Role of Touch Screen Tablet Apps in Enhancing Emergent Literacy Skills of Preschoolers

This study explores the role of touch screen tablet apps in enhancing emergent literacy skills in preschoolers. It examines the impact of digital technology on children's learning and discusses the importance of parental guidance in selecting appropriate apps. Four apps are observed and their effectiveness in fostering emergent literacy skills is evaluated.

Running head: Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
ROLE OF TOUCH SCREEN TABLET APPS IN THE AREA OF
EMERGENT LITERACY SKILLS OF PRESCHOOLERS

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
2. Literature review..........................................................................................................................2
3. Observations................................................................................................................................4
4. Results..........................................................................................................................................4
5. Discussion....................................................................................................................................5
6. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................6
7. Reflections...................................................................................................................................6
Reference list...................................................................................................................................8
Appendix........................................................................................................................................11

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
1. Introduction
Emergent literacy refers to knowledge of children regarding writing and reading skills,
even before practically learning how to write or read words. This aspect of literacy is highly
important for preschoolers as it has been believed that children have a tendency to inherit
emergent literacy skills before they join schools or other educational institutions. In this regard, it
can be mentioned that these skills include skills of language, creativity, communication, numeral
identification, mathematical skills, critical thinking, letter name and sound knowledge and more.
There are various factors that affect the growth of these skills. Among these factors, some
factors or sources have become a subject of debate regarding their effect on enhancing emergent
literacy skills. Exposure to digital technology apparently has a positive impact on building up of
emergent literary skills in children. In order to be more specific, it has been believed that use of
touch screen tablets and apps can trigger many skills at once in preschoolers. Any kind of small
or medium sized software that is specially designed for cell phones or tablets can be termed as
apps. This can be classified in various categories such as creating apps, learning apps, gaming
apps, e book apps and more.
This study has focused on role of touch screen tablet apps in enhancing the emergent
literary skills in preschoolers. For that reason, some developmental theories have been utilized
such as theory of scaffolding, socio-cultural theory and self motivation theory for understanding
the importance of tactile interface in children’s development. Moreover, four apps have been
observed for coming to the conclusion that whether these apps have been proven to be helpful in
the growth of these skills or not.
2. Literature review
It has been known that print experiences have a strong impact on building up of the
emergent literacy skills of small children in their early years. On the other hand, it has also been
noticed that digital technology has a special role in enhancing sound and letter knowledge and
other emergent literacy skills in children. In the opinion of Lonigan (2013), children can learn
through communicating or interacting with various digital cultural tools such as mobile phones,

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
computers and through screen tablets within a framework of socio cultural aspect. Socio cultural
theory focuses on the fact that children cannot learn alone by isolating themselves from the
society. On the contrary, the atmosphere around them reflects on their learning (Lantolf, 2013).
This implies that digital devices, in the digital era, can play a significant role in their learning. On
the other hand, this can also been said that children themselves play an important role in their
learning. This is so because self motivation helps them in self learning (Chemolli & Gagné,
2014). In this regard, it can be added that digital world has numerous potentials that can be
highly useful in fostering the essential and advanced literacy skills in children if treated with
care.
Communication skills have a strong potential of guiding the children on the right path of
learning which can be facilitated through exposure to digital media (Sandvik, van Daal & Adèr,
2014). In this regard, this can be stated that there are differences of opinions in parents regarding
use of non digital and digital sources in the enhancement of their children’s learning. According
to Neumann & Neumann (2014), a combination of both digital and non digital media can be
helpful in maintaining the balance of learning in children. In this context, this can be mentioned
that various games in tough screen tablets have multimedia facilities through which multiple
areas of emergent literacy can be improved. In opinion of Flewitt, Messer & Kucirkova (2015),
these multimedia interfaces have the capability of improving visual, kinesthetic, tactile and
auditory senses of children at the same time. Thus, it can be said that touch screen tablets can
influence the emergent skills learning positively.
The important aspect of using digital media for learning is that it enhances both self
learning abilities and interactive learning. According to Jumaat & Tasir (2014), instructional
scaffolding is highly important for little children to prepare themselves for future learning. Thus,
this can be said that digital devices and apps can go side by side with teachers and parents in
fostering instructional scaffolding in children. As opined by Delen, Liew & Willson (2014),
instructional scaffolding helps in providing essential support from various ends to the children so
that they can learn properly. Moreover, three types of scaffolding such as affective scaffolding,
cognitive scaffolding and technical scaffolding can be achieved through use of digital devices
along with guidance of parents can be useful in fostering emergent literacy skills in the children.

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
3. Observations
Four touch screen applications have been observed with the purpose of evaluating them
in the context of their relation to emergent literacy skills. All these apps have been selected
randomly by searching for children’s apps on Google play store. Each of the chosen apps has
been played by the researcher in order to evaluate their value in building emergent literacy skills.
The apps, namely ABC kids, Pinkfong colouring fun app, Kids education and Matheletics app
have been categorised by the manufactures of the apps as suitable for preschoolers. No gender
specificity has been found in any of the apps as per own observation.
Among these apps, ABC kids and Kids education app fall under the genre of gaming app.
On the other hand, the Pinkfong colouring fun app falls under the genre of creating app while
Mathletics app falls under the category of math app (Neumann & Neumann, 2014). Notes on
each of the apps have been taken during the observation period. This has helped in rating the
apps on the basis of some given criteria. In this context, it can be added that the ratings have
been helpful in identifying the role of these apps in enhancing some of the emergent literacy
skills in children. For example, the Pinkfong app can be helpful in enhancing the ability of
creativity in preschoolers by providing them numerous pages to fill with colours. On the other
hand, it can be said that Mathletics app can help preschoolers to have a basic knowledge
regarding mathematics. The role of parents has also been evaluated in facilitating the positive
effect of the above mentioned apps on building emergent literacy skills of children. Moreover,
the level of positive effect that these apps put on children has been evaluated from the ratings
given to them. [Refer to appendix 1]
4. Results
As per the observations, there are diverse kinds of touch screen tablets including the four
apps that have been depicted here. Four different kinds of apps have been observed during the
research so that role of each app can be established. Among the four apps, two apps belong to the
category of gaming app, one belongs to creating app and the rest belongs to meth app. In this
regard, this can be stated that these categories have been taken from the given core article (Hsin,

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
Li & Chin-Chung, 2014). As their categories hint, each app is different from the other. For
example, Pinkfong colouring fun app revolves around triggering creative abilities of children and
at the same time has the capability of enhancing this emergent literacy skill.
This app can be highly useful in fostering emergent skills as children can not only learn
how to paint but also can learn the uses of colours and the ability to create something new (Botts,
Losardo, Tillery & Werts, 2014). On the other hand, Matheletics app can be used for teaching
mathematics in an innovative way to the preschoolers. It has generally been seen that parents or
teachers accompany the children while they lean mathematical practices. On the contrary, this
app enables them to learn mathematics and practice them along with other children of their age
group. Thus, learning becomes more of a play for them that makes easier for them to grasp the
ability to think logically and rationally while solving mathematical problems (Neumann &
Neumann, 2014). Finally, Kids education and ABC kids both can be used simultaneously as
gaming app and learning apps. Moreover, it can be said that emergent literacy skills can be
fostered with the use of these apps.
5. Discussion
As mentioned earlier, this can be said that touch screen apps have the ability to foster the
emergent literacy skills in children. On the other hand, it can also been stated that digital
technology can have negative impact on their learning too. This is so because technology highly
depends on the users who use those technologies for various purposes. From the perspective of
socio cultural growth of children, this can be said that although apps can enhance their
communication skills but at the same time excessive use of these apps can isolate them from
their real life (Illeris, 2018). As a result, they can be dependent on virtual world for acquiring
knowledge. On the other hand, this can be mentioned that as per the observations, not all of the
apps certainly have a positive impact on learning of children (Lantolf, 2013). Apps like Kids
education may or may not have a strong impact on building up of emergent skills of
preschoolers.
In this context, it can be said that it cannot be said that the apps alone can foster emergent
skills in children. However, a combined effort of parents and the use of digital technology can

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
have a positive impact on their learning. Moreover, this can be mentioned that every app, that
has been observed here, can be helpful for different age group of children. Thus, the role of
parents is highly important in choosing the right app for their children which are appropriate for
their age group. With the proper selection of apps and with their proper duration of use, these
apps can be helpful in enhancing cognitive and socio cultural abilities in preschoolers.
6. Conclusion
In order to conclude, this can be stated that this study has revolved around the effect of
use of digital technology in the enhancement of emergent literacy skills in preschoolers. For that
reason, theories like socio cultural theory, self motivation theory and theory of instructional
scaffolding have been reviewed in relation to emergent literacy skills in order to discuss the role
of touch screen apps in fostering these skills in children. In addition, four apps have been
observed in detail to understand their uses and structures so that their use in enhancing skills can
be established at the end of the observation. After the observation, this has been found that some
of the touch screen apps can be useful in scaffolding children using a communicative approach.
In addition, this can be stated that each app has different degree of utilisation in the area of
emergent literacy skills depending on their role in enhancing cognitive and socio-cultural
abilities in children. Moreover, this study can be useful for app builders to create the apps in a
way that can be helpful for preschoolers’ learning.
7. Reflections
a. I was trying to accomplish the task of observing four touch screen tablet apps in order to
understanding their role in emergent literacy skills building in preschoolers. Moreover, I was
trying to relate existing theories of development with the area of emergent literacy skills building
for achieving reliable results.
b. Yes. I have succeeded in the task as the apps have been properly observed and conclusions
have been prepared based on the observations.

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
c. The strongest aspect of this work is that this work is observation based. Thus, it gives me the
opportunity to investigate the existing literature on the same topic with my own findings. In this
way, this study becomes worthy for practical implication of this research in future.
d. The aspect that is in highest need of reworking is its observation area. In this study, I have
observed the use of the children apps. It would be better if I would observe some children while
they use these apps. This would help me analysing their effect on the children more precisely.

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
Reference list
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Botts, D. C., Losardo, A. S., Tillery, C. Y., & Werts, M. G. (2014). A comparison of activity-
based intervention and embedded direct instruction when teaching emergent literacy
skills. The Journal of Special Education, 48(2), 120-134. Retrieved on: 8th Jan, 2018,
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Bus, A. G., Takacs, Z. K., & Kegel, C. A. (2015). Affordances and limitations of electronic
storybooks for young children's emergent literacy. Developmental Review, 35(2), 79-97.
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Chemolli, E., & Gagné, M. (2014). Evidence against the continuum structure underlying
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technology on their learning: A review. Journal of Educational Technology &
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%28Revision2%29.doc

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
Appendix
Appendix 1: Data sheet
Information App 1 App 2 App 3 App 4
Name of the App ABC kids Pinkfong
colouring fun
app
Kids
education
Mathletics
Recommended age 2-3 years 2 years 3 years 3-4 years
Gender specificity All All All All
Classification Gaming app Creating app Gaming app Math app
Description the app This is an
alphabet and
phonics
tracking game
for
preschoolers. It
is also an
educational
app as it deals
with basic
learning of
children. In
order to be
more specific,
this includes
tracking games
for identifying
shapes of
letters and their
association
with respective
phonic sounds.
This is an
interesting
colouring app
for toddlers or
preschoolers
(Marsh,
Hannon,
Lewis &
Ritchie,
2017). This
has a wide
range of
colouring
pages for the
children. In
addition, it
has features
by which
photos can be
turned into
self made
cards.
This is
puzzle game
that includes
the use of
letters, logic,
numbers and
counting.
This game is
widely
popular for
building
mental skills
of children in
a fun filed
way
(Beschorner
& Hutchison,
2013). On
the other
hand, this
game has
four parts
This app is
basically a
math
learning app
for children
and also for
advanced
students.
Various
activities
are included
in this app
that makes
learning
mathematics
simpler and
easier (Bus,
Takacs &
Kegel,
2015).
Moreover,
this game

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
such as basic
skills, animal
world, high
skills and
ABC math.
Over all 96
puzzles are
included in
this app.
has facilities
to play with
other
children
across the
world
through this
app.
Unique features This app is
unique as it
combines
teaching
alphabets with
gaming. For
this reason, it
can be helpful
in the growth
of emergent
literacy of
beginners
(Neumann &
Neumann,
2014). This is
so because this
app is fun and
intellectual at
the same time.
This app is
unique as it
has unique
colouring
tools such as
stickers,
glitters and
more. This
makes the task
of colouring
more fun than
colouring
actual papers
for children.
This app is
highly
unique as it
deals with
multiple
areas of
emergent
literacy skills
at once. This
implies that
many areas
can be
developed in
the children
(Ihmeideh,
2014).
Moreover,
despite
having
various kinds
of games,
This app is
unique as
parents can
easily help
their
children
learn
mathematics
in details
using
concept
search
option of
this app
(Price,
Jewitt &
Crescenzi,
2015).
Moreover,
the play
along

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Role of touch screen tablet apps in the area of emergent literacy skills of preschoolers
still this is
easily
accessible
for
preschoolers.
feature
makes this
app less
boring than
practicing
math alone.
Using a 5-point likert scale*,
rate the general characteristics
of play involved in the app.
a) Spontaneous/Self
regulated
b) Actively creating the
game/characters
c) Pretend/imagination
used
a. 3
b. 3
c. 3
a. 4
b. 3
c. 5
a. 3
b. 3
c. 4
a. 3
b. 4
c. 3
Using a 5-point likert scale**,
rate the level of play supported
by the app.
a) Solitary
b) Parallel
c) Associative/Cooperative
a. 4
b. 5
c. 5
a. 5
b. 4
c. 3
a. 3
b. 4
c. 5
a. 3
b. 3
c. 4
In your opinion does the app do
What it says it does? (is the
claim valid) Yes, No, Undecided
Yes. Yes. Undecided. Yes.
Table1: Observations on four touch screen apps
(Source: Created by learner)