Parents warned most reading apps for children fail to teach basic literacy skills as promised
New research shows many learn-to-read apps are not properly teaching children basic skills – but experts have named the best options. See the list.
They promise to help young children learn the basics of reading, but parents are now being warned that most apps fail to deliver educational benefits.
There are more than 9000 learn-to-read apps and games available through Apple and Google Play digital stores, giving parents an overwhelming array of options.
Speech pathologists analysed a selection of 309 apps and found they could only recommend 85 for teaching foundational literacy skills.
The research, led by speech pathologist and Flinders University academic Dr Lisa Furlong, found many apps mispronounced letter sounds, used inappropriate word choices, did not take a structured or sequenced approach to teaching letter-sound associations and could not provide feedback for children to improve.
“Many apps are aesthetically pleasing and entertaining but our study showed the majority lack the educational rigour required to teach phonics and phonological awareness effectively,” Dr Furlong said.
“Parents and educators often rely on star ratings and user reviews when selecting mobile apps but our findings show these metrics are not reliable indicators of educational value.”
Dr Furlong said the researchers found that between June 2021 and September 2024 just six such apps were released which met expert standards.
The research team is calling for a new certification for apps to show which ones are evidence-based.
“App stores are largely unregulated when it comes to educational claims,” she said.
“Clearer labelling and disclosures are essential to ensure that children are engaging with tools that genuinely support their learning.”
Findon mum Annika Dean-Woollett has tried using a few apps with her son Miles, 2, to introduce him to letters and sounds.
“We don’t use the tablet much but, when we do, I try to steer Miles towards interactive and educational apps that I hope will help him to learn to read and count,” Mrs Dean-Woollett, 38, said.
“There are so many apps to choose from. I think it’s good that parents are being warned not everything out there is up to scratch, and we need to choose wisely.
“An app isn’t going to replace us as parents, or school, teaching him to read, but technology is so common these days there should be some control over apps claiming to be educational, that they are in fact going about it the right way.”
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Originally published as Parents warned most reading apps for children fail to teach basic literacy skills as promised
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