Why This App? Using Word Frequency Analysis to Understand Educators’ Reasons for Downloading Educational Apps

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 5:10 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: A Roundtable Discussion on Multiple Perspectives on Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning (Table 12)

Abstract

Educators should look for educational benchmarks (curriculum, feedback, scaffolding, development team, learning theory) to choose high quality educational apps. Relying on poor evidence of quality could result in ineffective choices. Consequently, this study explores educators’ rationale for selecting educational apps from app stores. One-hundred fifty elementary educators viewed eighteen educational app pages and described their reasoning for whether they would download them. Word frequency analysis identified thirteen common reasons in educators’ responses. Educators often considered potential academic applications/outcomes of apps, showing that they want apps with educational value. However, educators mentioned user ratings and reviews more frequently than benchmarks, suggesting that they may need support to distinguish good evidence of educational quality (i.e., benchmarks), from poor evidence (i.e., user ratings).

Authors

• Emma Liptrot, McGill University

• Heather Ann Pearson, McGill University

• Armaghan Montazami, McGill University

• Chengyi Tan, McGill University

• Adam Kenneth Dubé, McGill University