Effects of using IPads or Tablets on Children’s Reading Comprehension

Mesmer, E.M., & Mesmer, H.A.E. (2008). Response to intervention (RTI): What teachers of reading need to know. Reading Teacher, 62(4), 280-290.

Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information which is essential in being a productive member of society. If and when a student missed an opportunity to learn the skills necessary for reading, it’s has a profound impact on their lives. As educators we realize that teaching all children to read requires that every child receive excellent reading instruction. We are also aware that children, who are struggling with reading must receive

Helping Children with Learning Disabilities Understand What They Read is an article by Regina G. Richards. Her article discusses the basic strategies and techniques that can be used for students with learning disabilities. The article states, a key component of comprehension is that the student must be actively

The Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) program compared to the Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) program proves to be a more effective reading experience for students. The DEAR program provides exploration and a better understanding of what students are reading, which is more than the SSR experience where they are just sitting and reading silently. Teachers are able to incorporate structured time to work with each student periodically to assess their progress and plan corresponding instructional goals. More importantly, students are given the time to read books that are of interest to them, discuss with the teacher what they have read, and obtain the support they need for further reading explorations and considerations (Gardner, 2016).

Research indicates that among students, poor readers evolve into poor thinkers, devoid of strategies to structure the writing assignments that contribute to academic success (Alfassi, 2004, p.1), and teachers who fail to model effective literacy strategies to their students, simply compound the problem. For educators attempting to meet the diverse range of learning needs, the ever increasing number of students with learning difficulties is overwhelming. The decisions regarding the types of interventions and the limited research on numerous strategies currently available are both misleading and confusing. However Walker, (2004) warn that reliance on untested methods and dependence on strategies that have limited evidence have resulted in unrealistic and unreasonable expectations for students. Significantly whilst there has been an exponential increase in research evidence collected around many popular interventions, there is very little

"Assisted Reading with Digital Audiobooks for Students with Reading Disabilities." N.p., 2011. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.” The authors main claim in this article was to test out the efficacy of assisted reading with digital audiobooks with the traditional practice of sustained silent reading in terms of reading fluency and reading attitude with elementary students with reading disabilities. The author claimed that, “kids with reading disabilities that assisted reading with digital audiobooks had a greater increase in reading fluency compared to the kids that participated in the sustained silent reading.” The second source that I used was, Esteves, Kelli J. "Audiobooks for Struggling Readers: Using Audio-Assisted Reading in a Balanced Literacy Program." (2009). The authors claim that audio assisted reading with audiobooks are of good help and self- confidence to kids with reading disabilities. The author claims that “audiobooks and struggling readers also present findings from a study on the effects of audio-assisted reading with digital audiobooks for students with reading disabilities” in the

This article described reading difficulties aligned to the Simple View of Reading (as cited in Gough & Tunmer, 1986). They went into depth about three types of poor readers: (a) dyslexia- those with poor decoding, (b) language comprehension- poor reading comprehension, and (c) listening comprehension- impairments in both decoding and language comprehension. Further, they broke down how each reading difficulty is believed to manifest, is measured, and what it specifically affects.

This article was found in the University of North Florida online library through the journal databases. The search terms used were iPad, disabilities, education, and classroom. I chose this article because it has literature review of previous studies, but most importantly it includes information and research on how to integrate the use of iPads and other similar devices in the special education classroom. This is unique to the other articles I have reviewed and offers suggestions and resources.

Most poor readers look at the first syllable or two of a word and start sounding it out. However, for some reason, this is as far as they can get, and from there they start guessing. For instance, the word dignity may be read as digital by the student. This is not an accurate method to read and causes a lot of problems, especially with comprehension. I find a lot of people are seeking help with reading comprehension problems. These problems are caused because the student is working so hard to decode that comprehension is simply out of the question. Fix the fundamental problems and reading comprehension will come.

Summary: This chapter explains how to help a student who is struggling to read. The book defines what a struggling reader is by saying “the student may have difficulty with oral language, phonological/phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, motivation, or some other factor that prevent adequate yearly progress.” The author explains what used to be used to help struggling reader was remediation. Remediation was the process of correcting certain problems. The teacher would have to wait until the student showed signs of a problem and then would have to figure out how to correct it from there.

There has been a significant loss in motivation to reading, especially seen in young people and children. The intervention program that is being explored is the “Joy of Reading” intervention and was implemented in twelve second grade special education classes for students who had learning disabilities. There were 108 students in total, between the ages of 7 and 8. The control group, or the group that did not receive the intervention program, consisted of 108 students. The classes were randomly assigned to the experimental or control groups, as the reading ability for all participants was below their age level. A language independent test called RAVEN was administered to the students in order to note the students’ cognitive abilities. The test measure general intelligence and is the most common and popular test administered to people ranging from five years old to the elderly. The Joy of Reading intervention program was implemented five days a week for 45 minutes per day throughout the course of a school year. The program consisted of fixed parts, such as daily reading with writing about the reading, and variable parts, meaning storytelling and retelling the story and functional reading. The program is assessed in three parts: book preference, meaning that children will choose to read a book for fun as opposed to an electronic device; quantity of reading, meaning someone who

Taylor Gensler, Robert Morris University Early Childhood and Special Education Major, relates in her presentation on the “Comprehension Deficit” (2015): “Currently in the U.S. two-thirds of students are unable to read on grade level at the end of fourth grade… 10% of school age children suffer from a comprehension deficit.” Comprehension stands beyond the ability to read a symbol or number, but involves the minds ability to interpret meaning and inference from the data presented, while simultaneously connecting to one’s own knowledge and experiences and applying corrective strategies (i.e. re-reading) when necessary. As the recognition and diagnosis of attention-deficit disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism becomes

This paper is a policy brief to be given to teachers and the school board. It examines two ethical concerns regarding the use of iPads within the classroom. The first concern discussed is the psychological and behavioral problems that can arise from unmonitored time on the device. The second, is the possible hampering of children’s understanding of causal relationships and the self through substituting lived experiences. From there, the paper continues to consider the good that can come of incorporating iPads in to the classroom through an examination of studies of the effects of the device on the ability to engage students and increase learning; and also, the benefits of iPads in helping special needs children to communicate. With the ethical concerns and the benefits in mind, three recommendations for use are provided to help the teachers and school board to safely and ethically incorporate iPads into the classroom to provide teachers with the apparatuses needed to support educational aims.

Many students around the United States have reading difficulties, which can be due to a variety of reason such as: low socioeconomic status, family history of learning disabilities, a neurological disorder, limited exposure, etc. Reading difficulties can lead to further problems with education and learning, therefore the struggles should be addressed and intervention techniques should be implemented promptly. The interventions need to be individualized for the student based on their needs in order to improve the student’s reading to the best of their abilities.

Learning to read is one of the most foundational skills needed for educational success. As children learn to read they develop the ability to decode, interpret, and store information from what they are reading. Reading comprehension allows a child to gain meaning from text and decoding allows a child to process sounds into words. Reading is vital to educational success because it allows a student to learn new information and build upon their prior knowledge. Students who attain reading skills are more likely to achieve academic success while students who have reading difficulties are likely to struggle academically and fall behind their peers. Reading difficulties have been prominent within the US for years. For example, the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress statistics shows that only about 33% of fourth graders are at or above proficient at reading (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2011). Studies show that the cause of reading difficulties is based primarily on genes, environment, and instructional experience (Vellutino, Fletcher, Snowling, Scanlon, 2004). Students with a language learning disorder have difficulty comprehending spoken and written language thus making it difficult to learn new information. Children with reading disabilities are more likely to struggle during elementary school years as students are asked to think about what they read more critically. Speech language pathologists and teachers can help