Category: app review assignment

Evaluation of Multimedia App – “Epic!”

Epic! is a teacher, student and parent friendly digital reading application designed for readers under the age of twelve. Teachers working with this program have the ability to track their students’ reading progress, provide at home reading assignments, and tailor reading to the student’s reading level. Teacher salaries do not support the investment of fancy technology and expensive applications; therefore, Epic! being offered as a free application makes it accessible for any educator with access to a school laptop or iPad cart. In Chien-Chuan Ko, Chun-Han Chiang, Yun-Lung Lin and Ming-Chung Chen’s article, “An Individualized e-Reading System Developed Based on Multi-Representations Approach,” (2011) they state that many “disabilities prevent students from meeting the challenge of the general curriculum” (p.88). This evaluation aims to prove that Epic! can be used to break down barriers for most students and provide easy and effective access to learning. Throughout our evaluation, we will identify how this application utilizes principles of multimedia learning, several reviews based on the application’s success in classroom situations, research supporting the use of Epic! in multimedia learning and how we plan to use this application in our future teaching practices. 

Epic!’s vast content includes many of the multimedia learning principles such as multimedia, signalling, segmenting and guided discovery. The multimedia learning principle is where “people learn better from words and pictures than from words alone” (McCue, 2020). Epic contains countless picture books for children to enhance their knowledge and understanding as they read. The signalling principle is where “people learn better when cues are added that highlight the key information and its organization” (McCue, 2020). There is a collection of Read-to-Me books that offer a follow-along word highlighting feature. This helps students to focus on each spoken word and to make connections between written words and their corresponding pronunciation. The segmenting principle is where “people learn better when a multimedia message is presented in learner-paced segments rather than as a continuous unit” (McCue, 2020). Readers can work through books at their own pace and can choose to complete quizzes on certain topics to test their knowledge or after they read a book to develop their comprehension. The acts of listening to read-alouds, testing for comprehension, discussing books with others and reading authentic literature “are not only engaging aspects of literature-based classrooms across grade levels, but also essential aspects of learning to read and respond to literature in the early grades and beyond” (Möller, 2015, p. 55). Lastly, the guided discovery principle is where “people learn better when guidance is incorporated into discovery-based multimedia environments” (McCue, 2020). Although this app is very open and learner-centered, teachers can create multiple-choice quizzes and book collections from the various books on the app to assign to their students in order to guide them in a certain direction in order to enrich their learning process. 

The reviews and responses regarding Epic! are overwhelmingly positive. This application contains over 35000 different types of books such as audio books, educational videos and quizzes. The app is to be user friendly, accessible and adaptable for each student (Chandler, 2017). A local kindergarten teacher stated that she has found Epic! to be the best way to engage her students in reading and to introduce them to a wide variety of material that can interest each child (Sarah Fiorentino, personal communication, June 24, 2020). Also, she appreciates how this application allows for individual exploration of books for her young readers as well as whole-class lesson options to practice various early reading skills (Sarah Fiorentino, personal communication, June 24, 2020). Variety and books that will interest each learner were common themes throughout numerous reviews as well as the ability to move towards a paperless classroom (Chandler, 2017). Teachers can also create assignments and use Epic! as an assessment tool (Michelle, 2019). Another teacher said that Epic! has increased the reading motivation of all her grade 3 students because of the reading badges they can earn. She stated that her students “love earning badges, and so does she, because the more time reading leads to better fluency and comprehension” (Devlin Coleman, personal communication, June 24, 2020). There is also an online guide available for educators “which has allowed for so many interactive lessons that students love” (Devlin Coleman, personal communication, June 24, 2020). 

With classrooms continuing to focus on individualized learning and the increasing amount of technology available, applications such as Epic! ensure that teachers have a resource that can be effectively used to promote literacy in elementary classrooms. There have been many studies done on the effectiveness of eBooks and digital reading on tablets with beginning and emerging readers. Frequently, children are more engaged and are able to find enjoyment using apps similar to Epic!. Interactive elements within the application, such as quizzes and videos, can increase children’s autonomy as a reader and enjoyment of activities (Aliagas and Margallo, 2017). Additionally, eBooks and reading using a digital format was found to boost engagement and motivation to read for pleasure (Galebandi and Noorhidawati, 2019).

 

Epic! is a valuable resource that we will be using in our future teaching practices. This application has multiple features that can help enhance classroom experiences for both the teacher and the student. There are many ways to use Epic! in the classroom. Below we have attached a link to a Prezi where we share several ways in which we plan to use this application in the future.

https://prezi.com/view/0Wkfx75hhTybUEXT4ell/ 

Through research on the Epic! application, we have discovered the diverse content developed to support teachers and students. Epic allows teachers to create individualized reading plans for students, provide multiple copies of the same picture books and create a larger library for students’ research projects. Additionally, this application is easily accessible and engaging for all students. Ko, Chiang, et al. (2011) state that “reading skill is essential to a successful learning activity” (p. 88). As strong believers in this statement, we conclude that Epic! will support our future students in becoming more effective and comprehensive readers. By enhancing and developing our students’ reading skills, they will be able to better contribute and engage in classroom reading activities and therefore, gaining more knowledge from reading activities. 

References

Aliagas, C., & Margallo, A. M. (2017). Children’s responses to the interactivity of storybook apps in family shared reading events involving the iPad. Literacy, 51(1), 44-52. doi:10.1111/lit.12089

Chandler, A. (2017, July 15). Smart Review- An Epic! Review from a teacher and a parent. Retrieved from https://www.gettingsmart.com/2017/07/getting-smart-review-an-epic-review-from-a-teacher-and-parent/

Ghalebandi, S. G., & Noorhidawati, A. (2019). Engaging children with pleasure reading: The E-reading experience. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 56(8), 1213-1237. doi:10.1177/0735633117738716

Ko, C.-C., Chiang, C.-H., Lin, Y.-L., & Chen, M.-C. (2011). An Individualized e-Reading System Developed Based on Multi-Representations Approach. Educational Technology & Society, 14 (4), 88–98.

Learning at the Primary Pond. 2019. Five Ways To Use Epic! In The Classroom (That You May Not Have Thought Of!) – Learning At The Primary Pond. [online] Available at: <https://learningattheprimarypond.com/blog/epic-for-teachers/> [Accessed 25 June 2020].

McCue, R. (2020). Principles of Multimedia Learning—A summary. Google Docs. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TGVFG_iCc3iSz3aX3j8UC-YC63V__6tKFJQ4FtAsH4o/edit?usp=sharing&usp=embed_facebook

Michelle, E. (2019, February 25). Common Sense Education- Teacher Review for Epic! Kids books and Videos. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jewk2MM8scHUEW08dFDXqMxqeWh3vYtItFVlzSxLqxw/edit 

Möller, K. J. (2015). Apps in literature-based classroom instruction: Integrating reading and response through traditional and digital media. Journal of Children’s Literature, 41(1), 54. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/docview/1683975342?pq-origsite=summon

Wohlwend, K. (2017). The case of the iPad: Mobile literacies in education. Singapore: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-981-10-4364-2

I have chosen to evaluate the Khan Kids application. Many of the multimedia principles are present within this application which have led to reviews and many positive experiences from educators who have used this app for primary children. I found that the majority of the principles discussed were present within this application. Many of the principles that the Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia identifies as being effective for managing essential processing due to an increase in “the learner’s ability to understand main points of the multimedia presentation” (Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning). The app uses levels and various sections to fulfil the segmenting principle. The modality principle is effective within the Khan Kids application as all the tasks (etc.) are represented verbally with spoken text as well as represented graphically in an age appropriate manner (Mayer, 2014). The levels and sections available allow the teacher to accommodate for students and pre-teach essential components to allow the pertaining principle to be demonstrated within this application (Mayer, 2014). These principles allow for essential processing to occur as students play age appropriate games aimed at learning various essential skills.

There are also many principles present within this application that are useful for reducing extraneous processing in order to lead to the most effective learning being able to take place (Mayer, 2014). The signalling g principle, special continuity principle, temporal continuity principle, and the redundancy principle are all evident within the Khan Kids app. Highlighting essential words, having words and pictures close together, words spoken at the same time they are illustrated, and including narration all allow for extraneous processing to be reduced- and more effective learning to take place (Mayer, 2014). I found that the coherence principle, the principle stating that better learning takes place when extraneous material is excluded from multimedia lessons, was not followed completely. There was lots of extra sound effects and material that could be distracting- or engaging- for some students.

Fostering generative processing principles were present within the Khan Kids application. Specifically, the multimedia principle and the personalization principle. The multimedia principle, being the most relevant and important principle in my opinion, stating words and pictures are more effective than words alone was very evident within the application (Mayer, 2014). Because the app is designed for young children, this is necessary and of great importance for learning to take place. The personalization principle is another that is necessary for effective learning. This principle states that using a conversational style is more effective for learning than a formal style as engagement in conversation leads to more effective learning (Mayer, 2014).

The Khan Kids application is an effective multimedia application. It effectively uses nearly all of the principles for effectively using multimedia to aid learning. It is also very user friendly, can be used at home as well as at school. It can be used in whole class lessons, small groups, or individually in order to meet each student’s needs. The Khan Kids app is also fun, low pressure, and engaging for students, making it seem like play.

References

Anstey, L., & Watson, G. (2018, September 18). A Rubric for Evaluating E-Learning Tools in Higher Education. Educause Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/9/a-rubric-for-evaluating-e-learning-tools-in-higher-education

 

Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning: http://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Cognitive_Theory_of_Multimedia_Learning

 

Mayer, R. E. (2014). The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1017/CBO9781139547369

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=g-sknUVq1mk&feature=emb_title