Creating a Prototype for a Reading Mobile Application to Support Saudi Arabian Middle School

44 Pages·2017·0.5 MB·English

by  Eman Mushayt

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS

PROJECT SIGNATURE PAGE

PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

MASTER OF ARTS

IN

EDUCATION

PROJECT TITLE:
CREATING A PROTOTYPE FOR A READING MOBILE APPLICATION
TO SUPPORT SAUDI ARABIAN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

AUTHOR: Eman Mushayt
DATE OF SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE: April 18 2018
THE PROJECT HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE PROJECT COMMITTEE IN
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN
EDUCATION.
Sinem Siyahhan 04/18/2018
PROJECT COMMITTEE CHAIR DATE
Rong-Ji Chen 04/18/2018
PROJECT COMMITTEE MEMBER DATE
CREATING A PROTOTYPE FOR A READING MOBILE APPLICATION TO SUPPORT
SAUDI ARABIAN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS
Eman Mushayt
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Masters in Arts
in the School of Education
California State University San Marcos
April 2018
Abstract
Adolescence is a period that qualifies an individual to read to learn more than learn to
read. Educators, on the other hand, are able to create opportunities of success to students and
provide best possible thoughts and solutions in terms of creating habitual readers for lifelong
learning. In this study, the researcher has investigated and designed a mobile application
prototype that serve to make varieties of Arabic books accessible for adolescents to choose from.
The design process, materials, and photos are posted for each screen. The goal of this project is
to provide Saudi adolescents the appropriate educational encouragement they deserve to ensure
their productivity and healthy growth as lifelong learners. An advanced level of reading is a door
of success that will qualify students to cope with the flood of information take responsibilities for
their lives, feed their imaginations, and be creators of knowledge in the 21st century and beyond.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii
Figures............................................................................................................................................. v
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1
Purpose of Project ....................................................................................................................... 1
Preview of Literature ................................................................................................................... 2
Preview of Methodology ............................................................................................................. 3
Significance of Project ................................................................................................................ 3
Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Definitions of Key Terms ............................................................................................................ 4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 6
Importance of Reading ................................................................................................................ 7
Developing Critical Thinking .................................................................................................. 8
Importance of Reading in Middle Level Education .................................................................. 10
Using Mobile Applications to Encourage Reading and Improving Access to Books .............. 12
Approaches to Engage Students to Read Books .................................................................... 12
Offer the Book Access through the Use of Technology ........................................................ 13
Summary of Chapter ................................................................................................................. 15
CHAPTER 3: CONTEXT OF THE PROJECT ............................................................................ 16
The Project Timeline ................................................................................................................. 16
The Design Platform ................................................................................................................. 18
CHAPTER 4: DESIGN................................................................................................................. 19
Project Description .................................................................................................................... 20
The Design Elements ................................................................................................................ 21
Summary of Chapter ................................................................................................................. 29
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................ 30
Project Overview ....................................................................................................................... 30
Educational Implications ........................................................................................................... 31
Project Implementation Plans .................................................................................................... 32
iii
Limitations of Project ................................................................................................................ 32
Future Directions ....................................................................................................................... 33
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 34
References ................................................................................................................................. 36

iv
Figures
Figure 1. Screenshot and description of the new user page
Figure 2. Screenshot and description of creating an account
Figure 3. Screenshot and description of my account page
Figure 4. Screenshot and description of choosing a book
Figure 5. Screenshot and description of book genres
Figure 6. Screenshot and description of book review
Figure 7. Screenshot and description of my library page
Figure 8. Screenshot and description of the rating screen page
Figure 9. Screenshot and description of the favorite page
Figure 10. Screenshot and description of the reading page
Figure 11. Screenshot and description of recommending books to a friend
v
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Coping with the twenty-first century workforce demand is getting more challenging with
each day. Individuals should be prepared with skills that contributes in rising their productivity
growth to acquire the sufficient skills needed and ensure personal success in general.
Technology, on the other hand, has fundamentally changed the learning mission to the
requirement of integrating it to the current educational system. Consequently, this project aims to
create a reading mobile application that targets Saudi Arabian middle schoolers between the ages
ten to fifteen. In order to convey the purpose of the designed project two questions have been
composed as a guide: (1) Why would encouraging students to read for pleasure be an important
educational practice? (2) How to create a reading mobile application and provide access to wide
variety of books for Saudi Arabian adolescents? In what follows, the researcher provides the
purpose of the project, a preview of the literature, a preview of the methodology, the significance
of the project, and definitions relevant to the project.

Purpose of Project
Due to the absence of independent reading support (the freedom of choosing what to read
for pleasure) in Saudi Arabian schools, students are deprived of an essential source of knowledge
building. Motivating students to go to the school’s library and choose what to read for pleasure
from a wide variety of books is not a followed practice in Saudi schools. However, reading is a
1
powerful educational skill that impacts students’ academic growth, and personal flowering.
Reading also prepare student with the skills needed to meet the university's success
requirements. As some statistics investigated by the researcher indicates a critical low percentage
of high-school students’ low performance on their standardized tests (Alrushaydan, 2010). The
recently adapted standardized test (the general aptitude test) by the Saudi educational system, is
mostly measures students’ skills in thinking critically. This Standardized test have been
perceived by many Saudi students as a threat that is causing them to be denied from being
admitted to Saudi universities (Aloqaili, 2012). A study conducted by Hussainy (2014) shows
that 10% of students in one university dropped out during their first year. This percentage can be
also related to a reinforcement lack of certain skills during school years.
Since most Saudi Arabian schools are not prepared with libraries that offer rich varieties
of books choices, the researcher’s goal to accomplish is to design a mobile application that will
enable students to access and choose from different varieties of Arabic books electronically. A
virtual library, on the other hand, would be a great fulfill to the 21st century learning goals in
term of technology integration to the learning process because it would provide an easy access to
books anytime and anywhere and attract young adults’ attention. Further, schools would not have
to have a large budget in order to prepare libraries with the wide book choices.

Preview of Literature
Three investigated field led to creating a reading mobile application prototype for Saudi
middle level students in particular as a best potential solution for reading encouragement. First,
the importance of reading. The researcher found that pleasurable reading habit contributes in
individual’s academic and personal success as well as develops questioning mind, creative
2
thinking, and awareness of the larger world (Sanacore, 2010). Secondly, the importance of
middle level grades education. As the investigated data showed that the most important aspects
of successful middle level education are the stimulation of reading for lifelong learning and
enjoyment (Association for Middle Level Education, 2010). Lastly, approaches to engage student
to read books were explored and classified into two approaches to porsu; book choice and use of
technology. As what Al-qahtani (2016) revealed in his study that lack of books exposure and
reading leads to poor reading habit.

Preview of Methodology
The researcher used Balsamique (https://balsamiq.com/products/mockups/) to create a
prototype of a reading mobile application that provides an electronic access to a collection of
Arabic books as an alternative of traditional libraries. The prototype does not require any coding.
However, the researcher can embody and demonstrate the design and user interface of the
application and use it as a demo. The prototype designed by the researcher contains an organized
system of categorized books collections. It enables an access to non-commercial web-based
digitized collections such as electronic resources of free public libraries and free institutions in
order to build a digital library for Saudi adolescence.

Significance of Project
The reason why this project is focused on reading is to provide Saudi adolescents with
the educational opportunity they deserve to develop academic success, personal growth, critical
thinking skills and prepare them to meet the workforce demands of the future. Reading will
3
qualify students to cope with the flood of information, take responsibilities for their lives, feed
their imagination, and be creators of knowledge in the 21st century and beyond. Creating an
electronic reading application that can provide a large collection of adolescents’ Arabic books as
an alternative of traditional libraries is the best potential solution to encourage them to read.

Summary
Demonstrate the importance of why we should consider reading independently when it
comes to educational practice is a primarily point that been investigated. Follows that a full
description of how and why the created mobile reading application prototype should be
considered educationally. However, illustrating the above two points required three areas of
inspection, (a) the importance of reading (b) the importance of middle level grades education and
(c) the best tool for reading encouragement as well as the best tool of designing a prototype and
make suitable books accessible.

Definitions of Key Terms
E-Book: A digital form of a printed book that can be read on electronic devices.
General Aptitude Test (GAP): A test administered in Saudi Arabia educational system after high
school. It measures a student's analytical and deductive skills through testing abilities
relevant to reading comprehension, recognizing logical relations, solving problems based
on basic mathematical notions, interference skills, and measuring capacity
4