In the E-book chapter, The effects of interactive multimedia iPad E-books on preschoolersâ literacy, Strasser & Estevez-Menendezâs study (2015) demonstrates how the use of iPad e-books positively effect students story comprehension, engagement and understanding of vocabulary. Their study examined 2 preschool groups over a 6-week period, one using iPads and one completing the same tasks with paper-based books. Twice a week, students in the control group listened to their teacher read out loud the print book while the iPad group was introduced to corresponding multimedia versions of the book through the iPad. The story was narrated by the app instead of by the teacher. The teacher also demonstrated how app features worked, for example, how touching an object produced the written and spoken name of the object. For data collection and analysis, three types of instruments were designed and the following data were collected: 1) weekly vocabulary assessment tool, 2) weekly story comprehension assessment tools, 3) check list to assess the frequency of observations as well as further, unstructured observations were made throughout the study (Strasser & Estevez-Menendezâs, 2015).
Figure 1. Weekly mean scores of vocabulary assessments by group
 Figure 2. Weekly mean scores for the story comprehension assessments by group
Figure 5. Weekly mean scores of frequency of engagement by group
Through the data it is clear to see that studentsâ vocabulary, comprehension and engagement was higher in the iPad group when compared to the control group (paper based books). However, I believe that most teachers (myself included) would never just do a âdry read throughâ of a book and then asses childrenâs understandings of it. I would provide various activities to help reinforce the concept of the book including using manipulatives, for example, using story workshop for students to practice/play with new vocabulary and their retelling of the story. I think that this may be a limitation of the study because I donât think it is very realistic to expect students to have a high understanding of a story after 1 read through. I wonder if there were discussions in the control book group and/or if they did any other activities before the assessments. It is clear that the iPad group got to interact with the story more and play with the different features to help them understand the story better.
Strasser & Estevez-Menendez, (2015) also cited research that outlines the potential limitations of touch screen technology:
âMoody and McKenna (2009) asserted that the enhanced interactivity and âedutainmentâ features provided by e-books became a distraction for young learners in their study, which actually hindered the learning process. In Shamir, Korat and Fellahâs study (2010), the researchers deter- mined that exposure to e-books was beneficial for studentsâ improvement in vocabulary acquisition and phonological awareness, but only for at risk children with learning disabilities. Moody (2010) also concluded that the use of e-books for sup- porting young children was beneficial, but that the quality of e-books determined this effect. In other words, the use of high quality interactive e- books may support emergent literacy development through scaffolding, while lower quality e-books may be more likely to include distracting anima- tions and sounds unrelated to the storyâ
Strasser & Estevez-Menendez (2015) consider some of this in their discussion recommendations as they outline the importance of selecting high quality e-books as well as a recommendation for educators to become familiar with the capabilities of the iPad and utilize the Guided Access controls. This allows students to remain focused without accidentally entering other areas of the app intended for adults. In connection to my practice-oriented post this week, here is some more information on Guided Access:
In conclusion it was interesting to read more information about how iPads can help support literacy in the classroom, as I will be receiving 4 iPads in the near future to be utilized in the afternoons. I will now finish this post with a final quote from the article that resonates with me:
As cited by Strasser & Estevez-Menendez (2015, p. 140) âAlthough most early childhood experts acknowledge that nothing can replace hands-on activities embedded in real experiences, the use of these devices is offering young children âvaluable, authentic learning experiences that supplement traditional developmentally appropriate practice (Geist, 2014, p. 59)â.
References
An, H., Strasser, J., & Estevez-Menendez, M. (2015). The effects of interactive multimedia iPad E-books on preschoolersâ literacy
Hi Laucoo,
I think this would have been an interesting study. From your review, it seemed to me that the iPad had many unfair “advantages”. Typically read alouds are during whole class instruction time, verses individual one-on-one time with an iPad. If I had the opportunity to sit down and read with students individually and complete activities with them, I believe you would see an increase in. comprehension and vocabulary. I do like the idea of children being able to interact with a story. Perhaps this would be a good tool to use after a whole class reading of the book, then go to literacy centres, and one of the literacy centres could be interacting with the book on an iPad. Even better if you had a felt story or figures for retelling as a literacy centre too. But even thinking about how much work that would be, makes me very overwhelmed!!
Hi laucoo,
Thanks for sharing your post this week! I also like that quote you shared at the end of your post – I agree with the notion that using iPads for literacy development can work to supplement traditional developmentally appropriate practice/literacy instruction. As I was reading your post, I wondered about how phonological awareness development was supported through the use of e-books (I noted that one of the studies you cited indicated that e-books did support phonological awareness development, I’m curious to find out more about how!). I also thought about the importance of using traditional practices to support emergent readers with concepts of print that strongly benefit from the tactile learning that comes from experiences with books in early childhood. I can see the benefits to both e-books and traditional books, and I think a blend/supplemental experience with e-books could engaging for students.
Great post, Laucoo! I found it to be super useful even as a French Immersion teacher. From what I gathered, the iPads really benefited for those students at risk or with learning disabilities, improving their vocabulary acquisition and phonological awareness (I would also like to know more about this!?). I would say that these apps of story telling are a great way to differentiate story telling for those requiring further assistance. I would use digital story telling in my literacy centers but never as an replacement of traditional books.
Thanks for sharing!