Online Literacy Study

Project Team: Insiya Bhalloo, Alisha Suri, Brittany McCaig, Claire Liu, Cristina Feraru, Emily Wood, Janey Tso, Nicole Boles, Mia Varduoniotis, Qadriy Naimi, Siobhan Galeazzi, Somayah Al-Ees

Project Description: The main purpose of the Online Literacy Study is to investigate whether virtual administration of oral language and reading assessments is a valid alternative to in person face-to-face evaluation. Such research is particularly important due to school and therapy clinic closures, as a result of the current pandemic.

Secondarily, we are also investigating if monolingual and bilingual children perform differently on these assessment tools. Additionally, our researchers hope to outline best practices for virtual administration of language and literacy assessments for clinicians to inform their practice.

We are currently testing monolingual and bilingual English-speaking children, aged 4-8 years across Canada, on their vocabulary, sound awareness and reading skills using Zoom.