examining the effectiveness of educational tablet pc applications to teach daily living skills to

182 Pages·2015·1.39 MB·English

EXAMINING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EDUCATIONAL TABLET PC
APPLICATIONS TO TEACH DAILY LIVING SKILLS TO STUDENTS WITH
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

BY

SABİHA YENİ

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
COMPUTER EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY

JUNE 2015

Approval of the thesis:

EXAMINING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EDUCATIONAL TABLET PC
APPLICATIONS TO TEACH DAILY LIVING SKILLS TO STUDENTS
WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Submitted by SABİHA YENİ in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Education and Instructional
Technology Department, Middle East Technical University by,

Prof. Dr. Gülbin Dural Ünver ____________
Dean, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences

Prof. Dr. Soner Yıldırım ____________
Head of Department, Computer Education and Instruct. Tech.

Prof. Dr. Kürşat Çağıltay ____________
Supervisor, Computer Educ. and Instr. Tech. Dept., METU

Examining Committee Members:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selda Özdemir _________________
Special Education Dept., Gazi University

Prof. Dr. Kürşat Çağıltay _
Computer Edu. & Instruct. Tech. Dept, METU

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Necdet Karasu _________________
Special Education Dept., Gazi University

Assist. Prof. Dr. Gülfidan Can _________________
Computer Edu. & Instruct. Tech. Dept., METU

Asist. Prof. Dr. S. Tuğba Tokel _
Computer Edu. & Instruct. Tech. Dept., METU

Date: June 30, 2015
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and
presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare
that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced
all material and results that are not original to this work.

Name, Last name : SABİHA YENİ

Signature :______________

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ABSTRACT

EXAMINING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EDUCATIONAL TABLET PC
APPLICATIONS TO TEACH DAILY LIVING SKILLS TO STUDENTS WITH
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Yeni, Sabiha
Ph.D., Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology
Supervisor : Prof. Dr. Kürşat Çağıltay

June 2015, 164 pages

Mobile technology enhanced learning environments can support the education of
individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). Literature reveals that information and
communication technology (ICT) based education obtained successful results in the
development of academic, social and adaptation skills for individuals with ID. The
main purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of educational tablet
applications to teach a daily living skill to individuals with ID. In addition, it is
examined whether a newly learned skill can be protected at one, three and four weeks
after training and whether it can be generalized to different tools. Usability of tablet
applications is examined in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction (social
validity). Multiple-baseline across subjects design is used as single case research in
the study. Seven individuals with ID and five special education teachers form the
group of participants of the study. To be eligible for participation, individuals are
expected to meet some requirements such as ability to follow simple verbal
instructions. In the implementation process of the study, baseline, probe,
intervention, generalization and follow-up sessions are employed. Also, five kinds of
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data are collected: effectiveness, reliability, social validity, maintenance and
generalization, and usability. In conclusion, results show that tablet application is an
effective tool to teach a daily living skill to individuals with ID. In addition, the
newly learned skill is protected at one, three and four weeks after the training and
individuals can generalize the skill to different tools. Tablet application is updated
according to pilot study results. As a result, an improvement in the application is
detected in terms of efficiency and satisfaction components of usability when data
from pilot study and main study are compared.

Keywords: Special Education, Mobile Technologies, Tablet Applications, Single
Subject Design, Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, Daily Living Skills

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ÖZ

ZİHİNSEL ENGELLİ ÖĞRENCİLERE GÜNLÜK YAŞAM BECERİLERİNİN
ÖĞRETİMİNDE EĞİTSEL TABLET BİLGİSAYAR UYGULAMALARININ
ETKİLİLİĞİNİN İNCELENMESİ

Yeni, Sabiha
Doktora, Bilgisayar ve Öğretim Teknolojileri Eğitimi Bölümü
Tez Yöneticisi : Prof. Dr. Kürşat Çağıltay

Haziran 2015, 164 sayfa

Mobil teknolojiler ile destekli öğrenme ortamları, zihinsel engelli öğrencilere
eğitimleri için destek sağlar. Alanyazın, BIT destekli eğitim ile zihinsel engelli
bireylerin eğitiminde sıklıkla ortaya çıkan sorunlardan olan akademik, sosyal ve
uyum becerilerinin geliştirilmesi konularında başarılı sonuçlar alındığını ortaya
koymaktadır. Bu çalışmanın temel amacı eğitsel tablet bilgisayar uygulamalarının
zihinsel engelli bireylerin günlük yaşam becerilerini geliştirmedeki etkililiğini
araştırmaktır. Ayrıca, öğrendikleri yeni bilgileri eğitimden bir, üç ve dört hafta sonra
koruyabilme ve farklı araçlara genelleyebilme durumları da araştırılmıştır. Tablet
uygulamasının kullanışlılığı da etkililik, verimlilik ve memnuniyet (sosyal geçerlilik)
değişkenleri açısından incelenmiştir. Bu araştırmada, tek denekli araştıma
modellerinden “denekler arası çoklu başlama” tekniği kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın
çalışma grubu yedi öğrenci ve beş özel eğitim öğretmeninden oluşmaktadır.
Katılımcı olabilmek için bazı önkoşul becerileri sağlamaları beklenmiştir (örneğin
basit sözel yönergeleri takip edebilme, vs.). Bu çalışmanın yürütülmesi esnasında şu
oturumlar gerçekleştirilmiştir: başlama seviyesi, yoklama, öğretim, genelleme ve
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izleme oturumları. Ayrıca araştırma süresince beş tür veri toplanmıştır: Etkililik,
güvenirlik, sosyal geçerlilik, devam ettirilebilirlik - genellenebilirlik, kullanışlılık.
Sonuç olarak, elde edilen bulgular eğitsel tablet uygulamasının zihinsel engelli
bireylere günlük yaşam becerisini öğretmede etkili bir araç olduğunu göstermiştir.
Ayrıca yeni öğrenilmiş beceri, eğitimden bir, üç ve dört hafta sonra da korunmuş ve
bireyler tarafından farklı araçlara genellenebilmiştir. Tablet uygulaması pilot
çalışmadan sonra iyileştirme amaçlı güncellenmiştir. Daha sonra pilot çalışma ve
esas çalışma sonuçları incelendiğinde, özellikle verimlilik ve memnuniyet
değişkenleri açısından uygulamada iyileşme elde edildiği gözlemlenmiştir.

Anahtar kelimeler: Özel Eğitim, Mobil Teknolojiler, Tablet Bilgisayar Uygulamaları,
Tek-Denekli Araştırma Modelleri, Zihinsel Engelli Bireyler, Günlük Yaşam
Becerileri

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To my dear family,

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Kürşat
Çağıltay, for his encouragement, insight, criticism, guidance and advice through this
research. He always supported me when I needed him to guide the way. I was also
lucky enough to work with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Necdet Karasu, my examination
committee member. I receive his encouragement and constructive, supportive
feedbacks. His help widen my perspective in the field of special education.
I would like to acknowledge to the other examination committee members, Assis.
Prof. Dr. Gülfidan Can, Assis. Prof. Dr. Tuğba Tokel and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selda
Özdemir for their comments and suggestions.
I should also express my appreciation to administrators, teachers and students of
Special Bilge Şirin Rehabilitation Center for their great support during my study.
I should also thank to Özgür Boyluğ, Satı Burhanlı, Asuman Güler and Havva
Sezgin, the developers of the tablet application and Ersin Kara for his help during the
update process of tablet application.
I would like to thank to Prof. Dr. İlhan Varank, the head of the department of CEIT
Yıldız Technical University, for his support and encouragement from the beginning
of PhD process until today. He helps me to set higher goals in my academic
development.
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) also
supported me with national scholarship during my PhD education. I would like to
thank to TÜBİTAK.
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