The Canadian Department of Human Resources and Skills Development recently issued a report called Impact of Computer Use on Reading Achievement of 15-year-olds. The study seemed to find that using computers at home helped reading, but using computers in libraries might hurt:
“Multivariate analysis indicated that over and above family and individual characteristics,
only a few ICT variables obtained significant correlations with PISA reading scores. Home computer access was positively related with reading skills, but on the other hand, using computers often in libraries was negatively related. However, since 88% of 15-year olds had computers at home, the number of students relying exclusively on access in libraries is likely to be small.”
The egg came first– digital divide
Any correlations in this study between home computer ownership and income? Internet subscription and income? We can then refer to all the other studies which correlate income level and literacy…