Blended Technology Rich Instruction Verses Blended Computer Managed Instruction in 8th Grade Digital Literacy Instruction

Blended learning research is becoming increasingly popular at the K-12 level; however, past research has focused primarily on post-secondary learning environments. Additionally, while much research has focused on comparisons between online and blended learning to traditional learning, few studies have focused on comparisons between different models of blended learning. Little research has been found that compares learning outcomes between two different blended learning styles in the area of middle school digital literacy. Therefore, it is not known if students taking an 8th grade computer class score significantly better on a standardized digital literacy test when utilizing a computer mediated instruction (CMI) software program like EasyTech in a blended learning environment than those who did not utilize the EasyTech software in a similar blended learning environment. Additionally, it is not known if the independent variables of race, gender, or socioeconomic status (SES) have any effect on the outcome. The purpose of this ex post facto causal comparative study was to compare digital literacy achievement test scores of 8th grade students in a computer class being taught in a blended CMI learning environment utilizing EasyTech software to 8th grade students in a computer class who were taught in a blended learning environment without utilizing EasyTech software. This study utilized data from 3622 8th grade students from a large diverse urban school district that have taken a digital literacy class and a digital literacy assessment. The student data and test scores were drawn from the school district's student information service (SIS). The independent variables were race, gender, SES, and post-test scores. The dependent variable was the type of blended learning environment, classes taught utilizing EasyTech software or without utilizing EasyTech software. The 21st Century Skills assessment by Learning.com was be utilized as the summative digital literacy assessment. The results of this study showed that there were main effects of Race, SES, and EasyTech, and the interaction between Race and SES was shown to be a significant factor. Finally, the results also showed overall students who used the EasyTech program scored higher than students who did not use the EasyTech program. As a result, the null hypothesis was rejected.