Impact of Information and Computer Technology on Students’ Reading Comprehension

Abstract

T his paper examined the impact of information and computer technology on students reading comprehension in Ebonyi local government area of Ebonyi state in Nigeria. The concept of reading comprehension was examined. Kintsch’s construction and integration theory and the Schema theory were explored as it relates to reading comprehension. Also, the importance of information and communication technology tools in reading comprehension was examined. It was observed that it offers the learners the opportunity of controlling the learning process and creates room for collaborative learning. Problems of using ICT for reading comprehension were enumerated to include: lack of software and hardware, lack of knowledge of available information technology resources, unavailability of computer laboratories, epileptic electricity power supply and lack of internet services among others. Then, ICT tools useful for improving reading comprehension were explored to include internet reciprocal teaching, computer aided instruction, text-to-speech software, digital texts, visual learning software etc. Finally, related literature relevant to this study was also reviewed. Based on this, one of the recommendations was that the government should ensure adequate provision of various ICT tools and functional computer laboratories in all the schools in the federation. Keywords: information and computer technology (ICT), reading comprehension, students, DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-18-14 Publication date: June 30 th 2022