Iteratively Digitizing an Analogue Syllable-Based Reading Intervention

Abstract

Abstract Reading is an essential ability and a cornerstone of education. However, learning to read can be challenging for children. To scaffold young learners, a number of reading interventions were developed, including a syllable-based approach in German, which has proven to be successful, but resource and time consuming through individual interaction by educators. To improve the reach of the reading intervention, we present the first step towards a digital intervention, following an iterative design approach. In this contribution, we present the implementation of a digital prototype, developed with the feedback of expert evaluations, as well as an interview study with second graders. The results of interviews with children showed that the app is suitable to be applied in the target age group, that children had fun using it and were motivated to further do so. In a next step towards a meaningful digitalization of the analogue intervention, we extended the application based on the evaluation results and conducted a usability evaluation of the extended app. The study as well as the usability evaluation provides design implications for iteratively transferring the analogue concept into a digital application.