Can ICT improve education outcomes?: An Experimental Study in a Singapore School

Posted by: Principal/Editor | July 13, 2013

Can ICT improve education outcomes?: An Experimental Study in a Singapore School

Dennis K.H. Tan and Vicente Reyes

Reading is an important outcome leading to academic success in life. Young children who do not benefit from early literacy intervention are those with phonological processing deficits; facing difficulties in naming letters, poor vocabulary and poor recognition of sight words. Recent developments see the rapid rise in using technology software as a powerful tool in helping early literacy learners in reading and writing skills.

Best practices in emergent literacy instruction support skill development in five key areas: phonemic awareness, word recognition, concepts about print, alphabetic principle and comprehension. Scholar and practitioners argue that computer based emergent literacy is more effective to young children with disabilities. Research studies have shown significant benefits in emergent literacy in phonemic awareness, word recognition and comprehension using software which has been field-tested.

The authors find it timely thus to undertake a localized investigation of the effects of using software tools such as Earobics© to support young children referred for reading difficulties. This exploratory study included the selection of thirty (30) participants from the Learning Support Programme (LSP) referred for reading difficulties. Using a between-group pre-and post-test design, this study compared two groups belonging to the LSP – an experimental group with Earobics© intervention and a control group. The experimental intervention uses Earobics©; an interactive software programme in addition to the current LSP programme.

PLS Working Paper Series No.5

Posted in 21st century education, competences, Experimental Study, Information Communication and Technology | Tags: Experimental Study, ICT, Singapore

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