Abstract:

This study examined the effect on student reading fluency and comprehension in Arabic of a mobile education application that uses Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and digital storytelling. The study was conducted online due to the novel pandemic (Covid-19) which caused the closure of the schools. Participants were second grade students from three different second year primary classes in Saudi Arabia. This research aims to measure the effectiveness of the interactive tool for enhancing student reading in Arabic. This interactive mobile application has been developed based on the idea of targeting learners’ individual needs and creating their own stories. In this intervention, students will progress gradually from reading single words to sentences to then create their own stories, read them and then share them among peers. The aim of this research is to prove that such a proposed novel mobile learning application will increase and enhance a learner's reading fluency and comprehension. This study employed a quantitative research design with a pre and post-test to assess the students’ reading fluency (rate, accuracy, words correct per minute) and comprehension before and after using and interacting with the novel mobile application developed for the purpose of this research. The results indicate that a system based on UDL and digital storytelling can increase and improve students’ fluency and comprehension.

Keywords:

e-learning, m-learning, Mobile learning, Digital storytelling, Universal design for learning, Reading fluency, comprehension.