Journal of Educational Computing Research, Mar 1, 2012
We examine the effect of direct and indirect teaching of vocabulary and word reading on pre-kinde... more We examine the effect of direct and indirect teaching of vocabulary and word reading on pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children following use of an electronic storybook (e-book). The children in each age group were randomly assigned to an intervention group which read the e-book or to a control group which was afforded the regular school program. The e-book included words with meaning support and words with no support. Children who read the e-book exhibited progress in the meaning and reading of the words supported directly by the computer compared to the control group. No such progress was observed for words without direct support. No differences appeared in the progress between the two age groups and no interaction was found between age and type of word support.
Education and Information Technologies, Jun 8, 2010
The question posed in the current study is whether software alone is a sufficient tool for suppor... more The question posed in the current study is whether software alone is a sufficient tool for supporting young children’s emergent writing. We researched the effect of reading an electronic book (e-book) on kindergarten children’s emergent word writing with and without adult support. Ninety-six 5 to 6 years old children from low socioeconomic status (SES) families were randomly assigned to one of
Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, Oct 1, 2019
The aim of the current study is to compare teachers' attitudes, motivation, and use of iPads ... more The aim of the current study is to compare teachers' attitudes, motivation, and use of iPads to support teaching children with learning disabilities (LD) versus children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three hundred and nine teachers (294 females and 15 males) between the ages of 25 to 62 (M= 42.66) participated in the study. The teachers were divided into two groups according to their students' disability type: 221 teachers of students with LD and 88 teachers of students with ASD. The teachers were evaluated by six questionnaires: demographic characteristics, general technology use, experience with iPads, digital competencies, attitudes toward iPads, and teacher's preparedness for iPad use. Results show that teachers in both groups find that the iPad is a useful tool to promote teaching and learning. However, the findings reveal that teachers of children with ASD use iPads more frequently and for a longer duration in the classroom. Furthermore, teachers of students with ASD seek more training.
Journal of Educational Computing Research, Apr 22, 2022
Spatial language and ability play important roles in children’s cognitive development. Spatial ab... more Spatial language and ability play important roles in children’s cognitive development. Spatial ability in kindergarten predicts achievement in reading, math, science, and technology in primary school and therefore constitutes an important skill set in preparation for school entrance. Good spatial thinking skills are required for learning in school. The study’s purpose was to examine the contribution of robot programming to an intervention aimed at promoting spatial language (spatial vocabulary) and spatial ability (mental rotation, visual-spatial memory) among preschool children at risk for Specific learning disability (SLD). The sample of 84 preschool children participating in the study was randomly assigned to three groups: (1) intervention group with robot programming, (2) intervention group without robot programming, and (3) a control group. The findings indicate that children exposed to the robot-based intervention exhibited the greatest improvement in spatial vocabulary and mental rotation tests when compared to the children who participated in either the intervention without robot programming or in the control group. No significant differences between the groups were found in post-intervention visual-spatial memory. The findings indicate that robot programming activity contributes unique added value in attempts to foster spatial vocabulary and mental rotation.
This preliminary study aimed to examine improvement in eye contact among children with autism spe... more This preliminary study aimed to examine improvement in eye contact among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) following an innovative technological intervention integrated with meta-cognitive guidance. Eighteen ASD participants, ages 5–9, were divided into two equal intervention groups—one received metacognitive guidance, and one did not. An eye-contact assessment was conducted pre intervention and post intervention by tracing the children’s head and eye movements using a built-in laptop camera. The intervention included six 30-min sessions in which the participants played a computer game (C-Me) that required them to make eye contact with cartoon characters who needed assistance in solving a problem or completing a task. The results indicate that the technological intervention effectively promoted eye contact among all participants, especially those in the metacognitive intervention group.
The study examined the effect of using laptops on the spelling capabilities of students with lear... more The study examined the effect of using laptops on the spelling capabilities of students with learning disabilities (LD). The participants were 104 Hebrew-speaking students with LD aged 13–16, who study in special education classes, and were randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group, which used laptops, and the control group, which did not use laptops. A usability questionnaire was administered before the 4-month intervention to ensure that there were no noticeable gaps in the level of computer literacy among the students who used the laptops. A spelling test was administered at a pretest and posttest.
Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 2019
The aim of the current study is to compare teachers' attitudes, motivation, and use of iPads ... more The aim of the current study is to compare teachers' attitudes, motivation, and use of iPads to support teaching children with learning disabilities (LD) versus children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three hundred and nine teachers (294 females and 15 males) between the ages of 25 to 62 (M = 42.66) participated in the study. The teachers were divided into two groups according to their students' disability type: 221 teachers of students with LD and 88 teachers of students with ASD. The teachers were evaluated by six questionnaires: demographic characteristics, general technology use, experience with iPads, digital competencies, attitudes toward iPads, and teacher's preparedness for iPad use. Results show that teachers in both groups find that the iPad is a useful tool to promote teaching and learning. However, the findings reveal that teachers of children with ASD use iPads more frequently and for a longer duration in the classroom. Furthermore, teachers of student...
Journal of Educational Computing Research, Mar 1, 2012
We examine the effect of direct and indirect teaching of vocabulary and word reading on pre-kinde... more We examine the effect of direct and indirect teaching of vocabulary and word reading on pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children following use of an electronic storybook (e-book). The children in each age group were randomly assigned to an intervention group which read the e-book or to a control group which was afforded the regular school program. The e-book included words with meaning support and words with no support. Children who read the e-book exhibited progress in the meaning and reading of the words supported directly by the computer compared to the control group. No such progress was observed for words without direct support. No differences appeared in the progress between the two age groups and no interaction was found between age and type of word support.
Education and Information Technologies, Jun 8, 2010
The question posed in the current study is whether software alone is a sufficient tool for suppor... more The question posed in the current study is whether software alone is a sufficient tool for supporting young children’s emergent writing. We researched the effect of reading an electronic book (e-book) on kindergarten children’s emergent word writing with and without adult support. Ninety-six 5 to 6 years old children from low socioeconomic status (SES) families were randomly assigned to one of
Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, Oct 1, 2019
The aim of the current study is to compare teachers' attitudes, motivation, and use of iPads ... more The aim of the current study is to compare teachers' attitudes, motivation, and use of iPads to support teaching children with learning disabilities (LD) versus children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three hundred and nine teachers (294 females and 15 males) between the ages of 25 to 62 (M= 42.66) participated in the study. The teachers were divided into two groups according to their students' disability type: 221 teachers of students with LD and 88 teachers of students with ASD. The teachers were evaluated by six questionnaires: demographic characteristics, general technology use, experience with iPads, digital competencies, attitudes toward iPads, and teacher's preparedness for iPad use. Results show that teachers in both groups find that the iPad is a useful tool to promote teaching and learning. However, the findings reveal that teachers of children with ASD use iPads more frequently and for a longer duration in the classroom. Furthermore, teachers of students with ASD seek more training.
Journal of Educational Computing Research, Apr 22, 2022
Spatial language and ability play important roles in children’s cognitive development. Spatial ab... more Spatial language and ability play important roles in children’s cognitive development. Spatial ability in kindergarten predicts achievement in reading, math, science, and technology in primary school and therefore constitutes an important skill set in preparation for school entrance. Good spatial thinking skills are required for learning in school. The study’s purpose was to examine the contribution of robot programming to an intervention aimed at promoting spatial language (spatial vocabulary) and spatial ability (mental rotation, visual-spatial memory) among preschool children at risk for Specific learning disability (SLD). The sample of 84 preschool children participating in the study was randomly assigned to three groups: (1) intervention group with robot programming, (2) intervention group without robot programming, and (3) a control group. The findings indicate that children exposed to the robot-based intervention exhibited the greatest improvement in spatial vocabulary and mental rotation tests when compared to the children who participated in either the intervention without robot programming or in the control group. No significant differences between the groups were found in post-intervention visual-spatial memory. The findings indicate that robot programming activity contributes unique added value in attempts to foster spatial vocabulary and mental rotation.
This preliminary study aimed to examine improvement in eye contact among children with autism spe... more This preliminary study aimed to examine improvement in eye contact among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) following an innovative technological intervention integrated with meta-cognitive guidance. Eighteen ASD participants, ages 5–9, were divided into two equal intervention groups—one received metacognitive guidance, and one did not. An eye-contact assessment was conducted pre intervention and post intervention by tracing the children’s head and eye movements using a built-in laptop camera. The intervention included six 30-min sessions in which the participants played a computer game (C-Me) that required them to make eye contact with cartoon characters who needed assistance in solving a problem or completing a task. The results indicate that the technological intervention effectively promoted eye contact among all participants, especially those in the metacognitive intervention group.
The study examined the effect of using laptops on the spelling capabilities of students with lear... more The study examined the effect of using laptops on the spelling capabilities of students with learning disabilities (LD). The participants were 104 Hebrew-speaking students with LD aged 13–16, who study in special education classes, and were randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group, which used laptops, and the control group, which did not use laptops. A usability questionnaire was administered before the 4-month intervention to ensure that there were no noticeable gaps in the level of computer literacy among the students who used the laptops. A spelling test was administered at a pretest and posttest.
Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology, 2019
The aim of the current study is to compare teachers' attitudes, motivation, and use of iPads ... more The aim of the current study is to compare teachers' attitudes, motivation, and use of iPads to support teaching children with learning disabilities (LD) versus children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three hundred and nine teachers (294 females and 15 males) between the ages of 25 to 62 (M = 42.66) participated in the study. The teachers were divided into two groups according to their students' disability type: 221 teachers of students with LD and 88 teachers of students with ASD. The teachers were evaluated by six questionnaires: demographic characteristics, general technology use, experience with iPads, digital competencies, attitudes toward iPads, and teacher's preparedness for iPad use. Results show that teachers in both groups find that the iPad is a useful tool to promote teaching and learning. However, the findings reveal that teachers of children with ASD use iPads more frequently and for a longer duration in the classroom. Furthermore, teachers of student...
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