to the use of the English language, the author skillfully reinforced awareness of diverse contentions and arguments on text messaging. As averred, the effect was determined through an experiment that resulted in proving that “children who texted—and who wielded plenty of abbreviations—scored higher on reading and vocabulary tests. In fact, the more adept they were at abbreviating, the better they did in spelling and writing” (Huang, 2008, p. 2). The information contained in the article, though relevant and interesting, could not be cited as an authoritative source of information for the current research due to the insufficient details regarding the experiment that yielded the identified outcome. Kemp, N. & Bushnell, C. (February 2011). “Children's text messaging: abbreviations, input methods and links with literacy.” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Volume 27, Issue 1, pages 18–27. Examined the use of mobile texting in terms of method and experience and its link to literacy among 86 children with ages ranging from 10 to 12 years old. The relevant findings indicate that “all children were slower and less accurate when reading textese than conventional messages regardless of texting experience or texting method” (Kemp & Bushnell, 2011, par. 29). More importantly, there were no significant relationships found between text messaging and literacy scores. The research information would be relevant for the current research as both the contents and the authoritative background of the author validated the credibility of the findings. Paton, G. (2011). Text messaging 'improves children's spelling skills'. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8272502/Text-messaging-improves-childrens-spelling-skills.html Presented the results of a study conducted by Coventry University as indicating that text messages can enhance children’s literacy skills. The author cited that researchers from the stated university conducted a study participated by 114 children with ages ranging from 9 to 10 years and have proven that “there was “no evidence” that access to mobile phones harmed children’s literacy skills and could even have a positive impact on spelling” (Paton, 2011, par. 4). Although the findings are most relevant for the current study, the author failed to correctly cite and reference the indicated studies to enable one to validate and verify the credibility of the sources. In this regard, the article could not be cited for the current research. Plester, B., Wood, C., & Joshi, P. (March 2009). “Exploring the Relationship between Children's Knowledge of Text Message Abbreviations and School Literacy Outcomes.” British Journal of Developmental Psychology, Volume 27, Number 1, pages 145-161. Presented a study conducted by the authors covering British children with ages ranging from 10 to 12 years for the purpose of determining any significant relationship between the children’s knowledge of text message abbreviations, termed ‘textisms’, and their attainment of literacy in school. The paper explained the methodologies used to establish the link through measuring textism knowledge, through responding in a short questionnaire to determine mobile use, and assessing reading attainment from print exposures and “ludic language use” (Plester, Wood, & Joshi, 2009, p. 145). This study would provide useful information for the proposed research on the same topic, especially in terms of using parallel structures in determining the link between textism knowledge and reading literacy performance; this is definitely a good source of information for the current research. Rosen, L.D., Chang, J., Erwin, L., Carrier, L.M. & Cheever, N.A. (June 2010). “The Relationship Between “Textisms” and Formal and Informal Writing Among Young Adults.” Communication Research, Volume 37, Number 3, pages 420 – 440. Determined the relationship between knowledge of text message abbreviations and its effect on both formal and informal writing through the participation of 718 young adults in two separate studies. The authors, all professionals from the California State University, have proven that “negative associations between reported textism use in daily communications and formal writing and positive associations between textisms use and informal writing” (Rosen et al., 2010, p. 420) exist. However, the effect on these relationships varied after taking into account demographic factors such as gender and the level of education, among others. The information contained in the paper, although relevant, would be of little use to the current study that focuses on the effect of text messaging to children, as contrasted to young adults, the participants indicated herein. Wallace, P. (2011). “M-Learning: Promises, Perils, and Challenges for K-12 Education.” New Horizons for Learning. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/Journals/Winter2011/Wallace Provided a comprehensive discussion on the use and effect of mobile phones to learning. The author structured the presentation by identifying patterns of ownership and use, potential of m-learning, widespread adopting, accessing and spaced learning, support and challenges, among others. The information contained in the article is mostly general and descriptive in nature and fails to establish a link or relationship between text messaging and literacy. This article would not be helpful in the current research due to lack of relevant information on the influence and effect of text messaging to children’s literacy. Wood, C., Jackson, E., Hart, L., Plester, B., & Wilde, L. (February 2011). “The effect of text messaging on 9- and 10-year-old children's reading, spelling and phonological processing skills.” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Volume 27, Issue 1, pages 28–36. Presented a comprehensive study composed of 114 children from the age group of 9 to 10 year- olds to determine the impact of text messaging on literacy skills. Clearly structured research methodologies were expounded to rationalize and justify validity of the results. As indicated, the findings revealed that “the children who were given access to mobile phones for the purpose of text messaging did not perform differently from the children who were not given mobile phones in terms of their literacy development. This suggests that although the children with the phones did not benefit significantly from access to the technology, their literacy development was also not adversely affected” (Wood et al., 2011, par. 21). The information contained in the study would be useful in the current research in terms of precisely identifying the effect of text messaging on literacy of children in the chosen age group. References Aker, J.C., Ksoll, C. & Lybbert, T.J. (n.d.). ABC, 124: Can you text me now? The Impact of a Mobile Phone Literacy Program on Educational Outcomes. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://mitsloan.mit.edu/neudc/papers/paper_197.pdf Alleyne, R. (August 2009). “Mobile phone text messaging is making children more impulsive, claim researchers.” The Telegraph. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6005772/Mobile-phone-text-messaging-is-making-children-more-impulsive-claim-researchers.html Coe, J.E.L. & Oakhill, J.V. (2011). “‘txtN is ez f u no h2 rd’: the relation between reading ability and text-messaging behavior.” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Volume 27, Issue 1, pages 4–17, Huang, L. (2008). “The Death of English (LOL).” Newsweek. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://www.newsweek.com/2008/08/01/the-death-of-english-lol.html Kemp, N. & Bushnell, C. (February 2011). “Children's text messaging: abbreviations, input methods and links with literacy.” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Volume 27, Issue 1, pages 18–27. Paton, G. (2011). Text messaging 'improves children's spelling skills'. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8272502/Text-messaging-improves-childrens-spelling-skills.html Plester, B., Wood, C., & Joshi, P. (March 2009). “Exploring the Relationship between Children's Knowledge of Text Message Abbreviations and School Literacy Outcomes.” British Journal of Developmental Psychology, Volume 27, Number 1, pages 145-161. Rosen, L.D., Chang, J., Erwin, L., Carrier, L.M. & Cheever, N.A. (June 2010). “The Relationship Between “Textisms” and Formal and Informal Writing Among Young Adults.” Communication Research, Volume 37, Number 3, pages 420 – 440. Wallace, P. (2011). “M-Learning: Promises, Perils, and Challenges for K-12 Education.” New Horizons for Learning. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/Journals/Winter2011/Wallace Wood, C., Jackson, E., Hart, L., Plester, B., & Wilde, L. (February 2011). “The effect of text messaging on 9- and 10-year-old children's reading, spelling and phonological processing skills.” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Volume 27, Issue 1, pages 28–36. Read More