Computer-Based Reading Instruction for Young Children with Disabilities

Abstract

This investigation examined the effectiveness of a computer program in teaching sight word recognition to four young children with developmental disabilities. The intervention program was developed through a formative evaluation process. It embedded a constant-time-delay procedure and involved sounds, video, text, and animations. Dependent measures were the percentage of correct responses during full and daily probe conditions. A multiple probe design across four word sets, replicated by four participants, was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Findings indicate that all children acquired the target words. They also learned incidental information (i.e., word definition) presented in an antecedent event and generalized sight word recognition across modes and materials.

Using an iPad Application to Promote Early Literacy Development in Young Children With Disabilities

“…During the second part, after presenting the task direction, a fixed amount of time is inserted before the prompt is given (Wolery, Ault, & Doyle, 1992). CTD procedures have been used in computer-assisted academic instruction to teach sight words (Lee & Vail, 2005), letter names and sounds in a small group setting (Campbell & Mechling, 2009), and early academic skills (Hitchcock & Noonan, 2000). The results show that CTD procedures were more effective when combined with CAI than with TDI (Hitchcock & Noonan, 2000).…”

Examining Educators’ Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices About Using Technology With Young Children

“…As a result novice and veteran teachers will need to be able to participate in technology-based planning and teaching to meet their student's academic needs (Bruce The research on educators and technology has shown that technology can be used as a traditional and/or transformational tool. Traditionally, educators have used technology as a way to foster children's motivation and interest as well as increase persistence and engagement with traditional tasks by promoting a more interactive experience with instructional materials (Lee & Vail, 2005). Educators have also used technology as a transformational tool in that it has helped create a shift from teacher-directed instruction to allow students to be more active participants in their own learning and encourage project-based learning and higher order thinking (e.g., analysis and synthesis) (Angers & Machtmes, 2005;Hermans, Tondeur, van Braak, & Valcke, 2008).…”

Impact of SMART Board Technology: An Investigation of Sight Word Reading and Observational Learning

“…Pre-reading (Boone, Higgins, Notari, & Stump, 1996) and reading skills have been among those taught to persons with disabilities using CAI (Heimann, Nelson, Tjus, & Gillberg, 1995;Williams, Wright, Callaghan, & Coughlan, 2002) including phonological awareness (Tjus, Heimann, & Nelson, 1998) and sight word recognition (Baumgart & VanWalleghem, 1987;Brewer, White, & Brand, 1991Conners, 1990;Cuvo & Klatt, 1992;Farmer, Klein, & Bryson, 1992;Mechling, 2004;Mechling & Gast, 2003;Thorkildsen & Friedman, 1986). Recently, Coleman-Martin, Heller, Cihak, and Irvine (2005) delivered the Nonverbal Reading Approach (NRA) through computer-assisted instruction where students independently practiced decoding and word identification, while Lee and Vail (2005) taught sight words and incidental information via computer-based instruction.…”