| The goal of the dissertation was to investigate the usage-effect of iPads and eSpark Learning for kindergarten readiness skills with at-risk students. The Creative Curriculum was used with the in-district at-risk students as well as 6 area Universal Prekindergarten programs. All students participated in The Creative Curriculum's pretest and posttest assessments. eSpark Learning utilized the assessment scores from the pretest scores in order to customize applications for the at-risk students based on their cognitive levels. The iPads and eSpark Learning were meant to supplement classroom center activities and students were supposed to be rotated through the iPad center 3 times per week for 20 minutes each session. The applications included: (a) alphabet, (b) phonemic awareness, (c) phonics, (d) knowledge of print, (e) vocabulary, (f) reading comprehension, and (g) emergent writing skills. Using a quasi-experimental research design, the year-long study included a small, 172 student sample population of experimental and control groups identified from intact, 72 at-risk in-district Pre-K and 102 UPK students from a North Shore Long Island, New York School District. Pretest and posttest literacy achievement data were collected through school year 2014-15 using The Creative Curriculum pretest and posttest. Experimental group mean score was slightly higher than the control group, although not significant. Pretests as covariate showed higher control group gain score, with significance, but small effect size (partial eta2 =.026). eSpark Learning usage revealed that the students did not interact with iPads at the frequency time recommended. Both groups showed positive mean kindergarten readiness gain scores with the experimental (M=-0.1025) lowers than the control group (M=1.19), although not significant. Results suggested iPads and eSpark Learning customized applications did not influence kindergarten readiness skills. |
