Kindergartener's meaning making with multimodal app books: The relations amongst reader characteristics, app book characteristics, and comprehension outcomes
Abstract App books are increasingly being used in classrooms and at home. However, little is known how children effectively make meaning with these. Given that app books substantially differ from print or CD ROM books, research specifically on the meaning making process with app books is needed. Grounded in transactional reading and new literacies theories, this observational study examined the relations amongst reader characteristics, app book characteristics, and comprehension outcomes. Fifty-three children in four kindergarten classrooms across two states were individually observed reading a different app book on an iPad six times across the school year and asked questions to elicit their comprehension. Sessions were video-recorded and coded by two coders with high inter-rater reliability. A multivariate outcome, multilevel cross-classification, mixed response analysis showed that specific reader characteristics and transactions between reader and text were linked to better comprehension outcomes. These findings can guide app book reading instruction in early childhood classrooms.
ABSTRACTThis qualitative study investigated 27 US and 28 Turkish dyads of children between 4 and 6 years old who read 12 app books across a school year. Emergent coding and constant comparison were used to identify reading patterns in which the dyads engaged: hotspot-centric, text-centric, and integrated. Then we examined how characteristics of readers (socio-economic status, language, and gender), text (animations, navigation features, and typographical cues), and context (social interaction st...
Touch screen tablets (e.g., iPads) are being increasingly used by young children due to their stimulating multimodal features and intuitive touch-based interface. However, little is known about the effects of tablets and apps on the development of emergent literacy skills. This pre-post-test randomised controlled study explored the effects of using literacy apps on emergent literacy skills in English speaking children aged 2–5 years (N = 48). There were 24 children in the iPad group and 24 child...
In the past five years, there have been significant changes concerning the material and design properties of digital books, with an impact on children's enjoyment and learning from reading on screen. Despite the rapid advances in technology, research on children's digital books is disjointed. This is because of no consistent approach to the study of interactivity, an under-theorised relationship between print and digital books, and a binary design focused on either learning or playful engagement...
Two experiments explored the effects of reading digital storybooks on tablet computers with 25 preschoolers, aged 4---5. In the first experiment, the students' word recognition scores were found to increase significantly more when students explored a digital storybook and employed the read-aloud function than when they were read to from a comparable print book. Their comprehension scores did not change significantly in the two conditions. In Experiment 2, the same students explored digital story...
#2Kara Kinney(MU: University of Missouri)H-Index: 1
An emerging body of research examines language learning of young children from experiences with digital storybooks, but little is known about the ways in which specific components of digital storybooks, including interactive elements, may influence language learning. The purpose of the study was to examine the incidental word learning and story comprehension of preschool children after interactions with interactive and noninteractive versions of a digital storybook. Thirty preschool children wer...
Young children living in technology-based communities are using touch-screen tablets (e.g. iPads) to engage with the digital world at an early age. The intuitive touch-screen interface, easily downloadable apps (applications) and mobility of tablets drive their increasing popularity with pre-schoolers. This review examines research to date on tablets, apps and emergent literacy in young children in the home and at pre-school. Evidence is building that suggests tablets have the potential to foste...
This study explores how child and text clues were related to 31 kindergarteners’ word-meaning derivation outcomes for 372 words presented in books read aloud to children. Data were analyzed using a multilevel, cross-classification, ordered logit model. Children showed no word-meaning derivation 40% of the time, indicating a need for instruction. Better word-meaning outcomes were related to text factors (written text clues in close proximity to the word) and child factors (literal comprehension a...
#1Yueh-Min Huang(NCKU: National Cheng Kung University)H-Index: 58
#2Tsung Ho Liang(NCKU: National Cheng Kung University)H-Index: 1
Tracking individual reading behaviors is a difficult task, as is carrying out real-time recording and analysis throughout the reading process, but these aims are worth pursuing. In this study, the reading rate is adopted as an indicator to identify different reading behaviors and comprehension outcomes. A reading rate tracking technique is thus developed with an Interactive E-book Learning System ( IELS), and this study examines whether the reading rate detected by this system can properly refle...
Young children’s use of digital devices is increasing as we progress through the 21st century and handheld and mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, have become increasingly available. While older children using tablets to read has been more broadly investigated, less is known about the impacts of digital reading on children at the stage of literacy acquisition. An analytical review was conducted on the effects of interactive e-book interventions for young children’s literacy developm...
This meta-analysis examines the inconsistent findings across experimental studies that compared children’s learning outcomes with digital and paper books. We quantitatively reviewed 39 studies repo...
In recent years, we have seen an increase in the production of digital works for children and, due to their uniqueness and complexity, they open new discussions on the practice of mediated reading. This article aims to reflect on the mediation demands necessary to ensure the involvement of young children in digital literary reading situations. We present analyses of two studies conducted in Brazil, the first involving literary reading on mobile devices, in the family context, by children between...
#2Youngae Choi(UB: University at Buffalo)H-Index: 3
Last. Deborah Weber(UB: University at Buffalo)H-Index: 1
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Research Findings: Computational thinking (CT), which is defined as the systematic analysis, exploration, and testing of solutions to open-ended and often complex problems, is an important skill to...
This exploratory study investigated whether/how kindergartners (ages 5–6) with different linguistic backgrounds in Malta and the U.S. engaged in similar or different reading processes with the same app book But Not the Hippopotamus in English. As part of a broader project, we purposefully sampled children who scored top three and bottom three in their retelling of the book from each of the four linguistic groups: (1) Maltese as the dominant home language in Malta, (2) English as the dominant hom...
#1Lauren Eutsler(UNT: University of North Texas)H-Index: 2
#2C. Mitchell(York College of Pennsylvania)H-Index: 1
Last. Ashlynn Kogut(A&M: Texas A&M University)H-Index: 1
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The presence of mobile technologies within preschool and elementary classrooms has been increasing, yet review studies which measure the effectiveness of mobile technologies to support children’s literacy achievement remains scarce. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review to examine the influence of mobile technologies on pre-kindergarten—5th grade students’ literacy achievement between 2007 and 2019. Findings are reported according to study characteristics, followed by the p...
Digital books, such as e-books, story apps, picture book apps, and interactive stories, are narratives presented on touchscreens with multimedia and interactive features. Evidence suggests that early reading of print versus digital books is associated with different patterns of parent–child engagement and children’s outcomes. Parents’ verbal scaffolding, children’s age, and the congruence between a book’s narrative and its interactive and multimedia features are three documented process variable...
Interactive app books are increasingly part of young children’s literacy ecosystem. However, most previous studies examined buddy reading with traditional print books or CD-ROM books. Little is kno...
Given the increasing use of app books with young children, research is needed to inform their selection and design. Although broad guidelines exist, more fine-grained guidance is needed. To address...