The use of information and communication technologies to overcome reading difficulties. statistical comparison of reading results through the use of Letrinhas software

Abstract

Letrinhas is an information system created by the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar (Portugal), in partnership with a School Grouping (Portugal), to give support to elementary school children with reading difficulties. The software can be used on mobile devices, such as a tablet, and allows the evaluation and improvement of reading fluency. By promoting the development of students' reading skills, it contributes to the development of autonomous readers and consequently to the improvement of school results. In order to evaluate the importance of Letrinhas software in the process of reading (children from 2nd and 3rd grade, with a mean age of 7/8 years old), two independent samples were collected, consisting of students from several primary schools. A sample is made up of students who have learned from Letrinhas (experimental group) and the other sample consists of students who have learned to read through the classic process (control group). In the students' learning process there are two essential reading components: fluency and precision. To statistically compare the data gathered for the variables Fluency Index and Precision Index, in both groups (experimental and control), confidence intervals and (non)parametric tests were used. The differences between the two teaching methods of reading, observed in graphs and in the values of some descriptive statistical measures, are statistically significant (also the values obtained for the effect sizes measures are considerable). The positive impact of the Letrinhas software on the fluency and precision of reading, empirically identified by teachers, was statistically confirmed.