Savannah Baker

Instructional Technology
Digital Learning Environments
Article Review
Citation
Moratelli, K., & Dejarnette, N. K. (2014). Clickers to the Rescue. Read
Teach The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 586-593. Retrieved February 16,
2016.
Identification
Research
Summary
Classroom Response Systems allow teachers to use multiple choice,
true/false, and yes/no questions in a whole group setting with all
students participating simultaneously. Clickers are small, wireless
devices similar to a remote that enables learners to answer questions
and teachers to gather data quickly as well as display results in a
graph for immediate feedback. They also show teachers the students
need additional support and those who have grasped the concept and
are ready to move on. Clicker technology can be used as tool for
engaging students and providing feedback for students and teachers.
This article discusses how clickers have the potential to improve test
scores and student achievement. The study took place in an urban
fifth-grade classroom full of diverse learners of low socio-economic
status. The class used basal readers and completed workbook pages
and assignments throughout the week. The students in this classroom
were uninterested in the stories, which impacted their comprehension,
engagement, and assessment scores causing the majority of students
to fail the tests. Normally, the teacher would lead a whole group review
session comprised of oral discussions with only one student able to
answer at a time. The graduate intern developed comprehension
questions from the reading selection for the week and then used
PowerPoint to create a slideshow with the questions in order to prepare
students for the weekly textbook literacy assessments. For a four-week
period, the review sessions occurred once a week and all students
provided their answers for each question. Students felt like the review
was a game resulting in all students to increase their engagement
score by at least one point. The weekly literacy test scores also
increased after the clicker review sessions and 59% (13/22) of students

improved their test score averages. Low-achieving students made up

almost 50% of the students who improved their test scores.
Critique
I thought that the article was very informative about Clicker technology
and its usefulness in a classroom setting. I think that this article would
be beneficial for teachers who are trying to incorporate more
technology into their lessons. It makes several valid points for the use
of clickers to monitor students individual reading comprehension and
literacy skills in addition to tracking students progress. There were a
few sections of the article that could have been given a more
appropriate title. When explaining the process of using Clicker
technology the author was quite repetitive and repeated herself in
multiple sections. The section titled Using Technology in the
Classroom was especially repetitive constantly using the phase
immediate feedback. The article was poorly designed and threw the
reader off track as far as what was being said at various points
throughout the article. Within one section the author included a small
section titled Pause and Ponder which raised questions for teachers
regarding instructional technology. The questions were distracting
because they were placed in the middle of a sentence. Monstrous
quotes were also placed mid-sentence and for being blown up they had
little significance.

Citation
Thiele, A. K., Mai, J. A., & Post, S. (2014). A. The Student-Centered
Classroom of the 21st Century: Integrating Web 2.0 Applications and
Other Technology to Actively Engage Students. Journal of Physical
Therapy Education, 28(1), 80-93. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
Identification
Professional Practice
Summary
Learning in the 21st century focuses on a student-centered classroom
and integrating different kinds of technology into traditional
curriculum. The Research and Evaluation Team used a survey to assess
students perceptions of educational technology and described some of
the advantages and disadvantages according to faculty. The web
applications discussed in this article were Moodle Learning
Management System, Raptivity, Camtasia Studio, Jing, and Triptico.
Data was collected on the following categories: portable devices,

active use of the web, effects of educational technology, preferences

for the amount of technology, usefulness of educational technology,
comfort levels with technology, barriers encountered with educational
technology, and digital distractions. The authors concluded that
students knew basic computer concepts. Learners enjoyed using
technology in the classroom because they were able to become
participant in hands-on learning. The students were aware of the
limitations of technology, but they still believed that educational
technology provided them with active learning experiences that were
student-centered and enhanced learning.
Critique
The article was thorough, well organized, and the authors distinctly
summarized their three main points. Each application was described in
extreme detail followed by examples of how the technology has been
integrated in the classroom. A table was used to display the various
types of educational technology, their cost, and recommendations for
implementation. Another table presented technology/courses
implementing technology, advantages, and disadvantages. The
authors also included visual examples from Raptivity and Triptico to
support their theories. Data was gathered from both faculty and
students and the survey results were shown in individual tables for
each of the questions containing the answer options and percentage of
the population who chose each of the following choices: Strongly
Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree. The article was broken into
sections that made sense and flowed. The purpose and findings were
clearly defined and easy to understand through the use of bulleted
text, tables, and visuals.

Citation
Union, C. D., Union, L. W., & Green, T. D. (2015). The Use of eReaders in
the Classroom and at Home to Help Third-grade Students Improve their
Reading and English/ Language Arts Standardized Test Scores.
TechTrends, 59(5), 71-84. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
Identification
Theory-into-Practice
Summary
The article describes an intervention at an elementary school in
Georgia and the effects of portable technology as part of the teaching
and learning process throughout the 2012-2013 academic year. Nook

Simple Touch eReaders were used as an educational tool for thirdgrade students in the classroom and at home. The purpose was to
monitor student performance in Reading and English/Language Arts
and to determine whether or not the technology was durable and costeffective. The authors compared end of the year second-grade scores
from 2012 Georgia Online Assessment System (OAS) and the end of
the year third-grade Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). The
classs performance was also compared to four other third-grade
classrooms in which students did not use Nooks or eBooks. The
students were allowed to take the eReaders home to complete reading
comprehension or Nook Assignments. The portable technology helped
students exhibit responsibility and proved the durability of portable
technology. Students were engaged and motivated while using the
eReaders. Portable technology improved student achievement during
classroom activities and the students test scores.
Critique
The ideas within the article were systematically addressed and the
authors provided visual examples of Nook Assignments for the reader.
Using reading materials loaded onto Nook eReaders and using Nook
Assignments would be useful for teachers. This portable technology
supports Reading and English/Language Arts Common Core skill
development. The article contained several tables and graphs to
display the primary data. A table presented the Mean, Median, Min,
and Max scores of students who were issued eReaders and those who
were not issued eReaders. There was also a graph that showed the
mean reading score of students with and without eReaders. The
authors chose valuable information to include in their comparisons. By
using data from the end of the year second-grade 2012 Georgia OAS
scores and the end of the year third-grade CRCT scores for all
participating third-grade students, the impact portable technology had
on student achievement was evident to the reader.