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Replacing Stop Watches and Clipboards
Over the past few years, the Indiana Institute’s Early Childhood Center, has been interested in the topic of school readiness and its implications for preschool programs preparing children (and parents) for kindergarten. In the fall of 2010, we wanted to observe what kindergarten classrooms were like during the first month of school. We were interested in assessing the skill demands and expectations kindergarten teachers had for children at the very beginning of the school year. We knew that kindergarten classrooms were dramatically changing - adopting a stronger academic focus and increasing the amount of time spent in teacher-guided instructional activities. Knowing more about the changing demands occurring in kindergarten, we could then think about what those changes might mean for preschool teachers.
In earlier work, we had designed a data collection system that made use of laptops running a database for recording classroom routine and skill expectation data. While the laptops provided a great tool for recording our observational data electronically, they posed some problems. First, the batteries could not last an entire kindergarten day and we would have to tether ourselves to the nearest available outlet. Second, while laptops are portable, they were cumbersome when we had to move about and then re-position ourselves in order to record our observations.
In the fall of 2010, we decided to use iPads for our data collection. Using iPads provided some very attractive features over laptops. First, they are very light and mobile; so, as teachers and children changed activities and settings, we were easily able to move and record our data. Second, the batteries on iPads could last several hours, long enough for any kindergarten classroom day. We no longer had to worry about tethering ourselves to the nearest outlet.
Along with the iPads inherent features as an easily portable data collection system, we made use of an app called FileMaker Go, and its desktop database application sibling, FileMaker Pro. With the use of these two FileMaker applications, we were able to develop a sophisticated yet easy to use recording protocol. The protocol made extensive use of check boxes, radio buttons, and drop down menus for easy (and accurate) data entry. Because we were collecting a large amount of data, we were able to create a customized layout that made use of a tabbed interface for easy navigation between the two data-entry screens. Another function this app enabled was the insertion of a script that enabled us to implement a time sampling protocol - the observation databases would prompt us with alerts and screens instructing us to observe for 20 seconds and to record for 40 seconds. A final feature we were able to program were contextual Help buttons that, when selected, offered small popup screens with the needed data definitions. We embedded the Help buttons into our layout for recording data, which enabled us to view the information, quickly and easily, as needed. This greatly helped our accuracy in recording over 30 curriculum, classroom routines, and skill code definitions that were a part of our protocol.
There were/are a few challenges in using this technology. First, familiarity with a touchscreen interface (e.g., iPad, iPhone) is helpful in the beginning. Knowing how much pressure to apply, as well as methods for swiping to enlarge screens or switch between pages, does take some practice. One of our coders, who had no experience with touchscreen interfaces, initially struggled to provide the correct amount of pressure to activate a checkbox, expand the screen, and navigate. Second, designing the data recording protocol requires someone with a working knowledge of database design and familiarity with the application, FileMaker Pro. Third, we needed to develop a clear protocol for uploading, downloading, and storing the classroom data to prevent data loss. The system we used relied on creating files for each classroom, and keeping track of which files were empty/full. This required individual staff to become familiar with uploading and transferring files from their computer onto their iPads.
Once these initial challenges were successfully addressed, using iPads to collect, store, and transfer our data electronically was straightforward. As we completed our observation of a classroom, we could quickly and easily transfer the data from our iPad into the larger database storing all of our observations. Once all of our observations were completed, it took a matter of minutes to transfer our data to the statistical application we used for our data analyses.
For more information on this project, contact Michael Conn-Powers, Director, Early Childhood Center, at (812) 855-6508 or e-mail mipower@indiana.edu.
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