Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Caryn Gallagher
EDTC 625
This research looks at Apple iPads and their use in the reading and language
arts portion of the kindergarten classroom. It goes into detail on the advantages and
on how it affects students with learning disabilities as well as students from low
impact the device has on student learning. Finally, the topic of advantages and
disadvantages, cost, and practicality are mentioned, as well as how to implement the
Overview
The first Apple iPad was released in 2010, and since then, iPads have become a
graduate school. Because the iPad is so much larger than the iPhone, it can be
size allows teachers to reduce physical space that, in the past, would be taken up by
bookshelves, CD-rom organizers, or even large tube televisions. Additionally, the iPad
can hold a charge for relatively the same amount of time as a laptop (around 4 hours)
and can easily be plugged into an outlet, without the cumbersomeness of a power
adapter. iPads come with a variety of preinstalled applications, such as notes, which
can be used for easy and quick note taking, a calendar, which can be synced with other
Apple devices, and a calculator. It is an excellent tool for little hands, which may not yet
have the fine motor skills to use a mouse, type on a keyboard, or use a trackpad.
Technology in Education
development of young children. With the wealth of digital media that children come into
contact with each day--tv, tablets, smartphones, digital readers, and video games, they
are the fastest learners of new technology. iPads can specifically be used in the
content area of Reading and Language Arts to promote phonemic awareness, phonics,
reading comprehension, and writing for the kindergarten student. The study done by
kindergarten classroom. The focus of the study was to observe the effects of iPad
literacy.
Qualitative data was collected over a three month period by means of audio tape,
interviews with students, field notes, as well as observation. Through this, the
researchers found that iPad usage brought about a sense of community among
students, as well as a need to develop skills such as working together and taking turns.
The research mentioned that allowing the students to use iPads changed the roles of
students and teachers, and the students were now-self mediating and choosing
activities for themselves, while the teacher gave up control of the classroom and simply
could allow students to be active participants of their learning. The study showed the
importance of allowing students to manage themselves and make their own rules.
Furthermore, the study suggested that children need opportunities to publish and share
(Reynolds-Blankenship, 2014).
in an adult-led activity. The researchers allowed the students to access two apps that
were intended to promote literacy and language learning. When students were
interacting with the technology, this was considered a literacy event, which can be
defined as all sorts of occasions in everyday life where the written word has a role
(Barton, 2007). The study goes on to say that iPads can be seen as a scaffold for
language learning, and as such the apps can be described as multimodal texts which
support the childrens understanding and invite them to act and produce meaning
themselves (Sandvik 2009). Many literacy teachers interviewed in the study mentioned
that they believed in integrating technology in the kindergarten classroom, and providing
students with the literacy skills that would be crucial as they learned to read, write, and
A study conducted by the Public Broadcasting Service found that iPod touch
awareness when considering children ages three to seven years old. Interestingly, our
of this age range, those children from age five to seven were shown to have made the
most growth.
A study done by Bevan (2011) focused on iPad usage with a group of four
students who tested slightly below grade level. This particular group of students had
not yet mastered reading kindergarten sight words, and did not use these words in their
writing. None of the students in the sample group were students with special needs, nor
did they have social or emotional needs. One app that the students used focused on
reading and spelling sight words, and the other was used to find and take pictures of
words on the word wall. Through the use of pre and post tests, the conclusion of the
study found that students were able to recognize patterns and rules of writing, and
improved their knowledge of recognizing and writing sight words, through the use of
showed that using iPads improved students reading and writing skills, as well as helped
them to develop language skills and change the vocabulary of those students who were
learning English. It even went on to say that the use of iPads for children with special
needs allowed these students to communicate and learn in ways they could not have
before.
The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages when it comes to using iPads in
the kindergarten reading classroom. The iPads allows for kinesthetic, visual, and
auditory learners to be stimulated, and allows for learning to occur at the pace of the
student. Furthermore, it allows for student progress to be tracked, as many apps give
students scores which the teacher can download. This also eliminates any stress that
students may have when they are asked to do a one-on-one assessment with the
teacher that is paper based. Students often clam up in these situations, so the iPad can
Another major advantage of students using iPads in the language arts classroom
is the plethora of free digital books available for students. While a traditional classroom
library certainly is important to build emergent reading behaviors such as book handing
and page turning, students can be overwhelmed with the selection of paper books, and
unable to choose one that is an appropriate level. Also, most students do not enter
kindergarten able to read even simple readers, so books may frustrate them. This is
every student and teacher can log into their individualized accounts. There, students
are able to access hundreds of books that can then be read aloud to them. For a
accessing easy readers in both the non fiction and fiction categories. From there,
students can log on, and choose a book they are interested in. For those students who
are able to spell simple words, they can even perform a search to find books that they
might enjoy--such as Batman. Students are able to listen and follow along with the
story, as the text is highlighted as it is being read. Then, a reading comprehension quiz
is given to assess whether students understand the story. From the teacher account,
the educator is able to see whether the student did indeed listen to the book all the way
through, as opposed to simply clicking through each page, and whether they were able
Apps such as MyOn are particularly important for students living in low
socioeconomic areas, with a lack of literacy tools at home. Many parents do not have
the resources to purchase books for their young students, and when they purchase
these books, they do not model to their children how to use them appropriately,
resulting in torn and ruined books. Instead, many parents purchase a tablet or device
for themselves, or for all children to share. On this, students can access MyOn and
approximately $500. While school systems are not readily handing out iPads, the
website Donors Choose is an excellent source for students to obtain these. This
website allows any teacher to sign up for free, and to create classroom projects--field
trips, guest readers, new technology, furniture, and supplies--that others can donate to.
The teacher submits a write up about why his or her students need the items, how it will
benefit student learning, and what kind of socio-economic area the school is in. One
the project is submitted, it stays on the site for 4 months. Many companies such as
Google and Apple choose to flash fund many projects at once, and many famous
people do the same (Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates to name a few).
DonorsChoose. I used these in both math and language arts instruction, but for the
purpose of this research, I will discuss the policies and procedures I used to support
learning with the iPad during the language arts portion of the school day. Literacy
centers are a time when my students are focusing on various phonemic and reading
skills independently. My students are broken into three groups--above, below, and on
grade level--and these groups are based upon their scores on county wide reading
assessments. There are three rotations, which each are twenty minutes long, and
during these rotations students will work on an assignment independently at their seats,
meet with me in a small group setting, and finally transition to a center. The focus of the
small group is reading and comprehending early reading texts, sight word sentences, or
When students transition to their center, one of the centers is the iPad station.
Each student will visit the iPad approximately twice a week, where they will put on
headphones and have the choice of which of the reading activities or games they
choose to learn with that day. At this point in the school year, students should know all
letters and sounds, about twenty five sight words, and should be able to read CVC
(consonant vowel consonant) words with all five short vowels. For students who are still
struggling with letters and sounds and sight words, they are able to choose from a
variety of activities on the iPad that help them to refine these skills. For students who
are on grade level, they will practice dragging letter tiles to write a CVC word that
matches a picture, or review sight words using virtual flashcards. Students who are
above grade level might work on first grade sight words, long vowel words, or more
choose activities pertaining to the current subject area, students must use the iPad at
the iPad station, and independently. My students know that if they are unable to follow
the rules of the iPad, they must forfeit their iPad time for the day. However, students
are always engaged and excited to use the iPads, so this is rarely a problem.
Summary
From the time iPads were first introduced until now, there has been a vast
amount of research done on how to use these devices in the primary classroom. The
research has proven that iPads do indeed boost students reading comprehension,
knowledge of sight words, and phonemic awareness when compared to students not
using the device. iPads are relatively simple to manage in the classroom, when specific
rules and regulations are put into place, and teachers can obtain iPads through funding
Alant, L., Engan, B., Otnes, H., Sandvik, M., & Schwebs, T. (2003).
Interaction with the front and through the screen. Smskoleleven heading toward digital
literacy . ITU report no. 18 , 2003. Research and Competence Network for IT in
Education, University of Oslo. Oslo: Unipub
Beven, E. (2011). How can iPads be used effectively as an instructional tool to improve
literacy skills, specifically sight word vocabulary, in kindergarten? Retrieved from
https://ed.psu.edu/pds/teacher-inquiry/2012/Bevan-%20Inquiry%205-21-12.pdf
Chiong, C., & Shuler, C. (2010). Learning: Is there an app for that? Investigations of
young childrens usage and learning with mobile devices and apps. The Joan Ganz
Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Retrieved from
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/read/files/cooney_learning_apps.pdf
Ray, K. (2015, May). Integrating iPads in the Kindergarten Classroom: How Does
Technology Engage Students in Learning? Retrieved April 11, 2016, from
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsgpirw/35/