integrating the ipad into language arts instruction for ... · of ipad tablets into the language...

Journal of Special Education Technology

JSET 2013 Volume 28, Number 4 43

Integrating the iPad into Language Arts Instruction for Students with Disabilities: Engagement and Perspectives

Therese M. CummingUniversity of New South Wales

Cathi Draper RodriguezCalifornia State University–Monterey Bay

This preliminary mixed method single subject and qualitative interview study explored the incorporation of iPad tablets into the language arts lessons of four elementary school students with language-based dis-abilities. Using the iPad increased the student’s academic engagement, which was measured by monitoring the number of prompts required to keep the students on task. Teacher and student interviews revealed high levels of satisfaction with using the iPad for language arts instruction. These findings confirmed findings from earlier studies that focused on mobile technology and communication. Limitations of the study and future research suggestions are discussed.

T he inception of mobile technologies—most notably the iPod touch, the iPad, and other tablet comput-ers—has rendered educational computing more

portable and accessible. Education, which historically has been slow to adopt new technologies, has integrated mobile technology—iPads in particular—at a breakneck speed. Nowhere has this been truer than in special education. Indeed, because of the inexpensive applications that can be downloaded to and used on the devices, the iPod touch and iPad appear to have unlimited potential for individual-izing teaching, learning, and communication. Rothschild (2011) proposes that through the use of applications, the iPad is somewhat of a “digital education prescription pad,” and the ability to customize a popular device to suit the needs of each individual student is motivating. The iPad gives students with special needs something mainstream that is still engaging and interactive for them.

The need to understand the impact of educational tech-nology on the learning and outcomes of students with disabilities has never been more intense; students, parents/caregivers, teachers, staff and school community face exciting and challenging opportunities. This study was

designed to examine the academic engagement of students with disabilities. Additionally, the perceptions of students and teachers about using iPad technology during reading groups in order to explore how technologies will shape learning of students with language-based disabilities was explored. The study provided opportunities for teachers and students to share their perspectives and to create an evidence base for the use of tablet technologies to assist students with disabilities to better access the curriculum. Through understanding the use of assistive technology in the classroom and other learning environments, children can extend their language skills to improve their learning in inclusive settings. The iPad has the potential to be this assistive technology.

IntroductionTeachers and parents of students with special needs are increasingly promoting the strength of the iPad as an assistive technology device, citing the availability of a wide variety of applications that have the potential to support students with disabilities in the areas of language

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44 JSET 2013 Volume 28, Number 4

acquisition, communication, fine motor skills, education, and behavior. Schools are adopting this technology and reporting great success with its use. Several schools have reported success using iPads with students who are learning English (Demski, 2011). English language learners (ELLs) have used using the iPad as a portable dictionary, which makes it easier for them to communicate everywhere. The electronic format allows them to locate words more quickly and to hear the words pronounced correctly. Other iPad functions that ELL students have found useful are voice memo applications (apps) that they can use to record themselves reading out loud in English. Teachers then are able to download and listen to the recordings as time allows. The greatest advantage has been that students who previously were shy and refused to speak English in class began making these recordings at home and practicing the new language that they were trying to learn. This technol-ogy allowed teachers to monitor student English fluency without forcing students to speak in class (Demski). Other uses of iPod touch and iPad devices for ELL students that have been found effective are audio textbooks and access to English language songs, movies, videos, and Internet at school and off campus at WiFi hotspots.

Reports of the successful integration of mobile technology such as the one described above are plentiful in the popular press, but little support exists in the professional research literature for the use of the iPad to support students with disabilities. This can be attributed to the novelty of the technology. Research on the use of mobile technology in the classroom and with students with disabilities is in its infancy. Studies on other mobile educational technology (e.g., PalmPilots, video modeling) can be used to find the beginnings of an evidence base supporting the use of iPads as an educational tool for students with disabilities. Most of the studies in this area have been conducted in the areas of video modeling and communication with students with autism and intellectual disabilities (Chiak, Fahrenkrog, Ayres, & Smith, 2010; Flores et al., 2012; Hammond, Whatley, Ayres, & Gast, 2010).

The term mobile technology indicates one of the benefits of the devices, particularly when it comes to video modeling, which is a widely used evidence-based practice to teach students with autism and developmental disabilities. Early research studies have indicated that the iPod touch and the iPad can be used in place of a television or computer, making it easier for students to receive this intervention in all settings. Chiak et al. (2010) found that the iPod was

an effective tool to improve the independent transitioning of elementary students with autism in inclusive settings. Video modeling was delivered via an iPod, combined with a system of least prompts, to assist in transitioning during school activities and locations. Hammond et al. (2010) used video modeling to teach students with intellectual disabilities to use an iPod. They discovered that the device was reinforcing and age appropriate for middle school students with intellectual disabilities. This is an important finding, because iPod use is an appropriate leisure time activity in which the students’ peers in regular education engage, and once students master the navigation of the portable technology they have the potential to use the devices for independent learning tasks.

According to several preliminary studies, mobile technol-ogy shows promise in supporting the communication of students with autism. Achmadi (2010) investigated teach-ing adolescents with autism to use an iPod to facilitate com-munication. All of the participants in the multiple baseline across subjects design learned to use a speech-generating application on the iPod to make multistep requests. Results suggested that adolescents with autism could successfully use an iPod for expressive communication.

Flores et al. (2012) compared the effects of an iPad and a picture-based communication system on the communica-tion rates of five elementary school students with autism. These findings provided initial support for use of the iPad as a communication device. Anecdotal data also indicated that both the students and the teachers preferred using the iPad to the picture system. The teachers said that iPads were easy to use, required less preparation time and fewer materials, and increased the speed of the students’ communication. In an additional study, aided language stimulation was combined with tablet technology to create a communication intervention for students with autism (Logan, 2012). Students who participated in the study made gains in social as well as communication skills. The teachers felt that the technology was engaging and easy for students to use as all of the pictures could be shown on the same page, which allowed for natural follow through during conversation. Although these preliminary studies were promising, more research is needed in different areas and with students of all ages and abilities before it can be said that tablet technology is an effective educational tool.




Ethics and RecruitmentPrior to the commencement of the study, ethics approval was sought and obtained from the researchers’ universi-ties. The school, classroom, and students were recruited through contact with and support from the school district. The iPad intervention was implemented during the course of the students’ routine language arts lessons.

Participants and SettingThe project involved four male elementary school stu-dents—Ernesto, Michael, Rogelio, and Edward—with language-based disabilities from a school district in north-ern California. All of the participating students had been identified as ELLs by their school district, and all had a home language of Spanish. The students were taught in the same self-contained classroom, which had a total of 13 students aged 7–8. The class was taught by a special education teacher who had a paraprofessional to assist her with the students. The paraprofessional had responsibil-ity for working with the students and the iPad, since she typically worked with the students on the comparison paper-and-pencil task.

Research DesignThis study expanded on prior studies that showed promis-ing results using mobile technology to assist with commu-nication. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of using iPad technology during language arts instruction on the academic engagement of students with language-based disabilities. Additionally, researchers measured the satisfaction of the teacher, paraprofessional, and students in using this new technology. The project was designed to answer the following research questions:

1. Will using a language-building application on a tablet device influence the academic engagement of students with language-based disabilities during language arts lessons?

2. What is the level of teacher and paraprofessional satisfaction with using tablet devices and language-building applications to supplement language arts classroom instruction?

3. What is the level of student satisfaction with using tablet devices and language-building applications to supplement their language arts classroom learning?

A single subject withdrawal design was employed to com-pare the effects of an iPad-based sentence construction application and a similar paper-based activity on the stu-dents’ academic engagement. Interviews were conducted with the teacher, paraprofessional, and students to quali-tatively determine the levels of satisfaction with using the technology for that purpose.

MaterialsApple provided iPads on a six-week loan for the study, and each student was allotted one of the devices to use during language arts lessons for the course of the study. Each student also had an iPad during the intervention. The only application on the devices that was available to the students was Language Builder, which was provided by the Mobile Education Store.

The Language Builder application was downloaded to each iPad (see Figure 1). This application was designed to improve students’ expressive and receptive language skills. Each of the three levels of the application consisted of a series of pictures. Each student was shown a picture and a voice prompted, “Make a sentence about the picture.” The students used Level 3 of the app, so they were given an auditory hint such as, “Use the words building and Legos in your sentence.” The students then pressed the record button and recorded their sentence. Before mov-ing to the next picture, students were required to play the recorded sentence back in order to listen to how it sounded. The baseline conditions consisted of a series of sentence formulation activities, both written and oral, similar to Language Builder but without the technology component.

ProceduresBefore beginning the project, the students were inter-viewed about their use of mobile technology. None of them had used a tablet computer before. The authors provided students with a brief (five minute) one-on-one introduc-tion to the use of the iPad, using the Fruit Ninja app to practice the touching and swiping motions required to operate the device. The first phase of the project consisted of baseline data collection. Data were collected over five 30-minute sessions. The students’ academic engagement during a paper-based sentence construction activity was measured by the number of prompts (given by the para-professional); this was necessary to keep the students on task during each lesson.




During the language arts lesson directly after baseline, the authors provided training to the teacher, paraprofes-sional, and students on the use of the Language Builder activity. Phase two commenced the next day, when the Language Builder intervention was introduced in place of the typical language arts activity. Each student wore headphones and used the iPad and the Language Builder app to construct sentences about the pictures. The interven-tion phase immediately followed the baseline phase and consisted of 17 30-minute sessions. The paraprofessional acted as a facilitator and assisted students with the iPad and the app and provided feedback on the sentences that the students recorded. The paraprofessional also recorded the number of prompts she gave to each student to return to the task. This phase lasted four weeks. In Phase 3, the iPads were removed, and students returned to the paper-based sentence construction activity (baseline), and the recording of prompts continued for five consecutive lessons.

Interobserver Agreement. Interobserver agreement data for prompts to return to the task were collected by the researchers during 28% of the sessions. Interobserver agreement for number of prompts per student, which was 90.3%, was calculated by dividing the number of interval agreements by agreements plus disagreements and multiplying by 100.

Procedural Fidelity. Data were collected to ensure that the paraprofessional was using the iPad according to the specified procedures. A checklist was created to mea-sure the implementation (see Figure 2). The researchers observed 25% of the lessons, selected at random. Using the checklist, the observers recorded the steps that were followed during the lesson. Interobserver agreement was 100%. This unusually high result was attributed to the fact that the implementation steps were simple, explicit, and easy to follow.

Figure 1

Language Builder screenshot.

Figure 2

Teacher fidelity checklist.

Classroom Instruction Checklist Teacher: Date: Yes No

Each student is on the Language Builder App.

Students are using headphones.

Teacher takes behavior data

Students complete same activity during other two centers.

Teacher rotates the groups at the correct time.

Teacher uses same curriculum as other teacher.

Teacher is monitoring the progress of all students.

Teacher maintains student engagement.

If any of the above answers are no, please comment on action taken to correct discrepancy: Notes:




InterviewsQualitative data in the form of interviews were collected and analyzed to determine the level of satisfaction that teachers, paraprofessionals, and students had with using the iPad as a supplementary instructional device. The teacher, paraprofessional, and students were interviewed by the researchers during Phase 1, and then again at the conclusion of Phase 3, in order to measure their attitudes about the technology and how the technology-enhanced instruction compared to traditional instruction. A stan-dardized open-ended interview approach was used when conducting interviews and interpreting the data. This form of interviewing was used in order to ensure that the same questions were asked of all participants, while still allowing them to contribute as much detailed information as they desired (Turner, 2010).

Data were analyzed during Phase 4 of the study. All base-line and intervention data were organized and plotted on graphs for interpretation. Interviews were analyzed using inductive content analysis (Schamber, 2000) of the tran-scriptions of the interviews and common themes among the respondents’ answers were identified. Each researcher

coded the interviews separately; they then were tested for intercoder agreement and revised before being retested.

ResultsThe students’ levels of academic engagement were measured by how many times the paraprofessional had to prompt them to return to the task during the baseline and inter-vention phases. Data on the number of prompts issued to each student during each condition are depicted in Figures 3–6. Figure 3 depicts Michael’s levels of academic engage-ment in each condition (baseline, intervention, baseline). The need to prompt him to remain on task decreased with the introduction of the iPad, but strangely enough, it decreased even more with the return to the paper-and-pencil (baseline) activity.

Ernesto’s need for prompting (Figure 4) decreased a week into the intervention, increased during the last week of intervention, then decreased again with the return to baseline.

Figure 3

Academic engagement for Michael.

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The introduction of the iPad to a great extent eliminated the need to prompt Edward (Figure 5), and his level of academic engagement remained stable when the iPad was removed (return to baseline).

The graph for Rogelio (Figure 6) is the only graph that in-dicates the iPad could be responsible for increased academic engagement. The reasons for this result may be explained through the analysis of the teacher, paraprofessional, and student interviews.

Figure 4

Academic engagement for Ernesto.

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Academic engagement for Edward.

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Teacher interviewThe teacher was interviewed prior to and at the end of the project. The interview was audiotaped and transcribed. A content analysis approach was used to analyze the data collected. Relevant themes that emerged were: (a) prior experience, (b) expectations of the study, (c) expectations of students, (d) positive outcomes, (e) challenges of using the iPad, and (f) future use of the iPad.

The special education teacher had experience with the iPad prior to the study, as she had been given one by the school to use in her classroom. She said, “I haven’t yet figured out the niche of how to incorporate it into my classroom, except for showing photos on it and stuff.” She was hoping that participating in the study would assist her with that. She also stated that the only technology the students had access to was the computer lab, where they went once a week for instruction. She felt that her students would do well with the iPad and the Language Builder application, as many of them were good with repetition. She was very comfortable using the technology herself.

The teacher didn’t feel that the study impacted her tech-nological expertise very much, “…except I didn’t know where to plug in earphones and I know how to do that now.” She explained that her students used the iPad and app for 30 minutes a day, four to five days a week. When

asked what the most positive things about the experience were, she replied, “Seeing them [the students] have access to something like this and how quick they are to learn. How it functions, how to use the program, it was neat to see that. It was also neat to see their independence, because they were able to independently work.”

When asked about the challenges, the teacher said there weren’t many, but that after a while the students got bored with using the app, “…some of them at the end were like, ‘I don’t want to do it anymore’ [laughs].” She explained that if given the choice, she would use the program, but would add a lot more. She lamented the fact that students would record the sentences and listen to them, but were quick to move on without thinking about what they were doing. She said that she would use the app, but also add others that gave more feedback to the students.

Paraprofessional InterviewsThe paraprofessional also was interviewed prior to and at the end of the project. The interview was audiotaped and transcribed. A content analysis approach was used to analyze the data collected through this interview. Relevant themes that emerged were: (a) prior experience, (b) expec-tations of the study, (c) self-efficacy in regard to mobile

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Academic engagement for Rogelio.

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technology, (d) positive outcomes, (e) challenges of using the iPad, and (f) future use of the iPad.

The paraprofessional had very little experience with mo-bile technology before the study. She explained that her family had just purchased a Kindle, but that she herself wasn’t very technical. She rated her skills with technol-ogy at a 4 out of 10 prior to the commencement of the study, but said that she enjoyed using technology and was eager to learn how to use the iPad. When asked about her expectations of the study, she wasn’t sure what to expect, but was hoping that it would help “the kids to learn to get their sentences out easier.” She felt that she needed more experience with the iPad, and after the researchers showed her how to use it and the application, she took it home for the weekend to practice.

The paraprofessional felt that participating in the study increased her level of expertise with the iPad, and rated her skills at a 7 out of 10 at the conclusion of the study. When asked to explain how she employed the iPad in her language arts group, she stated, “They were looking at the pictures, and I was trying to get them to use the two words to describe the picture. In the beginning, they were just repeating everything they heard. By the end, they were using both words to describe the picture, not just one. I feel like they had a big growth in their speech, it helped them out a lot. I think most benefitted a lot from it, but a couple are still in the same spot.” She claimed that the best part of using the iPad was that it got the students to “listen, follow instructions, and get things done the way they are supposed to, because they have a hard time with that.”

She said that the students did get bored with the app and didn’t want to do it any more; some even refused to do it every day. She attributed this to their attention level for everything, saying, “It is just the way they are with everything; they get tired really fast.” Taking this into consideration, the paraprofessional said she still wouldn’t change anything, “I would probably do it the same way because it did work. Its just that you have to let them know that this is your work and you just have to get it done.” She added that she felt that using the iPad in her language arts group increased the students’ skills in sentence formation and also increased their academic engagement, “I felt like I was not constantly telling them to get back to work.” She felt that, overall, using the iPad gave the students a different way of seeing things.

Student InterviewsNone of the students participating in the study had used an iPad previously, but all four had used computers. When asked what they liked to do on the computer, all of the stu-dents (separately) replied, “play games!” All four students displayed excitement about learning to use the iPad and having the opportunity to touch it during the interview. At the end of the preinterview, each student was shown how to use the iPad by swiping and given the chance to play Fruit Ninja, a game that requires players to use a swiping motion to cut various pieces of fruit in half. All four students had no problems learning to do this quickly, although Michael and Edward pushed instead of swiping the first few times they tried it.

Students were interviewed again at the conclusion of the study. Edward and Michael both enjoyed working on the iPad and felt that it had helped them learn words and reading. Edward’s favorite things about using the iPad were “pushing the buttons” and “making sentences.” Michael cited “the pictures” as his favorite. Conversely, both Ernesto and Rogelio indicated that they disliked working on the iPad. Rogelio said that he would like to use it to play games, but said that when he does work on it, “I get bored and my head aches.” He did, however, feel that he learned sounds. Ernesto did not feel that he had learned anything. At the end of the interview, the students were asked to demonstrate how they used the iPad to make sentences. All four students were proficient at using the iPad, as well as following the directions to formulate sentences based on the picture shown and the words given. This indicates that even though they didn’t all enjoy using the iPad, they all learned while using it.

DiscussionThis study set out to determine the effect that iPad integra-tion would have on the academic engagement of students with language-based disabilities during language arts lessons. The number of prompts that the paraprofessional was required to give each student in order to keep him on task was used to measure academic engagement for this study. When the iPad was introduced, the students’ academic engagement increased within the first four les-sons. Interestingly, the students’ engagement decreased again toward the end of the intervention, although the paraprofessional never had to use as many prompts as




she did during the baseline phase. This may be explained by the comments the teacher and paraprofessional made about the students getting bored after a few weeks of using the Language Builder application. There may have been a period of novelty when the iPad and the app were introduced, but that wore off with the repetition of the task. Another explanation could be the lack of feedback provided to the students by the application itself. The task of formulating sentences, recording them, and playing them back may not have been reinforcing enough for the students. Lastly, it is possible that the students simply got bored with the application as they became more proficient with the task of formulating sentences. Three out of the four students actually had improved academic engage-ment in the last phase, when the iPad was removed and the traditional paper activity was reintroduced.

The teacher and the paraprofessional both reported high levels of satisfaction with the iPad and the application, although both would have liked it if the application had provided more feedback to the students. The paraprofes-sional was excited about the ease of learning the new technology. One of the greatest advantages mentioned was that the iPad allowed the students to work independently, something that they had difficulty doing in the past. Both the teacher and the paraprofessional stated during their interviews that they would like to have access to the iPad in their classroom so they could explore other ways of incorporating it into other subjects.

Although half of the students said that they did not enjoy working on the iPad, all of the boys except for Ernesto felt that the iPad helped them learn. Since all students had indicated a preference for playing computer games, the lack of any games on the devices could have contributed to the lack of enthusiasm from Ernesto and Rogelio. It may behoove teachers to provide students with a few reinforcing yet educational games to play on the iPad. In addition, providing a variety of apps that teach the same skills may keep students from getting bored quickly. Finally, if students are working independently on the iPad, the apps should provide them with appropriate feedback as to whether or not their responses are correct. This would not only be reinforcing but also would reduce the chances that students were simply rehearsing incorrect responses.

LimitationsThe study had a number of limitations that affected the generalization of results. First, only four students partici-pated in the study. The study needs to be replicated to confirm any effects that the iPad and its corresponding apps have on academic engagement. Secondly, only one app, Language Builder, was used. In future studies, a variety of apps in different subject areas should be incorporated. The length of the study was restricted by the length of time of the iPad loan and the amount of time that the researchers had access to the classroom; future studies should have extended time in all three conditions.

As stated previously, this was a preliminary study, and the results suggest several areas for future research. A larger number of participants could be used in a quantitative study. Future participants should be students who represent different age groups and categories of disability. The effect of the iPad on learning and academic engagement should also be measured across subject matter and in a variety of settings. It is crucial that research on using new tech-nologies to support students with diverse learning needs becomes a priority in order to provide the many educators who are adopting them with guidelines for best practice.

ReferencesAchmadi, D. (2010). Teaching a multi-step requesting sequence to two

adolescents with autism using an iPod-based speech generating device. Unpublished master’s thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, NZ.

Cihak, D., Fahrenkrog, C., Ayres, K., & Smith, C. (2010). The use of video modeling via a video iPod and a system of least prompts to improve transitional behaviors for students with autism spectrum disorders in the general education classroom. Journal of Positive Behavioral Interventions, 12(2), 103–115.

Demski, J. (2011). ELL to go. T H E Journal, 38(5), 28–32.

Flores, M., Musgrove, K., Renner, S., Hinton, V., Strozier, S., Frank-lin, S., & Hil, D. (2012). A comparison of communication using the Apple iPad and a picture-based system. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 28(2), 74–84.

Hammond, D., Whatley, A., Ayres, K., & Gast, D. (2010). Effective use of video modeling to teach iPod use to students with moder-ate intellectual disabilities. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 45(4), 525–538.




Logan, K. (2012, April 4). Developing communication skills in chil-dren with autism spectrum disorder using Proloquo2go on the iPad: An aided language approach. Lecture presented at the ASPECT Research Forum, State Library of NSW, Sydney, Australia.

Price, A. (2011). Making a difference with smart tablets: Are iPads really beneficial for students with autism? Teacher Librarian, 39(1), 31–34.

Rothschild, B. (2011). Special tool for special needs. Cherry Hill, N.J. Courier Post. Retrieved from http://beta.courierpostonline.com

Schamber, L. (2000). Time-line interviews and inductive content analysis: Their effectiveness for exploring cognitive behaviors. Jour-nal of the American Society for Information Science, 51(8), 734–744.

Turner, D. (2010). Qualitative interview design: A practical guide for novice investigators. The Qualitative Report, 15(3), 757–760.

Author Notes

Therese M. Cumming is a professor and senior lecturer in spe-cial education at the University of New South Wales. Cathi Draper Rodriguez is an associate professor of teacher education at California State University, Monterey Bay.

Correspondence should be addressed to Therese Cumming, Uni-versity of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Email to [email protected]


http://beta.courierpostonline.com

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