2012 Results

The goals of the project are to improve student engagement, reading fluency, and attitude towards reading.

At the beginning of the project in February 2011, 23% of students in the sample pilot iPod class were not meeting the four dimensions of accuracy, phrasing, smoothness and pace. This compares with 5% of students who were not yet meeting the expectations on the Multidimensional Fluency Scale in May.

In January 2012, 18% of students in the iPod classes were not meeting the four dimensions of accuracy, phrasing, smoothness and pace. This compares with 4% of students who were not yet meeting the expectations on the Multidimensional Fluency Scale in May.

January and May Comparison: Reading Fluency

Key:

Student engagement
95% of students liked having an iPod to use in class
90% of students liked coming to school when they got to work with an iPod
86% of students felt the iPod helped them work more independently

Improved attitudes toward reading
95% of students liked listening to stories on their iPod
71% of students liked reading classwork on iPod
10% of students liked reading classwork in a textbook

Students were assessed with a Multidimensional Fluency Scale in the following four areas: 1. accuracy 2. phrasing 3. smoothness 4. pace

Parents’ perspective about engagement
88% of parents liked having the iPods in class
70% of parents believe that it’s important for their children to have an iPod to work with in school
70% of parents believe that having an iPod has changed their child’s attitude about school
89% of parents believe that their children enjoyed listening to stories read on the iPod
94% believe that their children enjoyed reading on the iPod
24% believe that their children liked reading from a traditional textbook
59% believe that iPods helped improve their child’s reading fluency
82% felt that having an iPod helped their child find information using the internet