Urban adolescent students and technology: access, use and interest in learning language and literacy

Adolescents today have vastly different opportunities to learn and process information via pervasive digital technologies and social media. However, there is scant literature on the impact of these technologies on urban adolescents with lower socioeconomic status. This study of 531 urban students in grades 6-8 used a self-reported survey to collect information about (1) students' access to and frequency of using desktop, laptop and tablet computers, and mobile phones, (2) their ownership of mp3 players, iPods, touch pads, cellphones, and smartphones, (3) whether they had accounts with any of 10 communication and social media platforms, and (4) their interest in using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and text messaging for language and literacy learning purposes. Students reported significantly more access to these technologies at home than school. Grade 8 students had the most access to cellphones and laptop computers, and were most likely to own smartphones. English language learners indicated a significantly higher interest in using social media for language and literacy learning than their native English-speaking peers. The results indicate a great potential to integrate technology strategically with language instruction for urban adolescent students with linguistically diverse backgrounds. The educational implications of these findings are discussed.