Using iPod Touches for Reading Comprehension

1. Using iPod Touches for Reading Comprehension CEC conference April 24, 2010

2. Personal Background • Special Education teacher • Reading Specialist • Middle School Language Arts

3. 2 Problems • Never finished a story • Asked, “What was the story about? Answer, “I don’t know.”

4. Elementary iPod Project • Elementary school • Shuffles • Record the week of stories, activities, songs, etc. • Students took home the materials and listened to them • Results – increased DIBELs scores

5. Middle School • Not doing beginning reading • Needed a way to help students learn strategies • By middle school – learned comprehension strategies or they haven’t

6. Background – pilot project • Pilot project • 3 teachers • 7 iPods each • Reading comprehension strategy • Results • Increased completion • Increased participation

7. Reasons • Achievement levels • Need for reading comprehension skills • National Reading Panel • Reading Next report

8. Summarization Strategy • Had to be simple • Had to be ‘memorable’ • Easily learned • Transferable across subject areas • 1-2 Summarization Strategy • Write down 1 idea about what you just read • Write down 2 details about what happened

9. Supported Text • Background – research base • 11 types • This study incorporated: • Notational • Instructional • Translational

10. iPod Touch • Socially acceptable • Mobile • Personal • Individualized

11. Design • 155 students • 5 sections • AM sections randomly assigned to treatment • PM sections – intact comparison group

12. Sample • 155 6th graders • 6-8 grade middle school

13. Method • Instructional and practice phases • All students receive instruction via iPod Touch • Practice phase has 3 levels of support • Notational Only • Notational + Instructional • Notational + Instructional + Translational • 3 weeks of intervention – 15 sessions • Pearson Literature text – 6th grade

14. Results – standardized assessment • 2 standardized assessments • easyCBM • Benchmarking • No increase in scores • Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) • Slight increase in scores

15. Results – probe measures • Researcher developed multiple-choice probe measures • Based on the stories • 10 multiple-choice questions per story • Students in treatment groups scored better on multiple-choice measures over the comparison group • Students in NIT completed more stories than other groups

16. Results – student survey • How easy was it to learn the summarization strategy?

17. Student Survey Results • How much did the summarization strategy help you remember the story?

18. Student Survey Results • How much did the note-taking sheet help you remember the story?

19. Student Survey Results • How often did you use the note-taking sheet?

20. Student Survey Results • How much did you like reading stories on an iPod Touch?

21. Student Ideas to use iPod Touches • Math • Research • Reading • Accessibility • Writing • Educational Games • Organization • Note taking • Share information • Textbook • Watch video • Science • Music

22. Process • Upload audio CD of the story to iTunes • Import from iTunes to Garage Band • Split track and insert audio prompts • Copy text to Lyrics • Sync ‘song’ to iPods

23. Split Tracks in GarageBand

24. Export to iTunes

25. Add lyrics

26. Add lyrics

27. Adding Lyrics in iTunes

31. Recommendations • Targeted instruction • Specific students with specific needs • Below • At level • Exceeding • Extended learning • Create library of interventions

32. Benefits • Portable • Mobile • Anytime – anywhere • Student controlled • Differentiated instruction

33. Future Research • Secondary RtI • Tier II and III • Potential for differentiation in general education classes • Extended learning and practice