The Affects of
iTouches on Student Success
Angela Mahl
Lamar University
Abstract
My action research
project started in the 2011 school year at Florence Elementary in Mrs. Taylor’s
first grade class and will June 2013. I am not currently a teacher so I have
been working closing with Mrs. Taylor and her first grade class while
conducting my action research. I have
been implementing iTouches into their daily math curriculum in order to see if
this digital tool and help students achieve higher success rate when taking
their benchmarks. In order to obtain
results the teacher and I will be conducting pre assessments every 6 weeks on
the math curriculum taught. The students will then be using the iTouches and
the applications on them that match and reinforce the curriculum during their
math stations. After 6 weeks, they students will be give the assessment again
to see if their scores have increased, decreased, or stayed the same. This
timeline will repeat throughout the year. Parents will also have a list of the
applications we are using in the classroom as most parents have a smart phone
or iTouch. This is to involve the parents so they know what their child is
learning in the classroom. Parent involvement is a key element to student
success. The results of this study did
show that the children did improve on their math scores due to the
incorporation of iTouches as a learning tool to reinforce skills taught.
Introduction
While volunteering
at Florence Elementary, I was shocked to see digital tools available for
teachers to use that were collecting dust in a closet. As soon as I saw the
cart full of classroom set iTouches my mind starting turning with ideas of how
to integrate these into a first grade classroom. After talking with a teacher,
she was thrilled to see if your students’ scores could improve by using
iTouches to enhance the curriculum already being taught. I quickly developed a
survey on Surverymonkey.com to assess the other first grade teachers and their
thoughts on iTouches in the classroom. I discovered that 67 percent of the
teachers did not think it would help improve reading and math scores. My
teacher that I am working with gave me her students’ math scores for the first
6 weeks. Here is what the scores looked like:
|
Ethnicity
|
Gender
|
Math
CBA Score
|
|
White
|
M
|
100
|
|
White
|
F
|
75
|
|
Asian
|
M
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
75
|
|
African American
|
F
|
58
|
|
White
|
F
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
75
|
|
White
|
M
|
100
|
|
White
|
F
|
58
|
|
White
|
F
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
75
|
|
White
|
F
|
58
|
|
White
|
M
|
66
|
|
White
|
F
|
75
|
|
White
|
F
|
100
|
|
White
|
M
|
58
|
|
Asian
|
F
|
92
|
|
White
|
F
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
75
|
|
White
|
F
|
75
|
|
White
|
F
|
83
|
Literature
Review
While obtaining my
idea for my action research plan, I spent many hours on the internet
researching articles and literature about iTouches in the classroom, but why
technology I asked myself. “Research indicates that technology us in the
classroom can have an additional positive influence on student learning when
the learning goals are clearly articulated prior to the technology’s use
(Ringstaff & Kelley, 2002). According to Russel and Sorge (1999),
“technology can give students more control over their own learning, moving
classrooms for teacher dominated environments to ones that are more student
center” (p. 1-2). I found an array of personal Wikis from teachers that were
currently using iTouches in their classroom. Randall Miller (2010) states that
“ iTouches in the K-12 classrooms enhances learning with the array of
applications that are accessible for all subjects and grades while also cutting
down on costs”. I also found articles
describing how these digital tools as well as others really help engage our 21st
century learners. According to Solomone
and Schrum (2007), “the shift to Web 2.0 tools can have a profound effect on
schools and learning causing a transformation in thinking” (p. 21).
My decision making
progress for implementing this plan was based on what I read as well as
noticing these digital tools not being utilized in the classrooms. While making
this decision I talked with my site mentor as well as the school principal. We
all agreed that this would be a great action research plan. We considered what
the first grade classrooms were lacking, and that was the use of technology
within their everyday curriculum. We decided first grade would be a great grade
to do this research because this is a very important reading and math grade. We
were excited to see the results during my action research.
Action
Research Design
My design for this
action research is based off of my 22 students in the 2011-2012 school year. I
used their pre assessments math scores shown here:
|
Ethnicity
|
Gender
|
Math
CBA Score
|
|
White
|
M
|
100
|
|
White
|
F
|
75
|
|
Asian
|
M
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
75
|
|
African American
|
F
|
58
|
|
White
|
F
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
75
|
|
White
|
M
|
100
|
|
White
|
F
|
58
|
|
White
|
F
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
75
|
|
White
|
F
|
58
|
|
White
|
M
|
66
|
|
White
|
F
|
75
|
|
White
|
F
|
100
|
|
White
|
M
|
58
|
|
Asian
|
F
|
92
|
|
White
|
F
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
75
|
|
White
|
F
|
75
|
|
White
|
F
|
83
|
After
I gathered the data, I was able to see that my students could benefit from
applications made available on the iTouches. I had 1 iTouch for every student.
My vision for this
plan is that a first grade classroom can be more enriched by adding iTouches to
their every day curriculum by having 80% or above on their testing. After the
students had been introduced to the iTouches, I started researching different applications
that the students could use by themselves or with a partner that enhanced what
they already learned in a previous unit or lesson. The teacher and I gave them
pre-assessments before using the iTouches for a particular topic or subject
every 6 weeks. I then introduced the application/game to the students. They
used that application during centers and The Daily Five for 3 weeks. After the
3 weeks, we gave them the same assessment to see if their scores had improved.
We were delighted that not only did 4 out of 5 students scores increased from
the pre assessment, but the students were engaged and loving being able to use
the iTouches.
I communicated my
vision to the principal and first grade team by showing them the data that
supports using iTouches in the classroom. I also provided a PowerPoint
presentation that showed them how other teachers in the world were using
iTouches in their classrooms. This helped my get the attention and excited from
the faculty. While introducing the iTouches to the first graders, the teacher
and I sent home a note to parents talking about the iTouches, what they are,
and how we would be using them with the students to help enhance the curriculum
being taught. We got nothing but positive responses from the parents. Every
week in the classroom newsletter, I added the applications that we were using
in the classroom so if parents had an iPhone they could download those apps for
their students to use at home.
In order to
motivate staff and parents, I created a wiki that displayed a variety of fun
educational applications to grab their attention. It also included links to teacher blogs who
are currently using iTouches in the classroom. This helps show everyone the
endless possibilities for iTouches and our students. While my action research project is still
ongoing I am continually evaluating and revising my plan to best meet the needs
of the students. When the new school year arrives, I will also have to evaluate
the needs of the individual student so I can tailor the applications to their
current needs.
The strategy I
used during the implementation of my action research project was one where I
was very hands on throughout the research. I also made sure to self reflect on
what was working and what improvements I needed to make to ensure the highest
success rate possible for all students. I was able to have my mentor help me
with the leadership aspect of my action research plan. She was able to help me
gain the resources I needed to help other teachers with their technology needs.
My mentor is a very influential person that has help advocate for me throughout
this process.
It was very easy for me to monitor my team and
materials as I was up at the school every day.
My main materials, the iTouches, were already provided at the school. My
main priority throughout this project was the students’ learning and safety. In
order to make sure all students were safe while using these digital tools we
had a 2 day hands on learning activity to introduce the iTouches. I carefully monitored
the students while they were using the iTouches. All apps that we were currently
not using were blocked so students could not access anything they were not
supposed to. The students were engaged in their learning on a continually basis
because I made sure the apps that they were using were educational but fun at
the same time. If I observed students not learning or easily getting distracted
with an app, I quickly found another app that had the same educational value
but might have been more interesting to the students.
The strategy I
used to lead this project and set priorities was a very hands on approach. I
made sure I was there in order to really gain a great insight on the students
and how they were learning and using the iTouches. Since I was the leader I
could clearly set my priorities and implement them in the way I saw fit with
the help of others. Once again I feel it is extremely important to self reflect
on the progress and what needs to change. I also made sure to continue my
collaboration with my mentor teacher, the other first grade team, Cortney
Mullman, as well as the principal. Together we were able to stay on top of what
we wanted to accomplish through my action research plan. Cortney Mullman is a
great human resource because she is able to refocus be on the task at hand when
I feel like I am behind. I was also able
to manage operations my getting my daughter’s youth group involved in my action
research plan. I was able to test out different applications on my daughter and
her youth group to see if they taught the applications were fun, boring, hard,
or easy. This helped me decide which applications on the iTouches I wanted to
introduce to my first grade class.
I was then able to
use the needs assessment and data collection throughout the year to help gage
where the students started and how the iTouches affected their scores. I was
also able to use the data to group the students based on their needs. Whenever
there was conflict I was able to stay calm and work with others in order to
come to a resolution that fit the needs of the students foremost as well as the
rest of us.
I feel in love
with my action research plan because there are so many applications on the
iTouches that tailored the specific needs of our diverse student
community. I have found wonderful apps
for the hearing impaired, visually impaired, and other special needs students.
There are also different applications for different cultures which are great for
a classroom where the teacher and student might have a language barrier. By
showing other teachers the success rate I have had so far with iTouches in the
classroom, they will be able to open so many doors in their own diverse
classrooms because there are apps for everything and everyone. I was able to
address specific needs of my school by involving parents during this process.
My school is a very parent orientated school where parents love to be involved
each and every day. By providing parents with information and educational apps
on a weekly basis they were able to a part of their student’s learning process.
Conclusion
At
the end of the year I was so please to record my data shown below.
|
Ethnicity
|
Gender
|
Math
CBA Score
|
|
White
|
M
|
100
|
|
White
|
F
|
92
|
|
Asian
|
M
|
92
|
|
White
|
M
|
83
|
|
African American
|
F
|
75
|
|
White
|
F
|
92
|
|
White
|
M
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
100
|
|
White
|
F
|
83
|
|
White
|
F
|
100
|
|
White
|
M
|
92
|
|
White
|
M
|
92
|
|
White
|
F
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
83
|
|
White
|
F
|
100
|
|
White
|
F
|
100
|
|
White
|
M
|
83
|
|
Asian
|
F
|
100
|
|
White
|
F
|
83
|
|
White
|
M
|
83
|
|
White
|
F
|
92
|
|
White
|
F
|
92
|
These scores showed that 21 out of 22 students had improved on their
math scores from the beginning of the year, with a 100% passing rate. I also
created a survey on surveymonkey.com to gain feedback and insight from
stakeholders impacted by my action research project and data collection. ”Online
surveys allows teachers to engage learners and gather information needed to set
more meaningful and personalized objectives, (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhm, &
Malenoski, 2007, p. 27). I was elated with the amount of positive feedback I
received. Everyone was so impressed with my hard work and determination to help
incorporate iTouches into the first grade curriculum as well as teaching others
about the importance of digital tools with our 21st century
learners.
Throughout this
process there were many obstacles that I faced, but made it a point to self
reflect at least 3 times a week to see what I needed to continue to do, change,
or improve on to help this study in a positive manner. As educators we must
always be lifelong learners and work hard to provide the best education
possible for our students. I was very pleased with the outcome of my research
and have continued working closing with Mrs. Taylor and using iTouches in her classroom
as well as educating others. I enjoy holding workshops for faculty members and
coming up with new and exciting ways to incorporate iTouches into our everyday curriculum.
References
Miller,
R. (2010, May 11). iPod touches in the elementary classroom. Retrieved from http://itouch2010.pbworks.com/w/page/23811332/FrontPage
Pitler,H.,
Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with
classroom instruction that
works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development.
Ringstaff,
C., & Kelley, L. (2002). The learning
return on education technology investment: A review of findings from research. San
Francisco: WestEd RTEC.
Russel,
J., & Sorge, D. (1999). Training facilitators to enhance technology
intregration. Journal of Instruction
Delivery Systems, 13(4), 6.
Solomon,
G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, New schools. Eugene, OR:
International Society for Technology in Education.
