Using iPads to increase literacy rates (a reflection of my research paper)

First, as I reflect back on the research I did for my paper on how to use the iPad to teach the English language to students who are learning it in school, there are three things that I now reflect on more than any other knowledge that I gained at that time. The first is the novel uses for teaching English using the factory-installed apps on the iPad as well as the apps available for purchase or free download through the Apple App Store. The second was the year-long use of the iPad at Euclid High School in Ohio to affect the achievement rates of sophomore students on the Ohio Graduation Test and the Measures of Academic Progress test. The third is the little research that currently exists about the benefits of using the iPad tablet to teach the English language.

     Next, in terms of what I learned about using the apps, both for download from the App Store and installed by Apple in their factories, for teaching English, I was astonished by how they could all be integrated for use in English lessons. As a former teacher of English to ELL students, I had never analyzed the benefits of the built-in camera for taking video, the built-in microphone for recording audio, or the photo library with its catalog of photos as a useful way to teach English. For example, I realize now that the built-in microphone can be used by non-native speakers to record their own speech, and then they can listen to a playback of it, to check for progress in their fluency, intonation, and pronunciation. In addition, I had never considered the benefits of using the Facetime application, the Skype application, or other applications that use the video camera to help the students communicate in English.

   Then, in terms of how the iPad was used to change the achievement rate in literacy on the Ohio Graduation Test and the Measures of Academic Progress test for sophomore students attending Euclid High School in Ohio, I was astounded by how high the scores were for students that used an iPad tablet before taking these important tests, especially at a school where traditional literacy had been undervalued and multiple literacy approaches ignored. Ultimately, the iPad gave these students the maximum advantage over students that didn't use the iPad by equipping them with the 'tools' needed to pass these tests. These 'tools' were the vocabulary-intensive apps WordFlick and Words with Friends, the apps Puppet Pals and ToonTastic that focused on visual literature, the apps Storyrobe and Strip Design that focused on story retelling, and the apps Keynote and Pages that focused on authoring content. Additionally, I believe that using the iPad to write journal articles instead of a paper-based journal is a great way to take in to account the wishes of the students, and the teacher, to use better technology in the classroom.

     Finally, I was surprised to discover a lack of articles currently available on a majority of online databases about research on using the iPad tablet in the classroom to teach English. As the most important personal technological device currently being sold in shops and markets, and Apple Stores throughout the world, I had expected that there would be more articles available on the iPad as a visible and viable tool for teaching English literacy that's crucial. Yet, even while little research has been done, educators do realize that there is an advantage in using the iPad to teach literacy to students, so I do expect the number of journal articles to grow exponentially over the next three to five years.

The experience of writing this paper has shown a truth to me about why the iPad handheld tablet can and will improve one, two, or all of the four areas of literacy students struggle with (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) because it has the resourceful app students need to carry out meaningful change that is required for them to succeed.

My response to the video "Fat City: How Difficult Can This Be" for our Technology in Education class

After viewing the program on YouTube for our class meeting tonight, many of the issues covered by Richard D. Lavoie that learning disabled children deal with in public school classroom are of interest to me but, there was one thing that stood out for me the most and that was processing. The inability of learning disabled children to establish a process for language that occurs as quickly for them as it does for non-learning disabled students. Even if a class is moving at a normal rate a learning disabled child has twice the processing rate, focusing first on the question and then, second, on the answer. In a typical classroom, these LD children, after giving an answer, either are made fun of by other students because their answer is wrong, or, they are chastised by the teacher for giving a wrong answer, and sent out of the classroom. Next, the processing deficit that they deal with on a daily basis, when they focus on images and other material that is around the teacher, rather than on what the teacher is saying, negatively affects their ability to correctly process and monitor information given by the teacher. Six years ago while I was working as a substitute teacher within the State of Florida I was given the opportunity to observe a child who dealt with a processing learning disability, a child who I believe still suffers with this issue. Removed from his normal classroom and placed into a classroom for children with special needs, when I taught him he would focus more on the color of my tie or the color of my hair rather than on what assignment I was trying to teach him. His inability to monitor the new knowledge that could be processed prevented him from moving forward with his regular fourth grade class and placed him at a disadvantage. In a situation like this I believe I should have known more about learning disabilities, and how children process knowledge, yet, at the time I did not possess enough knowledge about how to help children with learning disabilities. Having the knowledge that I have obtained now, I believe, provides me with a better foundation on which to work in classroom with learning disabled students.

When using technology for the student who is a visual learner...

When using technology for the student who is a visual learner, I must take into account the following: their ability to see all of the colors present on the screen; their ability to see the words written on the screen (the font size must be large enough); the organization of the material on a movie or television screen; their seat placement in the classroom; the use of notes,diagrams, maps, graphs, charts, and pictures on PowerPoint lessons; the use of key words in a visual lesson; a reliance on visually appealing materials in all classroom lessons. All of these must be taken in to account before a visual learner is able to begin learning the material presented on a PowerPoint lesson, because their ability to learn will quickly fall apart a minute or two after the lesson has begun, causing them to feel frustrated and restless about their inability to recall what they are learning. It is important that the teacher pay attention to the "photographic memory" of these students, especially if this photographic memory is exceptional, because doing so will gain the trust of the student and prevent their self-confidence from sinking low.

WebQuests

I have used WebQuests before with success and frustration before while I was teaching English in South Korea. Based on my own experience, the WebQuests that were the most successful with my students focused on a single topic, such as the Amazon rainforest or comboys of the American Wild West, while those that have caused me the most frustration have either math or science integrated into them or have them as the main focus. The WebQuests mentioned above had been particularly successful for me with young Korean students because most of them maintained an interest in working on projects that were focused on people and places found outside of South Korea. This was because most of these students had no previous experience traveling outside of South Korea and wanted to learn about foreign history and foreign people, rather than learn about South Korea in a WebQuest The most frustrating thing for me was using only short WebQuests that spanned a day or two of work instead of four or five days, because the students would often seek more knowledge about the topic being learned and I would be forced to provide extra work, which would often be created on my own time. Under these circumstances, I often had little time available to create supplementary material for the other subjects I taught. In conclusion, while I will use WebQuests in the future I intend to use those WebQuests that last for four or five days instead of one or two days.