Autoscopie techno: The digital tablet at the service of oral skills

Some will say that it's very simple, that all you had to do was think about it! Marie-Philippe Goyer, a remedial teacher and educational consultant, and Marie-Ève Cypihot, a teacher in grade 3, were right.^e year and master's student, use the digital tablet as a tool to support the oral skills of students with specific language difficulties.

The two partners from École St-Joseph de Montréal even won a prize at the May Innovation Awards Gala of the Federation of Private Education (FEEP)Ms. Cypihot's master's project won first place in the "Innovation - Support for Students with Special Challenges" category: Technology as a tool for instructional differentiation in oral communication instruction for students with special needs (disabled or with adjustment or learning difficulties).

Why such a project? Because the observations of both of them, who are teachers, point in the same direction: oral presentations are sometimes a skill that is insufficiently prepared compared to other aspects of teaching, mainly because of the classic lack of time. Very often, the only instruction children receive is, "Prepare your oral presentation at home!

However, they were convinced that if the student had the opportunity to practice before the presentation, as he or she does when rereading before handing in a paper, perhaps the oral presentation would be less stressful, even more stimulating. This is even more true for students with special needs.

Techno autoscopy

Based on the premise that theautoscopya practice that consists in giving an image of oneself through, for example, a video recordingThe Goyer-Cypihot duo used digital tablets to improve the oral performance of 5^e and 6^e year.

By being filmed and having the opportunity to watch themselves afterwards, the student making the presentation can make judgments about their intonation, or posture.

Marie-Philippe Goyer, who at the time of the research was teaching a class of students with learning disabilities, explains that it is important "for students to know what they need to work on" when they are going to listen to themselves again. That's why her colleague Marie-Ève created mini-lessons for them to identify different components of a successful oral presentation.

In the experiment conducted at St. Joseph SchoolWhen the two women filmed the students filming themselves, they noticed that the peers who gave feedback to their peers did so in a respectful manner. Marie-Philippe, of course, also made recommendations.

And the results?

Already skilled in handling digital tablets, the students will have taken an average of two hours to experience the project.

The teacher of 3^e who initially developed a rubric with specific points to observe, believes that each student improved "by a good 10 % minimum".

She adds that the project demonstrated that the students were also self-directed. Since there are no tablets for everyone, the children had to be able to manage the one assigned to their small group or team. Marie-Ève Cypihot also adds that the tablet has the advantage of being mobile, so it can be easily moved around the classroom.

Will there be a follow-up to this research? While Ms. Goyer hopes to share the good news with other colleagues in her school, one thing is certain: "I'm not going back!

The use of digital tablets in the context of oral skills training convinced her of the need to integrate such a tool into teaching. There is no doubt in the minds of both teachers that between the first and the third grade, the use of digital tablets in the learning of oral skills has convinced them of the need to integrate such a tool into their teaching.^e or 4^e taken, there has been quite an improvement!

On the front page image:

Technology as a tool for instructional differentiation in oral communication instruction for students with special needs.

Credit: courtesy of École St-Joseph

In addition :

In the Fall 2022 issue of École branchée magazine, find the article Recording your reading and sharing it for tips: A practice that improves reading fluency (reserved for subscribers of the magazine). Not a subscriber? Follow this link.