Materials
Description of Materials
· Application (app) is a software program used on tablet technology. The applications used for this investigation were categorized and included as follows: ABC a Go-GO, Phonics Genius, Little Matchups ABC Alphabet, ABC Magic Phonics, ABC ALphabeth Phonics, Alphabet Learn, Abby Monkey Letter Quiz Adventure, LetterQuiz, abcWOW!, Little Writer for Kids, Silly Sentences 2, Rhyming Bee, Sentence Reading Magic, Silly Sentences, Doodle Buddy, and Cimo Spelling (see Appendix G).
· Headphones were used to minimize sound and distractions for the twenty-one iPads with noisy applications all being used simultaneously in a small classroom.
· iPad is “a very popular tablet computer from Apple, introduced in April 2010. The iPad has a similar interface to the iPod touch and iPhone, but its 9.7” screen enables it to replace a laptop for many purposes. Designed for Web browsing, e-book reading, and entertainment, the flash-based storage holds up to 64GB of apps and data. (PCMAG.COM Encyclopedia, 2013).
· SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard that was used to model and demonstrate the appropriate use of applications to practice specific skill objectives.
· Application (app) is a software program used on tablet technology. The applications used for this investigation were categorized and included as follows: ABC a Go-GO, Phonics Genius, Little Matchups ABC Alphabet, ABC Magic Phonics, ABC ALphabeth Phonics, Alphabet Learn, Abby Monkey Letter Quiz Adventure, LetterQuiz, abcWOW!, Little Writer for Kids, Silly Sentences 2, Rhyming Bee, Sentence Reading Magic, Silly Sentences, Doodle Buddy, and Cimo Spelling (see Appendix G).
· Headphones were used to minimize sound and distractions for the twenty-one iPads with noisy applications all being used simultaneously in a small classroom.
· iPad is “a very popular tablet computer from Apple, introduced in April 2010. The iPad has a similar interface to the iPod touch and iPhone, but its 9.7” screen enables it to replace a laptop for many purposes. Designed for Web browsing, e-book reading, and entertainment, the flash-based storage holds up to 64GB of apps and data. (PCMAG.COM Encyclopedia, 2013).
· SMART Board is an interactive whiteboard that was used to model and demonstrate the appropriate use of applications to practice specific skill objectives.
Other Resources
Families completed a researcher-made technology survey to report their child’s experience with computer and tablet technologies (see Appendix E). This information was used to monitor students who may have demonstrated the need for additional instructional support to use the iPad.
While seven students were engaged in using iPads to practice reading subskills in a teacher-led station, the other students in the class participated in more traditional, multi-sensory, center-based activities to practice basic reading subskills. All students used multi-sensory learning activities at independent levels to exercise already introduced reading subskills such as letter matching, beginning sound activities, phonemic awareness activities, alphabetical order, phonics activities, high-frequency word activities, etc. Materials such as letter tiles, letter stamps, pictures, puzzles, matching games, books on tape, magazines, Lakeshore Learning center activities, craft activities, dry erase boards, Handwriting without Tears materials, SMART Board games, computer games, and worksheets were utilized as multi-sensory instructional tools.
While seven students were engaged in using iPads to practice reading subskills in a teacher-led station, the other students in the class participated in more traditional, multi-sensory, center-based activities to practice basic reading subskills. All students used multi-sensory learning activities at independent levels to exercise already introduced reading subskills such as letter matching, beginning sound activities, phonemic awareness activities, alphabetical order, phonics activities, high-frequency word activities, etc. Materials such as letter tiles, letter stamps, pictures, puzzles, matching games, books on tape, magazines, Lakeshore Learning center activities, craft activities, dry erase boards, Handwriting without Tears materials, SMART Board games, computer games, and worksheets were utilized as multi-sensory instructional tools.