field evaluation of editouch – the first tablet for sen/sdl students (2014)

Marco Iannacone Digitally Different Srl

Field evaluation of EdiTouch – the first tablet for SEN/SDL students

Outcome of a 2 years rigorous trial in 8 schools in Rome

SENnet – Bruxelles 21st October 2014

www.CompanyName.com-©-2020-Companyname-PowerPoint-Business-Theme.-All-Rights-Reserved.--

11"

Introduction Specific-Learning-Disability-(Dyslexia,-Dysgraphia-and-Dyscalculia)-is-now-a-universallyIrecognized-condiKon-of-neuropsychological"disorder,-in-the-absence"of"cogni4ve"impairment,-but-with-a-high-frequency-of-comorbidiKes-with-other-neuropsychological-disorders.--

SDL-can-causes-serious"school"learning"problems"as-well-as-numerous-nega4ve"effects"on"the"psychological"well:being"of-pupils-who-are-affected-if"they""don’t"receive"diagnosis,"treatment,"compensatory"tools"and-the-exempKng-measures-in-the-Kme-required-by-their-cogniKve-development.-

Providing-what-is-necessary-for-these-schoolchildren-means-promoKng-the-prevenKon-of-secondary-diseases-and-enabling-the-children's-success-at-school.-

Marco Iannacone Digitally Different Srl SENnet – Bruxelles 21st October 2014


2"

Helping kids with SDL Dyslexia-cannot-be-prevented-or-cured,-but-it-can-be-managed-with-special-instrucKon-and-support.-Early-intervenKon-to-address-reading-problems-is-important.-

Children-diagnosed-with-dyslexia,-are-enKtled-by-law-(in-most-U.E.-countries)-to-have-specialized-educaKonal-and-support-services.-

Italy-was-late-to-adopt-this-approach-(L.-170/2010)-but-we-are-starKng-to-pay-aVenKon-to-this-in-almost-every-school.--

Currently-in"Italy"dyslexic-child-

! -Can-do"specific"exercises"with"speech"therapists-&-neuropsychiatric-to-acquire-some-of-those-mechanism-that-typical-reader-have-(specialist-are-oXen-provided-by-Italian-public-health-care-system-–-“ASL”)-

! -They-are-enKtled-to-have-a-personalized-didacKc-plan-(PDP)-which-will-include-exemp4ng"measures"and"compensatory"tools"(such-as-laptops)-



What does not work in existing compensatory tools

3"

•  Younger- children- find- tradiKonal- PCIbased- compensatory-tools-complex-to-use.-

•  Use- of- the- computer- in- class- is- oXen- rejected- by- the- child-who-feels-"different"-from-his-friends.-

•  A- tool- as- complex- as- the- PC- is- someKmes- a- source- of-distracKon-for-children-who-are-struggling-to-concentrate-on-what-they-need-to-do.-

•  Some-teachers-are-not-familiar-with-the-PCs-and-find-difficult-to-teach-younger-children-how-to-use-it.-

•  PCs- are-not- opKmized- for- readability- by-default:- default- text- to- speech- libraries- are-not- good- in-reading-aloud-Italian,-fonts-are-small-and-don’t-simplify-reading-

•  The-tradiKonal-compensatory-tools-and-PCs-are-a-major-cost-for-families-

•  The- loss-of-selfIesteem-during-primary-schools-has-a-negaKve- impact-on-subsequent-educaKonal-levels-



The history of EdiTouch

4"

EdiTouchTM- is- the-first- tablet- to-support- the- learning-acKviKes-of-Special-EducaKonal-Needs-(SEN)-and-Specific-Learning-DifficulKes-(SLD)-students.-

It-originally-started-as-a-personal-project-as-a-father-of-a-dyslexic-child,- not- being- fully- saKsfied- by- the- soluKons- for- dyslexia-available- on- the- market,- I- decided- to- build- one- for- my- son.-Subsequently-the-interest-aroused-by-my-work-I-together-with-the-desire-to-make-available-to-others-what-he-was-helping-my-son-I-drove- him- me- to- selfIfund- a- startup- that- would- provide- a-complete-soluKon-(hardware-and-soXware)-at-a-price-comparable-to-that-of- the-tablet-already-on-the-market- (which,-however,-are-not-equipped-specific-soXware-for-dyslexia).--

Its-interface-and-the-main-programs-have-been-designed-with-the-support-of-speech-therapists-and-specialists-in-learning-disabiliKes--

In-addiKon-to-the-contribuKon--of-parents-of-dyslexic-children-who-every- day- try- to- find- new- ways- to- facilitate- the- study- of- their-children.-



The situation in Rome In-the-territory-of-Rome-where-the-ASL"Roma"D"(the-local-Public-Health-Care-organizaKon)-operates,- there- are- no- structured- programs- connecKng- students" affected" by" SLD," the"school"environment," teachers"and"parents- enabling- the-usage-of- "compensatory"- tools-such-as-PCs.--

The-tradiKonal-compensatory-tools-(a-combinaKon-of-PC-and-commercial-soXware)-can-be-extremely-costly-for-the-family-with-an-SLDIaffected-child-and-can-amount-to-considerable-sums-(ASL-esKmated-a-cost-of-€-2K).--

This"problem"not"only"slows"down-the-accessibility-to-the-soXware-for-the-students,-but-is-a-further-source-of-inequality-in-the-access-to-learning-and-enhances-social-inequality-in-educaKon-access.--

AddiKonally-when-the-family- individually-adopts-computers-and-soXware-there- is-a-very"high"rejec4on"rate"(only"25%"of"those"who"buy"these"products"s4ll"use"of"them"aMer"6"months).--

For-this-reason,-ASL"Roma"D,-becoming-aware-of-EdiTouch-a-tablet-specifically-developed-to- help- dyslexic- children,- has- decided- to- launch- a- scienKfic- trial- in- the- 7- schools- in- its-territory.-

5"



The rigurous Trial In-the-school-years-2012I2014,-a-mulKdisciplinary-team-composed-by-doctors,-nurses-and-speech-therapists-(ASL-Roma-D)-along-with-bioIpsychoIsocial-research-methodologists-(University-of-L'Aquila)-and-informaKon-technology-professionals-(Digitally-Different-Srl),-conducted-an-18Imonth-long-trial-to-assess-the-psychoIeducaKonal-effecKveness-of-a-tablet-specifically-designed-as-a-compensatory-tool-in-a-conscious-and-inclusive-environment.--

6"

We-trained-teachers,-parents-and-students-so-that-they-could-use-the-tablet-both-at-home-and-at-school-for-ALL-their-studying-needs.-In-the-trial-we-evaluated-the-real-effecKveness-of-EdiTouch-compared-to-the-exisKng-tools-and-also-we-collected-possible-improvement-opportuniKes-of-the-soXware-gathering-feedbacks-from-students,-teachers-and-also-parents.--

A"tablet"providing"a"variety"of"so3ware"in"a"single"technological"solu8on,"with"ease"of"access"and"learning"matches"the"criteria"of""competence”,""consonance""and"“contextualiza8on""(Andrich,"2009)"when"implemented"in"a"conscious"and"inclusive"environment."



Some data on Italian schools Italy-ranks-fourth-last-in-Europe-for-early-school-dropIout-(source:-Ministry-of-EducaKon,-2013),-17.6%-of-young-people-aged-between-18-and-24-can-count-on-the-secondary-school-examinaKons-as-the-only-tool-to-influence-their-desKny.-Further-dramaKc-data-are-reported-for-those-drop-out-aXer-the-threshold-of-the-primary-school:-in-fact,-0.2%-of-students-abandon-secondary-school.-The-experience-of-recent-years-shows-that-many-students-oXen-find-difficult-to-adapt-to-common-educaKon-systems.-The-problem-is-parKcularly-important-for-those-pupils-aged-6-to-14-who-have-Special-EducaKonal-Needs-(children-with-ADHD,-specific-learning-disabiliKes,-mental-retardaKon,-foreign-students,-etc.)-or-the-ones-that-have-cogniKve-and/or-affecKve-deficiencies-in-the-areas-of-language,-math-and-science.-

In-Italy,-rejecKon-is-sKll-considered-as-a-tool-to-punish-children.-But-a-rejected--person-is-definitely--someone-who-lives-a-discomfort-of-some-kind:-cultural,-social,-or-otherwise.-

In-the-OCSEIPisa-report-on-the-students-repeaKng-school-in-the-world,-it-appears-that-in-Italy-,-between-primary-and-high-school,-more-than-17%-of-students-are-rejected.-It-is-a-lot!--It-is-even-worse-considering-that-many-of-those-rejected-students-are-in-fact-dyslexic.--

The-need-for-repeaKng-a-class-involves-high-costs:-the-cost-of-one-extra-year-of-educaKon-is-added-to-the-loss-of-income-for-the-community-when-the-entrance-of-the-rejected-student-in-the-labor-market-is-postponed-by-one-year.-In-Italy,-the-cost-of-rejecKons-represents-6.7%-of-the-naKonal-annual-expenditure-for-primary-and-secondary-educaKon-I-or-$47,174-(about-€-36,000)-per-student-who-repeats-one-year-(corriere.it).-


7"


The Methodology adopted

8"

The-research-design-and-assessment-methods-are-based-on- a- target" group" A" (placed- in- a- facilitated- learning-environment)- consisKng- of- primary" and" secondary"school"children"(9:16"years)"with"SLD"cer4fica4on""in-the-absence- of- cogniKve- impairment- and- preIexisKng-psychopathological- disorders.- The- control" group" B" (100-with- and- 50-without- SLD)- is- balanced- for- chronological-age- and- socioIeconomic- condiKons.- The- baUery" for"assessing" the" psychological" well:being- and- the- skill-levels-was"evaluated" in"an"A:B:A"design"consisKng-of-a-pre:test" (at- the- beginning- of- the- project),- a- treatment-(presentIabsent)- using- the- tablet- equipped- with-specifically-designed-and-tested-soXware,-and-a-post:test"(follow:up"at"18"months"from"star4ng"the"project).-The-methodology- includes- both- individual" case:studies" and"mul4variate"modes-by-type-of-treatment.-We-have-been-following- - the- acKon- research- model,- which- aims- to-acKvaKng-a-process-of- change- through- the-contribuKon-and-the-parKcipaKon-of-the-subjects-involved.-

Phase-1-of-the-survey-(effecKve-prevenKon-capacity-of-a- “facilitaKng”- environment- versus- the- secondary-discomfort)- involves- the- crossIsecKonal- analysis,- by-different-classes-in-which-the-compensatory-device-has-been- inserted,- study- styles,- the- basal-psychopathological- state- aXer- complete- diagnosis- of-SLD,- from-the-third-class-of-the-primary-school-to-the-second- class- of- high- school.- This- crossIsecKonal-analysis- was- performed- in- the- longitudinal- study- in-order-to-verify-the-desired-change,-in-the-psychological-wellIbeing-as-well-as-in-the-learning,-and-the-increased-moKvaKon- to- study.- Everything- was- compared-longitudinally- with- a- control- sample- that- was- not-massively- exposed- as- the- previous- group- to-compensatory-standardized-measures.-

The- research- design- will- also- allow- to- evaluate" the"effec4veness"of"the"new"instrument-(EdiTouch)-and-to-collect-specific-recommendaKon-from-teachers,-pupils-and-parents-in-support-of-a-more-widespread-use.-



Information on Target Group (SLD) The-trial-enrolled-over--400-children"and"teenagers"from-8"schools""in-Rome.-219"of-them-cer4fied"for"SLD"received-the-tablet."

9"

Age

11I13-9I10- 14I16- 16-+-

46.76-%-35.97-%-

11.51-%-

5.76-%-

43.88-%-

56.12-%-

Gender Previous use of compensative sw

NO-(*)-YES-

56.20-%-43.80-%-

SLD per class

3-SLD-per-class-on-average- (*)- Students- declared- they- did- not- use-

compensatory-measures- in- class- before-the-project-because-they-thought- it-was-too-complex-to-use.-



Secondary-

Information on Teachers The-trial-involved-over-80"teachers"from-8"schools""in-Rome."

106"

Age

31I35- 41I45-36I40- 46I50-

26-%-

33-%-

13-%-2-%-

Specific knowledge Type of schools

Primary-

52-%-48-%-

13-%-13-%-

Less-than-30- Over-50-

Previous-awareness-of-SLD-

Previous--knowledge-on-computer-science-

Ability-to-perform-inclusive-educaKon-

7.41-

-SELFIEVALUATION-(1-to-10)--

6.67-6.64-



Liking of the studying method Judgment-of-the-SLD-group-on-the-proposed-study-method-(EdiTouchIcentric)-

STUDENTS- PARENTS-TEACHERS-

Graphs-show-the-average-raKng-(1-to-10)-of-the-three-groups-


116"

Liking of the study method 5-

REQUEST"FOR"AN"INCREASED"USE"FROM"STUDENTS"

AT SCHOOL

It-is-OK-as-we-are-using-it-now-

Want-to-use-it-less-58.27-%-

36.69-%-

5.04-%-

Want-to-use-it-more-for-example-in-all-disciplines-

53.96-%-42.45-%-

3.60-%-

AT HOME


126"


Evaluation of psychological improvement

VariaKon-of-some-psychological-elements-of-SDL-students-with-tablet-vs-previous-year.-

PARENTS’ JUDGEMENT-

73-%-

27-%-

YES- NO-

Greater-autonomy-

69.34-%-

28.47-%-

Greater-peace-

YES- NO-

70-%-30-%-

Less-stressed-

YES- NO-

TEACHERS’ JUDGEMENT-

SAME-


136"


Teachers-rated-the-EdiTouch-effecKveness-on-educaKon-as-follows:-

Evaluation of education effectiveness

Allows-a-more-inclusive-teaching-

AVERAGE-RATING-(1-TO-10)-

89-%-

11-%-

IntenKon-to-adopt-it-also-in-the-future-

-YES- NO-


146"


Evaluation vs. other instruments Efficacy-of-studying-with-this-tablet-as-compared-to-other-compensatory-instruments-available-in-the-market-(Ericsson,-Anastasis,-LeggiXme,-Ballabolka)"

PARENTS’ OPINION-

73.72-%-

26.28-%-

YES- NO-

Simpler-

74.1%-25.9-%-

Easier-

YES- NO-

69-%-31-%-

More-effecKve-

YES- NO-

TEACHERS’ OPINION-STUDENTS’ OPINION-


156"

Propensity to recommend EdiTouch Propensity-to-recommend-this-tablet-to-other-SDL-students-(Net"Promoter"Score)"

STUDENTS- PARENTS-TEACHERS-

Average-score-(from-1-to-10)-assigned-by-the-different-groups-


16"

Conclusion

The-results-of-the-research-indicate-that-studying-with-EdiTouch"tablet"favors"greater"capacity"in"terms"of"academic"performance,"higher"self:esteem,"autonomy"and"mo4va4on,-in-a-short-Kme.--This-encourage-us-to-believe-that-this-beVer-school-achievements-will-be-gained-consistently-also-in-future.-

From-an-educaKonal-point-of-view,-more-than-70%-of-the-subjects-in-all-three-categories-involved-(teachers,-students,-parents)-had-no-hesitaKon-in-declaring-the-greater"effec4veness"of"this"tool"compared"to"other"PC"compensatory"tools-available-in-the-market.-


17"

More information 17"

Overall"responsible"for"the"trial"at""ASL"Roma"D"[email protected]

Primary"contact"for"technology"tools"Marco-Iannacone-–[email protected]

ANNEX – 1 Design principles of EdiTouch

We-wanted-EdiTouch-to-be-a-simple,-light-and-lowIcost-tool- supporKng-children- in- their- study-acKviKes- since-the-early-years-of-school.-We-have-therefore-chosen-a-large-format-reminding-to-school-notebooks.--

Due-to-the-type-of-device-and-the-nice- interface,- it- is-able-to-propose-a-way-of-working-that-overcomes-the-resistance-of-the-children-and-gives-them-graKficaKon,-increasing- moKvaKon,- and- as- a- result- facilitaKng-academic-success.--

For-the-packaging,-communicaKon-and-user-interface,-we-used-the-figure-of-a-child-with-light-lines,-drawn-in-marker-that-could-be-nice-and-acceptable-to-boys-and-girls.-Also-the-icons-of-the-programs-are-large,-colorful-and-made-��with-the-same-style.-

EdiTouch had to be liked at first sight


19"

Some of the initial icon prototypes


20"

Minimum"Viable"Product"is-the-mode-of-development- we- adopted:- an- iteraKve-process- during- which- the- iniKal- idea- is-conKnuously-modified-and-adapted-aXer-the- feedback- received- from- iniKal- users-(soIcalled- early- adopters).- This- process-goes- on- unKl- the- desired- product- is-obtained.-

Development approach: minimum viable product


21"

The development and evolution of applications is driven by the information provided by speech therapists, psychiatrists and teachers involved in the project, but also from the comments receiving from the dozens of parents who use our products every day with their children.

Application roadmap


22"

ComparaKve-studies-conducted-in-different-countries-have-shown-that-some-fonts-are-more-readable-and-pleasing-to-SLD-subjects.-In-general,-Sans-Serif-seems-to-be-the-favorite-type,-but-research-has-also-highlighted-other-features.-

In-Italy,-the-most-famous-are-the-fonts-Easyreading-®-and-Biancoenero-®,-used-in-their-highly-readable-necklaces-(on-paper)-and-recently-the-font-TestMe.--

To-be-menKoned-among-foreign-ones-are-Dyslexie-and-OpenDyslexic-I--an-opensource-font-created-by-Abelardo-Gonzales-from-Spain.-

We-designed-EdiTouch-so-that-specific-fonts-can-be-used-in-order-to-validate-their-effecKveness-also-on-tablet:-these-fonts-are-preinstalled-and-applied-to-every-app!-

A specific font for reading 23"

Through-a-mechanism-of-parental-control,-the-teacher-or-parent-can-decide-which-applicaKons-are-immediately-accessible-to-the-child-during-the-Kme-of-study,-allowing-them-to-limit-possible-distracKons-from-the-acKvity.-

Parental control: keep focused


24"

ANNEX – 2

Several models available

EdiTouch is available in several models 25"

ANNEX – 3

Comments on EdiTouch

Students’ opinion on EdiTouch – 1/5


26"

Students’ opinion on EdiTouch –2/5


27"



28"



29"



30"

Un programma come questo non può durare solo un anno: andrebbe esteso anche l'anno prossimo adeguando i tablet alle classi in cui andranno i ragazzi

dovete prolungare il progetto ancora di qualche anno, dando ai ragazzi i tablet delle medie che funzionano molto bene

Per favore non chiudete il

progetto a giugno

L'iniziativa è fantastica! il problema è che bisognerebbe

fare più corsi informativi ai ragazzi e alle maestre!!!

altrimenti tutto è inutile!

Fateci avere il tablet anche l'anno prossimo, atrimenti che facciamo?

Non lasciate il progetto a metà: deve proseguire anche alle medie e vogliamo anche noi i tablet più potenti che avete dato ai ragazzi più grandi. La ASL deve essere presente in

scuola almeno una volta al mese per garantire ce gli insegnanti facciano usare questi strumenti di studio

una partecipazione attiva di una logopedista

Dovete costringere le insegnanti a non discriminare e a valorizzare l'uso del tablet

vorrei che si potesse continuare ad usare il tablet - magari

nella versione per le medie - anche nei prossimi anni

il tablet piace molto ai ragazzi, il problema sono gli insegnanti: bisogna spingerli ad usare i tablet rivedendo la didattica

Continuate così

vorrei che non ci abbandonaste l'anno prossimo ma che il progetto proseguisse con

formazione degli insegnanti e ASL che controlli il vero uso

che ne fanno in classe

il tablet è bello: sarebbe comodo dotarlo di un pennino come il telefono galaxy perché aiuterebbe i disgrafici

Forse se gli insegnanti incoraggiassero mio figlio userebbe di più il tablet come alcuni suoi amici più grandi

Parents’ comments on the project 06"

Sarebbe bello poter proseguire.Da quando i ragazzi hanno questo nuovo tablet riescono a lavorare in autonomia.

facendo tesoro dei risultati già sorprendenti di quest'anno, potremo fare ancora meglio nei prossimi anni.

E' necessario più tempo per conoscere e utilizzare meglio

il tablet.

ma non dobbiamo essere lasciati da soli a gestire questa sperimentazione. servono insegnanti di

sostegno o chiare direzioni dalla dirigenza scolastica

Sono necessari più corsi di formazione per gli insegnanti.

Ho indicato che è più utile a casa perché i ragazzi riferiscono che in alcune materie non gli consentono

di usarli o li mandano in altre classi. Se la direzione scolastica prendesse una posizione ferma, si potrebbe davvero lavorare bene anche in classe

Vorremmo avere il supporto della ASL anche nei prossimi anni

ora che abbiamo iniziato non dobbiamo smettere, altrimenti che fanno questi ragazzi?

Per un buon uso dovrebbero poterlo usare tutti gli

alunni della classe

Una valida iniziativa; ora pero' andiamo avanti con continuità e strutturando meglio il lavoro con lo strumento

Grazie per quanto fate!

Servirebbe continuare il progetto nei prossimi anni: vedo

che i bambini riescono a studiare a casa con maggior

facilità. Dovremmo avere anche noi il modello delle secondarie che ho visto funziona molto bene

Il nuovo modello funziona proprio bene. I programmi sono ben fatti, ma bisognerebbe aggiungere programmi di scrittura con sintesi vocale

Non credete agli insegnanti che dicono che i tablet non funzionano o sono difficili da usare: basta mettersi di impegno che i programmi sono ben fatti

Esportate i programmi utilizzati sul tablet

anche sulle LIM

Bravi!

Teachers’ comments on the project 06"

field evaluation of editouch – the first tablet for sen/sdl students (2014)

Education