Educational apps are aggressively marketed, widely available, and engaging. But do they actually work to teach reading? 

Glitzy apps with colorful characters, sounds, and leveled rewards may be enticing to young children, but they will never be a viable replacement for the support and encouragement of a caring adult. Research shows that children learn best through healthy interactions with people who care about them.

It is possible that some apps might provide value for early learning, but the quality of apps is so variable that it is hard to know which ones are effective and which are a waste of time and money. Many apps also expose your child to random advertisements, provide rewards as incentives for watching advertising, and collect information for data tracking.

Children learn best through play supported by relationships with safe and caring adults. Learning by interacting with others helps diminish toxic stress and develop self-regulation and positive social skills. An app cannot provide the supportive and nurturing environment your child needs for learning to read.     

We do not recommend using apps to teach reading because: 

1. The quality of apps is highly variable and most have not been evaluated by independent researchers. 
2. Research studies to determine if apps are effective at teaching reading and writing is limited and has produced mixed results. 
3. There is evidence that what is learned and tested in an app may not easily transfer to real-life situations. 

A caring and encouraging adult is the best teacher for helping a child learn to read. Anyone can teach their child to read, and so can you.   

What is the Best Phonics APP? 

There are hundreds of thousands of apps being marketed to parents with the promise of improving their child’s learning. The problem is that many of these apps have not been rigorously evaluated by independent researchers. The educational app market is a billion dollar industry. This raises the question of whether money or true concern for improving learning is the motivation behind the products.

With so many readily available apps, it’s challenging for a parent to find time to research, evaluate, and monitor their use. When a young child uses an app, parent supervision is required. Time researching or supervising apps would be better spent teaching your child the alphabetic code that links letters and sounds. 

Teaching phonics can be done in 5 minutes a day of playful learning using our Alphabites Game Pack. All of the games use readily available materials you already have in your home. The bonus is that 5 minutes of one-on-one time helping your child learn to read will have long lasting benefits. 

Does Research Support Using Apps for Teaching Reading and Writing?

There have been limited studies into the use of apps for teaching reading and writing. A common conclusion of the available studies is that more research is needed about the effectiveness of educational apps on children’s learning. 

We also don’t know what features might improve or lessen the effect these apps have on learning. So far, the evidence is mixed and has not proven that apps are effective at teaching reading or writing.

It may be possible that apps could have some effect on teaching constrained skills such as letter knowledge, phonemic awareness, or awareness of print. These skills are specific, easier to assess, and can be mastered by most children. 

Broader areas of knowledge, such as vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency, do not have boundaries. Although AI is being developed for teaching such knowledge, apps still cannot easily teach, assess, and support the growth of these broader, unconstrained skills. 

As a supportive and caring parent, you know your child best. You can quickly and efficiently teach them to read by providing playful opportunities to learn the three most important skills needed: sound-letter correspondence, blending, and segmenting. Your hands-on observations, valuable hints, and positive feedback will be far more effective than the predetermined responses provided by an app. 

Will Reading Skills Transfer from Apps to Real Life?

Research into the use of apps to teach reading has shown that often the learner can use the skills effectively during game play, but that the skills do not transfer to non-game, real life situations. 

There is also evidence that apps are more effective if what is being learned in non-game situations matches what is being taught during game play. With so many apps to choose from, it takes a lot of time to find ones that match your particular child’s needs and what they are learning at the moment.

Children learn at their own pace. Although apps attempt to personalize learning, based on responses to questions, the personalization is predetermined and rigid. Most of the testing and personalization relies on yes/no answers. 

There are many reasons you will be much more effective than an app for teaching your child to read. These include:

1. You know your child best, so your feedback is fluid and in the moment. 
2. You can help your child move forward quickly because you know what they already know and what they need to know. 
3. You can quickly tell when an answer is close and just needs a small tweak to correct it. 
4. You can choose a strategy and the pace that works with your child’s interests and needs. 
5. And, you can explain what they need to know in a way they will quickly understand. 

You can teach your child to read. At Juneberry Learning, we want all children to become strong readers. If you don’t know where to start the reading journey, or you have already started and feel a little stuck, please reach out with your questions or comments.

Summary

Mixed research results about the effectiveness of apps makes it hard to determine which app might benefit your child. We DO NOT recommend using apps to teach reading because: 

1. Research is limited and does not provide us with enough evidence to determine which apps might be effective at teaching children to read and write. 
2. The billion dollar educational app market includes thousands of apps that have not been rigorously tested by independent researchers. 
3. What a child learns while playing the games in an app may not actually transfer to real world experiences. 

You know your child best, so you are the most capable person for preparing them to become a strong reader. We’re here to cheer you on! Follow us on SM for more playful learning tips. 

Sources

Kim, J., Gilbert, J., Yu, Q., & Gale, C. (2021). Measures matter: A meta-analysis of the effects of educational apps on preschool to grade 3 children’s literacy and math skills. Aera Open, 7, 23328584211004183. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/23328584211004183

Meyer M, Zosh JM, McLaren C, Robb M, McCafferty H, Golinkoff RM, Hirsh-Pasek K, Radesky J. How educational are 'educational' apps for young children? App store content analysis using the Four Pillars of Learning framework. J Child Media. 2021;15(4):526-548. doi: 10.1080/17482798.2021.1882516. Epub 2021 Feb 23. PMID: 35282402; PMCID: PMC8916741.

Patel, P., Torppa, M., Aro, M., Richardson, U., & Lyytinen, H. (2022). Assessing the effectiveness of a game-based phonics intervention for first and second grade English language learners in India: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 38(1), 76–89. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12592

Yogman, M., Garner, A., Hutchinson, J., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., Baum, R., ... & COMMITTEE ON PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF CHILD AND FAMILY HEALTH. (2018). The power of play: A pediatric role in enhancing development in young children. Pediatrics, 142(3). https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10119315