I read the research article Reading with iPads – the difference makes a difference by Dale Sheppard. This article looked at the amount of comprehension skills in young students after reading certain material. The students task was to read, and then be tested by a post-test comprehension exam. The exam let the researchers know the difference in the amount of comprehension between students who read material on iPads to students who read material the traditional way. Sheppard stated in this article that reading with technology usually results in better comprehension. I was supposed at this statement, because I sometimes find it easier to print out material so I can highlight and add my own notes. After reading this article, I found on that on an iPad students can add annotations while reading. This is a great feature to the iPad reading application.
In this research, forty three 6 year old students were tested. Half of the students read a book the traditional way, and half read the book on the iPad. The results found no significant difference in comprehension between both sets of students. This information was accumulated based on a 15 question post-test after reading the material. In the research article, Sheppard talks about how the level of engagement with the students that were reading on iPads was very high. I can see how this engagement would be high because whenever I work with students with technology they are immediately engaged.
There were a few things that may have affected the results of this study. This was one of the teachers first time using the iPad with instruction, so she may not have known all of the information to tell students about the iPad. Also, only a few of the students using the iPad had previously or currently owned an iPad, so they were familiar with the technology. Also, Sheppard noted that sometimes during instruction the iPad was a distraction to the learning and teaching process.
I really enjoyed reading this article and I found that a lot of different things can affect the results of a study like this. What I did like from this study was when Sheppard talked about how much the students were engaged in the iPad and some of the features the iPad has. The author also talked about the difficulty in finding appropriate reading material for the students. I would like to learn more about what types of reading material are out there that is educational on the iPad.
Sheppard, D. (2011). Reading with ipads – the difference. Minnis Journals, 12-15. Retrieved from http://www.minnisjournals.com.au/articles/ipads et t3 11.pdf
Melanie,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very interesting article! I would have thought the students would comprehend more when reading text from a book too! Just like you, I often feel I can read and understand text better when I print it out and am able to highlight it.
I wonder if the students had reversed roles after the initial testing, using different books, if they would have still scored higher after using the iPad.
I know as a first year teacher I will be spending a lot of money furnishing my classroom library. This article also makes me wonder if the cost to buy digital copies of books would be more affordable and if the quantity available is growing.
Thanks for sharing this article!
I agree with you. I would much rather print off what I'm reading rather than reading it on a screen so I would have thought it would be the other way around, that comprehension would be higher for students when reading the traditional way.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see the results from a newer study that was given to a class of students that were properly instructed on the iPads. I can see how if the students were new to the iPads they might be just more of a distraction than anything else.
Really interesting article! Thanks for finding it.=)
Excellent choice for your article. You did exactly what I wanted you to - summarized it nicely and discussed the results. Nice job! Results are not surprising to me as you stated there were several limitations that probably impacted what the students did. But, it is still important to begin these types of studies to understand how and why we should use these types of tools.
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