Technology and Language Learning: Assessing the Influence of Prior iPad Experience

Abstract

The current study investigates the relationship between children’s perceptions of what an iPad does and their ability to efficiently use it for educational purposes. Specifically, this study examines how a child’s familiarization with an iPad as either a gaming device or as a learning tool, impacts how much they learn from an e-book. Using a stepwise linear regression, I examine children’s novel word learning as a factor of the following: (a) how children interacted with the iPad in the current study; (b) children using a tablet more than five times a week in general; (c) children primarily engaging in non-educational apps; (d) the type of apps children most often used at home; and (e) children’s ability to correctly identify the function of the iPad. Results indicated that the type of apps children most often used at home and children correctly communicating what an iPad is used for had independent statistically and practically significant effects on novel word learning. Moreover, the current study reviews possible limitations in the methodology, as well as indicates unexpected factors that may have influenced the results. Future research should expand on the theories proposed using a large scale replication experiment.