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Twilight Talks Research Series: Can literacy apps be used to support language learning in the classroom?

  • Webcasts
  • 01 Apr 2025
Twilight Talks
Research Series

In this talk, Joanna Kolak (Institute of Education, UCL’s faculty for Education and Society) reviews studies on the educational potential of language in children’s apps. She will include studies conducted by her and her colleagues over the past few years, focusing on apps designed for preschoolers and those used in primary school classrooms in the UK. Joanna will also introduce the audience to the Questionnaire for Evaluating the Educational Potential of Apps which her team developed for caregivers, educators and app developers. At the end of this session, learners will have a better understanding of the language features that make high-quality apps for preschool and primary school children.

UCL need help in their current study, they will be modifying their evaluation tool to be used in the primary school context. They would like teachers and media professionals to give feedback on the clarity and importance of items in their tool. Completing the online survey takes approximately 20 mins.

Once you have finished watching this recording please do complete our short evaluation.

To view other events in the research series, please visit our dedicated page.

Suitable for: A parent/carer, Administration Staff, Assistant Head Teacher, Consultant, Deputy Head Teacher, Early Years Practitioner, Education psychologist, Governor, Head Teacher, Inclusion Manager/Leader, Newly Qualified Teacher, Other, SENCO, Senior Leader, Student, Support staff, Teacher, Teaching Assistant, Tutor

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Meet your trainer - Joanna Kolak

Dr Joanna Kolak is a developmental psychologist and lecturer in language development at Institute of Education, UCL’s faculty for Education and Society. She conducts interdisciplinary research that bridges the fields of psycholinguistics and educational technology. Joanna is interested in factors supporting vocabulary development in monolingual and bilingual children, as well as measuring and improving the educational potential of media. She developed the first systematic tools for assessing the educational potential of children’s touchscreen apps. Joanna is also a keen science communicator, working as a consultant in educational technology and language development with families and media designers.

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