As I was thinking about digital tools and strategies that I’ve seen used to promote a reading culture, it seemed as though they fit one of three different goals: Connection, book promotion, and increased access.
Connection:
This is where students share what they are reading with each other, make book recommendations, and talk about their reading. Lockwood points out, “Having a real audience and purpose for book recommendations, other than the immediate classroom context, is motivating for young readers. The Internet, properly supervised, provides a setting where children can communicate with other pupils they do not know personally in a direct and informal way. Sharing the pleasures of reading with others always adds to the enjoyment” (2008, “Activities that are Open…” section). There are so many different tools that could help with this, like Padlet. Next year, I plan to create a book review form where students can submit a review. I can then print the review and post it close to where the book is shelved.
Technology can also provide connections for students beyond the school, using programs like the Somewhat Virtual Book Club, Manitoba Young Readers Choice Awards, the Forest of Reading Program, and the Global Read Aloud. All of these programs have students from different places reading the same book(s), providing an opportunity for discussion on various platforms.
Book promotion:
Nancy J. Keane has tons of ideas to use technology to promote reading and books in Tech-Savvy Reading Promotion. She says book promotion helps increase student awareness of which books are available for them to read and which books may interest them (2019, p. xii).
A theme for using technology to promote books seems to be choosing tools that students are already using, such as the school’s learning management system (which could also be used to share book recommendations with staff) or social media. One caution for social media is that there may be policies preventing staff from connecting with students on non-school platforms. However, a teacher librarian could start an account with book recommendations for families, which might help reach younger students.
Increased access:
For some students, technology is revolutionary in making reading more accessible, either by making more books available (through ebook and audiobook tools such as Epic and Sora and kids encyclopedias like Pebble Go) or by making reading easier.
Accessibility can be improved using tools such as Microsoft’s Immersive Reader, which is available in many of Microsoft’s programs (and even some others, like Canvas). It allows you to listen and/or translate either individual words or an entire text. It can be very powerful when combined with something like Minecraft Education, where I’ve noticed struggling readers often skip over the reading (where most of the content is).
According to Lockwood, such tools allow students “to decide on the amount of assistance they need for reading a text, either listening to the whole book, using the voice facility only when stuck on a word, or a level of support somewhere in between. This situation gives children the pleasure of ‘reading’ a book independently when their reading ability may make this difficult otherwise, with resultant gains in confidence, enjoyment and motivation. Using headphones for listening makes the experience even more like ‘silent reading’ for children working alongside other more competent readers” (2008, “A Reading Environment…” section). Lockwood was writing about older technology (ebooks on CD-ROM), but the benefits still apply.
There are two common threads through each of these goals – connection between students, promoting books, and increasing access:
1. They support student choice in what they read, a key factor highlighted by Pernille Ripp and Jennifer Gonzales. Students are more aware of the options available and have access to books that may be beyond their level otherwise.
2. They normalize reading. When we talk about our reading, share recommendations, celebrate books, and ensure that everyone has access to books they can enjoy, reading becomes a regular part of students’ lives. Which, I would argue, is the definition of reading culture.
Bibliography:
Gonzalez, J. (2017, December 3). How to Stop Killing the Love of Reading. Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/stop-killing-reading/
Gray, K. (2017, October 10). How I Use Instagram, Twitter & Snapchat to Turn My Students Into Readers. We Are Teachers. https://www.weareteachers.com/social-media-activities-for-ela/
Keane, N. J. (2019). Tech-Savvy Reading Promotion. Libraries Unlimited. https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/collections/monograph
Lockwood, M. J. (2008). Promoting Reading for Pleasure in the Early Years. In Promoting reading for pleasure in the primary school. SAGE.
Microsoft Immersive Reader. (n.d.). Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation. Retrieved May 31, 2026, from https://teaching.utoronto.ca/tool-guides/microsoft-immersive-reader/
Power, S. (2023, December 19). Padlet for Literacy activities. Teachnet.Ie. https://teachnet.ie/padlet-for-literacy-activities/
Robertson, N. (2023). Using Your District LMS to Reach Students and Teachers. http://www.nikkidrobertson.org/2023/07/using-your-district-lms-to-reach.html
