Texts and Tasks: Why Reading Matters in Online Courses

Abstract

The subject of students' reading abilities and achievement are the focus national and international comparisons. Such a broad audience makes reading content, activities, and assessments the subject of great scrutiny. At the same time, we know little about reading within the quickly expanding market of K-12 distance education. Research offers a very limited description of the types of reading that students are asked to do or the students' abilities to accomplish this reading effectively. This chapter describes the types of reading students do in online K-12 courses, followed by a review of the limited research about reading in online courses. The chapter concludes with instructional implications for teachers of online courses and possibilities for future research.