Integrating Apple© iPodsinto the ESL Classroom

An Action Research Project

Brandi Nunnery

ESL Teacher

Rutherford County Schools

Background

•Researcher- Brandi Nunnery

•School- Smyrna Elementary

•Students- 9 Second Graders in the ESL Program

Student Demographics

Race/Ethnicity Number of Students Percentage of Enrollment

White 427 67%

Hispanic 136 21.4%

Black 61 9.6%

American Indian/Alaskan Native

0 0%

Asian/Pacific Islander 13 2%

Gender Number of Students Percentage of Enrollment

Male 333 52.3%

Female 304 47.7%

Free/Reduced Lunch

Number of Students Percentage of Enrollment

339 53.2%

Importance of Study

•Low socioeconomic students are using high-interest technology

•Students learn how digital music players work and how to use them

Statement of the Problem

•How does high-interest technology impact the language arts scores of English Language Learners?

•Do the children prefer using the iPods or listening to the teacher read-aloud?

Triangulation MatrixOverarching Questions

Data Source 1

Data Source2

Data Source3

Do the students prefer using iPodsto sustained silent reading, round-robin reading, and/or choral reading? Why or why not?

Individual Student

Interviews

Group Survey Observer Field Notes and Digital

Pictures

How is comprehension affected by listening to the author read the story on the iPod as opposed to reading the literature with the teacher?

Accelerated Reader Tests on

Magic Tree House Books #1, #2, and

#3

Vocabulary Tests on Magic Tree

House Books #1, #2, and #3

Observer Field Notes

What writing strategies were incorporated and how did these experiences affect writing ability?

Grammar Activities(Formal)

Student Journal Responses(Informal)

Writing Activities(Formal)

Definition of Terms

MP3 Player- A digital music player that supports the MP3 format, which was the audio format that started a revolution in online music downloads and distribution.

MP3- (MPEG Audio Layer 3) An audio compression technology that is part of the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 specifications. MP3 compresses CD-quality sound by a factor of roughly 10, while retaining most of the original fidelity; for example, a 40MB CD track is turned into a 4MB MP3 file. MP3 files are played via media player software in the computer or in countless handheld players that use flash memory or hard disks for storage.

Digital Music Player- Hardware or software that plays audio files encoded in MP3, AAC, WMA or other audio formats. There are many software-based music players, such as iTunes, RealPlayer and Windows Media Player that play audio files on the computer.

iPod Shuffle- an iPod digital audio player designed and marketed by Apple Computer. It was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 11, 2005, using the tagline"life is random." Instead of storing data on a hard disk, it was the first iPod to use flash memory (the more recent iPod nano also uses this form of memory). It weighs 22 grams (0.78 ounces).

Review of the LiteratureHighlights

• iPod in the Classroom website•Lesson Plans

•Phonics Lessons

•Learning Math with Music

•Digital Science Experiments

Review of the LiteratureHighlights

• Public Libraries and School Media Centers

•iPods available for check-out

•Used for reading support

•Saves time and money

Review of the LiteratureHighlights

• The Brearley School•Mandatory item for language and literature classes

•Dictation

•Digital recordings in a target language

Review of the LiteratureHighlights

• San Marcos, TX•Video iPods for ELL newcomers

•iPods target comprehension and acclimation to the American culture

•Teachers make podcasts that the students can take home

Review of the LiteratureHighlights

• the “wow” factor•Brearley School- a great “hook” for middle-school girls

•The iPod is “hip” and “ingenious”

•Even though children are working on reading skills, they’re still “cool”because they’re using the technology

Research Design: Sample

Gender Age Native Language

Birth Country

Female 7 Spanish U.S.

Female 8 Kurdish U.S.

Female 8 Spanish U.S.

Female 8 Spanish U.S.

Female 8 Kurdish U.S.

Female 7 Spanish Mexico

Female 7 Spanish Mexico

Male 8 Spanish U.S.

Male 8 Spanish Mexico

Materials

Materials

· Reader Response Journals

· Magic Tree House CD Books #1- #8

· Vocabulary and Comprehension Workbooks

· State Writing Assessment Rubrics

· Reader Response Sheets for Writing Assessment

· Computers

· AR Program

· Student Surveys

Procedure

I. Magic Tree House Book #1- Dinosaurs Before Dark

a. Teacher-Led Reading Experiences

b. Daily Journal Question and Reponses

c. End-of-Chapter Activities

d. End-of-Book Assessments

Procedure

II. Magic Tree House Book #2- The Knight Before Dawn

• Two Groups for Reading Experiences-one with iPods; one with teacher

• Daily Journal Question and Reponses

• End-of-Chapter Activities

• End-of-Book Assessments

Procedure

II. Magic Tree House Book #3- Mummies in the Morning

• Two Groups for Reading Experiences-The two groups will switch methods

• Daily Journal Question and Reponses

• End-of-Chapter Activities

• End-of-Book Assessments

Procedure

IV.Student Survey- Qualitative

V. Collection and Organization of Data

VI.Final Report of Findings

Results: Pre-AssessmentStudent Accelerated Reader

Test Score: Book 1Writing Assessment (Based on the State Rubric)

Melany 80 4

Azar 50 4

Jasmine 80 5

Imelda 60 3

Nariman 70 3

Isabel 60 3

Ana 80 4

Carlos 70 3

Kevin 30 2

Averages 64.4% 3.4

StudentiPod Users

Accelerated Reader Test Score: Book 2

Writing Assessment (Based on the State Rubric)

Melany 80 5

Azar 60 5

Jasmine 80 4

Imelda 30 3

Nariman 20 3

Isabel 60 3

Ana 70 4

Carlos 70 4

Kevin 80* 3

Averages 61.1% 3.8

Results: Post-Assessment

StudentiPod Users

Accelerated Reader Test Score: Book 3

Writing Assessment (Based on the State Rubric)

Melany 60 6

Azar 90 4

Jasmine 80 4

Imelda 20 3

Nariman 60 3

Isabel 40 3

Ana 90 2

Carlos 70 4

Kevin 50 2

Averages 62.2% 3.4

Results: Post-Assessment

Student SurveyQuestion Responses

Which did you like best: listening to the teacher read the book or listening to the book on the iPod?

62.5%- Teacher 37.5%- iPod

Why? Teacher-“because you read slow”“the teacher reads faster”“because my teacher reads good”iPod-“because it is so much fun”

What did you like best about using the iPod?

“the sound”“the song at the beginning”“listening to it”“the author’s voice sounds on it”“the author much so much”

Question Responses

Student Survey

Could you hear well through the iPod earbuds?

Yes- 100%

Did you like using the earbuds?

Yes- 75%No- 25%

Were they comfortable? Yes- 75%No- 25%

Did you like the sound of the author’s voice?

Yes- 100%

Did she read the story too slow, just right, or too fast?

Just Right- 71%Too Fast- 14%Too Slow- 14%

Question Responses

Student Survey

Which of the following activities would you like to do with the iPod?

Record yourself reading your favorite story so you and your friends could hear it62.5%Listen to music and study the words to the songs50%Record yourself singing a song so you and your friends could hear it62.5%Listen to other stories on the iPod75%

Which stories would you like to hear? BambiMagic Tree HouseThree Little PigsJunie B. JonesSongs- “Twinkle, Twinkle”Music from the Wizard of Oz

What else could we do with the iPods? “listen to important stuff on the news”“listen to what people are saying”“listen to music”“sounding out words”“songs”“we can listen to our voices sing”“put it on the computer and put songs on it”“songs or books”“make up stories and put them in the iPod”

Limitations of Project

•Time

•Vocabulary and Comprehension Support

•Student Absences

•Noise

•Product Malfunction

•Product Storage

Conclusions

•Pre-Assessment data revealed an overall lack of comprehension according to the A.R. Results

•10 Question Quiz

•66.4% Accuracy

•Students were supported by Vocabulary and Comprehension Activities during Book #1

•Quiz questions were very specific

Conclusions

•The writing prompt based on the first book yielded positive results.

•Average score: 3.4

•Creative and interesting stories

Conclusions

•Post-Assessment Data for Book #2

•Showed no significant difference in comprehension

•Writing scores increased to 3.8

Conclusions

•Post-Assessment Data for Book #3

•Showed no significant difference in comprehension

•Writing scores returned to baseline score of 3.4

Conclusions

•Overall, the students who listened to the story on the iPod had a lower score on their A.R. test

•80% of the iPod users on Book #2

•75% of the iPod users on Book #3

Conclusions

•Average A.R. scores after listening to the teacher read: 67.8%

•Average A.R. scores after listening to the iPod: 55.6%

Conclusions

•The iPod seemed to have little to no affect on the writing assessment scores.

•The books and the ideas presented in the books gave the children a starting point for creating stories

Conclusions

•According to the student survey, the children enjoyed listening to the teacher read the story rather than listening to it on the iPod.

Conclusions

•Earbuds: Left/Right practice

•Easy to Use

Implications for Teaching

The iPod is a great tool for:

•Differentiating instruction

•Listening/Reading stations

•Dictation

•Voice Recordings

Implications for Supervision

The iPod is a great tool for:

•Library circulation for struggling readers

•Recording homework assignments for low socioeconomic or ESL

•Recording registration directions for non-English speaking parents

Implications for Professional Development

The iPod is a great tool for:

* Downloading audio books to support professional development so teachers can listen to books in their free time

Implications for Further Research

•Voice Recorders

•Storage

•Time Management as iPods are integrated into the classroom

ReferencesBranzburg, J. (2005, February). How to: choose a portable digital music

player. Technology and Learning, 25(7), 48.

Glassman, M. (2004, December 9). Maroon Five makes room on the iPod for

schoolwork [Electronic version]. The New York Times.

Hirsch, J. (2005, November). Applying students’ own devices in the classroom.

School Administrator, 62(10), 8.

Stephens, M. (2005, Spring). The iPod experiments. Library Journal, 22, 24-25.

Stephenson, A. (2006, February 25). High-tech toy now music to the ears of

educators [Electronic version]. San Marcos Daily Record.