The development and evaluation of software for teaching reading at primary level

This research is an exploratory study and concerns the effectiveness of specific design features in talking book software. Children need to acquire a variety of skills and strategies to become competent readers and these are commonly taught together in the context of meaningful text. Talking book software, replicating real books with additional features such as sound, has the potential to complement this approach. Common features of such software include word pronunciations, hearing sentences read aloud and page turning facilities. These features could facilitate the scaffolding of reading development. The strengths and weaknesses of commercial software were identified through a pilot study. A survey of practitioners was also conducted to investigate how such software is being used in the classroom and whether talking hooks could be improved. The outcomes of these studies together with a review of the literature were used to inform an innovative design that was implemented. In addition to common features, the implementation also included sub-syllabic word pronunciations, hints to encourage independent word identification and activities to reinforce specific reading skills. Two versions of the software were compared using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies including word recognition measures, interviews, observations and case studies. One software version incorporated commonly available features only and the other was a full implementation of the innovative design. Each version of the software was used daily for a period of four weeks by 16 children, aged 6 to 7 years, in the naturalistic environment of their classrooms. The findings of the study were complex due to variations in learner preferences and reading abilities. Nevertheless, it seems that electronic books can complement teaching approaches in infant classrooms and can positively affect both cognitive and affective learning outcomes. It is evident that children of lower reading ability can benefit from common features alone, such as word pronunciations. Those children using the enhanced software who had already acquired a limited sight vocabulary may benefit from additional features such as reinforcement activities. However, these features were not perceived as being fun by the children in this study. Rather, they were seen as educational tasks. The children who had made the greatest progress in reading development prior to the study made more use of the complex features such as hints to assist them in the decoding of unknown words. This study provided evidence to support the theories of scaffolding and the benefits that can be achieved by aiding learners in the zone of proximal development

ImpacT2 project: preliminary study 1: establishing the relationship between networked technology and attainment

This report explored teaching practices, beliefs and teaching styles and their influences on ICT use and implementation by pupils. Additional factors explored included the value of school and LEA policies and teacher competence in the use of ICT in classroom settings. ImpaCT2 was a major longitudinal study (1999-2002) involving 60 schools in England, its aims were to: identify the impact of networked technologies on the school and out-of-school environment; determine whether or not this impact affected the educational attainment of pupils aged 816 years (at Key Stages 2, 3, and 4); and provide information that would assist in the formation of national, local and school policies on the deployment of IC

MILO: Models of innovation in learning online at Key Stage 3 and 14-19: Final report executive summary

This summary report presents and analyses the key findings from eight case studies, which reflect a wide range of models of online learning, each of which has been developed for specific reasons, largely in relation to visions of how technology can transform learning, but also to solve practical problems such as re-engaging disaffected learners and coping with rising pupil numbers

MILO: Models of innovation in learning online at Key Stage 3 and 14-19: Final report appendices

This document contains the appendices to the main report, which presents case studies, which reflect a wide range of models of online learning, each of which has been developed for specific reasons, largely in relation to visions of how technology can transform learning, but also to solve practical problems such as re-engaging disaffected learners and coping with rising pupil numbers

MILO: Models of innovation in learning online at Key Stage 3 and 14-19: Final report

The report presents and analyses eight case studies, which reflect a wide range of models of online learning, each of which has been developed for specific reasons, largely in relation to visions of how technology can transform learning, but also to solve practical problems such as re-engaging disaffected learners and coping with rising pupil numbers