This case study research was conducted to determine if three moderately priced iPad apps could assist children with autism in the area of social skill development. Five participants from Grades 6-12 were selected for this study. The researcher met with each participant three times. After being given a demonstration, each participant was observed using the apps and then asked questions relating to their experiences using them. The researcher and participants discussed the themes of the apps to determine whether the participant comprehended the social situations that were presented. The results of each case study varied based on the cognitive abilities of the participant. All participants had success with at least one app and indicated that they would continue using the apps in the future. More research is needed to determine the true potential of the iPad as a tool for children with autism to enhance their social skills. / May 2016

A recent dramatic increase in the availability of early literacy applications (apps) for mobile devices has led teachers to incorporate them into their educational programs. This study explored teachers' perceptions and opinions regarding three early literacy apps: Endless Reader, Preschool Matching Game: Rhyming Words, and Hideout: Early Reading. The study consisted of 15 preschool teachers who interacted with each app and answered questions regarding their opinions about the apps and the use of digital devices in the classroom in general. Teacher responses were analyzed and categorized based on common topics that emerged from the data set. The results of the study imply that teachers prefer apps that include sound pedagogical principles as well as game-like features to keep students engaged in learning. Future research should explore the processes and guidelines teachers use when selecting apps for classroom use as well as investigating what students actually understand from early literacy apps and other apps used in the classroom.

The presence of digital mobile applications (apps) designed to promote early literacy skills has surged in the last few years. This study explored children's affect and engagement as they interacted with three apps: Endless Reader, Hideout: Early Reader, and Preschool Matching Game: Rhyming Words. The study consisted of 12 children, age 4 to 5, who interacted in pairs with each of the apps while their classroom teacher facilitated the experience. The researchers examined videos and transcripts of the children's actions and nonverbal expressions as they encountered the apps. Transcripts included verbal and nonverbal information with codes assigned to represent child behaviors. Descriptive analysis of the data led to characterizing behaviors children exhibited in light of the different apps' design features and with respect to group dynamics. The researchers found that all three apps had relatively equal proportions of positive and negative child behaviors. However, the types of behaviors varied according to the demands and constraints of each app. The researchers also observed differences in child behavior depending on the dynamics that occurred as children interacted with each other and with their teacher. The results of the study imply that parents and teachers seeking to choose quality apps must consider a variety of factors, including the type of child engagement that the app tends to elicit and the instructional value of the content. Future research should explore the extent to which different types of positive and negative behaviors are related to design and pedagogical features of apps in order to aid parents and teachers in choosing apps that are engaging as well as instructionally sound.

This exploratory qualitative study investigated the presence of and relationships among constructs that contribute to children's interactions with educational technology, leading to the development of the modification of attributes, affordances, abilities, and distance (MAAAD) for Learning framework. For this study, each of 10 fifth-grade children participated in one individual video-recorded semistructured interview session, during which they interacted with two mathematics virtual manipulative iPad apps and responded to follow-up questions. Video recordings and observation field notes were analyzed for evidence of attributes, affordance-ability relationships, distance, and relationships among these constructs. Constant comparative data analysis using memoing and eclectic coding provided evidence of the presence of each focus construct. Further analysis and interpretation, including quantization of qualitative data for visualization using novel rhombus plots, also led to the identification of emergent themes related to each construct and revealed relationships among the constructs. Emergent themes included categorization, alignment, and modification of attributes, variations and interrelationships among affordance-ability relationships, and the identification of and interactions among mathematical and technological distance. Furthermore, each construct related to each other construct. The evidence and interpretations led to the development of the MAAAD for Learning framework. The results of the study suggest that the MAAAD for Learning framework models relationships among attributes, affordance-ability relationships, and distance in the context of user-app interactions. the framework could serve as a tool for app developers designing apps, educators using apps to support children's learning, and researchers characterizing user-app interactions and the outcomes of those interactions. The constructs, relationships, and framework identified in this study advance the literature on children's interactions with educational technology tools, in particular literature concerning children's interactions with mathematics virtual manipulative iPad apps.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (1999, 2011) recommends no screen time for children under two years and limited screen time for three- and four-year-olds. Despite these recommendations, most young children have easy access to various types of screens. In particular, children*s use of mobile media, including tablets and other touch screen devices, is increasing (Common Sense Media, 2013). Even though scholars have highlighted positive uses for mobile media (Christakis, 2014; Radesky, Schumacher, & Zuckerman, 2015) and there are recommendations in place for using mobile media with young children in active, open-ended ways (NAEYC & Fred Rogers Center, 2012), there has been very limited research conducted on the impact of mobile media on young children*s development. What is more, as early childhood professionals are beginning to incorporate mobile media into their classrooms, they are struggling with the ability to use these devices in developmentally appropriate ways (Marklund, 2015; Nuttall, Edwards, Mantilla, Grieshaber, & Wood, 2015). The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the efficacy of using different types of mobile media apps to increase the receptive and expressive vocabulary development of preschool children living in economically disadvantaged communities. Children and teachers in four Head Start classrooms participated in the quasi-experimental study, which included an eight-week intervention in which the children interacted with one of two types of apps: one classroom used direct instruction vocabulary apps (n = 16) and one classroom used open-ended vocabulary apps (n = 15). Two classrooms served as control groups (n = 18; n = 14) which used apps that were chosen by the Head Start program with no specific instructional method. Children*s vocabulary was assessed pre- and post-intervention. To assess receptive vocabulary, the PPVT-4 (Dunn & Dunn, 2007) and an iPad Receptive Vocabulary Assessment (Vatalaro, 2015a) were used. To assess expressive vocabulary, the EVT-2 (Williams, 2007) and an iPad Expressive Vocabulary Assessment (Vatalaro, 2015b) were used. Using a repeated measures analysis of variance with split plot analysis, children who used direct instruction apps performed statistically significantly higher on the PPVT-4 than children who used open-ended apps. Children in the direct instruction app group also performed statistically significantly higher than both control groups on the iPad Receptive Vocabulary Assessment. There were no statistically significant differences between groups for receptive vocabulary as measured by the EVT-2. However, when children were credited for describing a function instead of the iPad vocabulary word, the analysis of the iPad Expressive Vocabulary Assessment revealed that the children using direct instruction apps performed statistically significantly higher than children using open-ended apps and the children in one of the control groups. A secondary purpose of the present study was to examine the use of apps in mobile media by Head Start teachers. The teachers in the two intervention classrooms participated in weekly meetings with the primary researcher for support in using mobile media in their classrooms in order to ensure that the child intervention was carried out with fidelity. After analyzing data from teachers* self-report daily logs across the eight-week intervention, it was determined that the children received instruction on the assigned apps in both intervention classrooms. Although caution is given to the findings due to some limitations such as the quasi-experimental choice of a research design and the number of participants, the present study contributed to the early childhood research literature with the findings that interactive, animated apps which provide the meanings of vocabulary words in a direct instruction manner may have the ability to increase a child*s receptive vocabulary, and to increase a child*s descriptive definitions of iPad functions. This information increases the chance that teachers in Head Start will begin using direct instruction apps, in the hope of increasing a child*s vocabulary knowledge.