Blog Post #5: Using iPads to Help Support Literacy in Kindergarten

This week I narrowed down my inquiry question to: How can iPads be used to support literacy in kindergarten?

In their research, Ya-Huei Lu et al. (2017) discussed how four experienced iPad-using early childhood teachers integrated one-to-one iPads in their literacy instruction. It was discovered that the four teachers used the iPads for both teacher-directed practices (TDP) and developmentally appropriate practices, also known as child-center methods (DAP). TDP focused on using the iPads to practice basic literacy skills in learning stations (for example: drill and practice apps for sight words) while the DAP engaged students in digital productions (for example, creating interactive stories). As cited by Ya-Huei Lu et al. (2017), the findings in their study aligned with Wien (1995) who found that the two approaches are often intertwined in early childhood teachers’ daily instruction.

According to the teachers in the study, TDP with iPads were useful in literacy stations to help keep young students on task, allowed for teachers to differentiate instruction and assess their students (Ya-Huei Lu et al. 2017) while also allowing for small-group instruction (Bates, 2014). The study also found that through DAP with iPads, teachers could incorporate interdisciplinary projects across subject areas. Teachers also invited Big Buddies (grade 5 students) to help their K students with the projects. Ya-Huei Lu et al. (2017) connected the benefits of buddies to previous studies that have found that when older students and younger students work together on literacy tasks, such as reading and writing activities, both groups improve their comprehension process, academic achievement, and attitudes toward school (Lowery et al., 2008).

I enjoyed reading this article because it gave me a glimpse into how kindergarten teachers (in the States) are using iPads to help enhance literacy in their classrooms. It also mentioned some apps that I want to explore: puppet pals, story wheel and balloon sticks. I also liked how the authors connected to how the teachers were using pads to past research on teaching practices and also to the idea that technology can help enhance student learning overall. As I progress in this course, my interest in incorporating technology into my practice has grown significantly!

I want to finish this blog post with an interesting quote I found in the conclusion of the article that gave me a glimpse into ECE settings in the United States:

“Early childhood teachers are expected to spend more time on academic instruction and less time on student-selected activities (Bassok et al., 2016). Using tablet technology and a variety of educational apps within different learning stations or digital production projects allows teachers to balance academic instruction time to meet local or state standards and child-centered activities to support children’s development”.   (Ya-Huei Lu et al. 2017, p.20)

As a teacher in BC, Canada, I feel very lucky that our curriculum has been redesigned to focus less on TDP and more on DAP. I think that there needs to be both however, through reading this article I realized how much the iPad is being used for drill and practice skills in the US as teachers face the demands of standardized testing each year. Perhaps, this is reason to why we find so many drilling types of apps out there?

Practice-oriented connection: Puppet Pals App (mentioned in the article as an app that the teachers used for DAP).

Here is a YouTube video that shows how to use Puppet Pals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPYbgquL6wk

Here is more information on Puppet Pals, as well as, reviews by teachers:

https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/puppet-pals-hd/teacher-reviews

References

Ya-Huei Lu, Anne T. Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Ai-Chu Ding & Krista Glazewski (2017) Experienced iPad-Using Early Childhood Teachers: Practices in the One-to-One iPad Classroom, Computers in the Schools, 34:1-2, 9-23, DOI: 10.1080/07380569.2017.1287543