IntroductionMany students receiving special education services find reading difficult and frustrating, and as a result they do not read for pleasure and their skills do not advance at a rapid rate. The author began his research by studying whether student engagement could be enhanced by using animation technology, specifically Animoto. After reviewing previous research in this area, I had students use Animoto to make trailers for The Bad Beginning: (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1), by Lemony Snicket.

As my research evolved, my focus turned towards using adaptive learning technologies, specifically Moby Max, to develop language and vocabulary skills while simultaneously developing self-confidence and motivation to read in my students. The ultimate goal remains the same, which is to inspire students with special needs to read more and to give them the tools to achieve the skills to read for pleasure and for learning -- Developing Reading Mastery.

Materials and Methods The materials I used in Phase I were copies of the Lemony Snicket book referred to above and Animoto software technology. After creating individual accounts for my students, I taught them how to make storyboards and use them to create a simple book trailer. I conducted surveys before and after the project to measure whether students found the tool engaging and whether it had any affect on student motivation to read.

In Phase II, I purchased an adaptive software technology called Moby Max and used it to see whether it would keep students engaged and result in gains in language and vocabulary skills, as measured by the assessments built into Moby Max and surveys created by the author.

AcknowledgmentsI thank the faculty of the Graduate School of Education at Touro University California for guiding me through the research process, the parents of my students for allowing their children to be photographed , the students who participated in the study, and family for their support.

Results The research subjects were twenty-four 7th and 8th grade students in two special day English classes at Juan Crespi Middle School, in El Sobrante, CA. The research was conducted during the first six months of 2014.

ConclusionsThe survey results indicate that the students report positive results from using this adaptive technology in their English curriculum in every area that was investigated. On a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score, no question received an average response of lower than 3.7. The highest responses were in the areas of badges and game time being incentives to learn, and in the product being more engaging than the more traditional methods the students had previously used to study language and vocabulary.

The real-time data provided by Moby Max, the adaptive technology tool used in this study, showed that during the three months period of the study the majority of the students learned at a rate of >3 grade levels per year.

The significance of these results is that using an adaptive technology can be very motivating for students and result in significantly greater progress than more traditional, pencil and paper methods. This supports the work of other researches who have obtained similar results in other settings, and implies that adaptive technology has the potential to motivate special needs students and increase the speed of their learning new vocabulary and language concepts.

Daniel LevintowGraduate School of Education, Touro University – California

Literature citedGuthrie, J. T., Wigfield, A., Humenick, N. M., Perencevich, K. C., & al, e. (2006).

Influences of stimulating tasks on reading motivation and comprehension. The Journal of Educational Research, 99(4), 232-245,256. Retrieved from from http://library.touro.edu/docview/204202678?accountid=40250

Wigfield, A., Guthrie, J. T., Tonks, S., & Perencevich, K. C. (2004). Children's motivation for reading: Domain specificity and instructional influences. The Journal of Educational Research, 97(6), 299-309. Retrieved from http://library.touro.edu/docview/204212576?accountid=40250

Figure 1. Mr. Levintow with two of his young reading masters.

Figure 2. Two young readers excited about their developing reading skills.

Figure 3. Results of the Animoto Survey

Results indicate that:

Subjects believe they are proficient users of the Animoto technology they learned.Students are confident in their ability to locate and save information on the internet.Students would enjoy doing more projects similar to this one.Lesser, but significant gains were shown in learning more about the book and the desire to read independently of school.

For further informationPlease contact daniel.levintowl@tu.edu. More information on this and related projects can be obtained at www. http://www.tiltnet.org/

Figure 4. This survey, conducted in November 2014, asked 17 7th and 8th graders to assess the affect of using Moby Max for three months on their reading skills and levels of engagement.

Figure 4. This survey, conducted in November 2014, asked 17 7th and 8th graders to assess the affect of using Moby Max for three months on their reading skills and levels of engagement.

Can Adaptive Technology be used to Develop Reading Mastery?

Figure 5. This chart shows the learning velocity of the subject students over the same three month period in late 2014.