Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación cientíca, vol 5, No. 36
Enero-marzo de 2021 2020. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 27-35
DOI: 10.31876/er.v5i36.777
27
Recibido: 09 de abril de 2020
Aprobado: 25 de octubre de 2020
Cite this:
Aviles, A., & Milanés, R. (2021). DytectiveU application:
contribution to the literacy in children with dyslexia.
Espirales. Revista Multidisciplinaria de investigación
cientíca, 5(36), 27-35.
DytectiveU application: contribution to the literacy in
children with dyslexia
Aplicación DytectiveU: contribución a la lectoescritura en niños con dislexia
Andrews Aviles Agama*, Roberto Milanés Gómez**
Abstract
The result of research on DytectiveU application and its
contribution to the reading-writing process in children with
dyslexia is offered. An explanatory-descriptive research
was developed, with the use of quantitative and qualitative
methods to explore the reading-writing process mediated
by technologies of the education. It was found that the
DytectiveU application offers multiple actions to learn
to read and write, during the learning of children with
dyslexia. It concludes that the DytectiveU application
reveals potentialities to develop the literacy process in
children with dyslexia, as well as the reasons that lead to
its use in the teaching-learning process of Basic Education.
Key words: Reading, writing, educational technology.
*
PhD in Pedagogical Sciences. Universidad Técnica
de Babahoyo, Babahoyo, Ecuador.
E-mail: aavilesa@utb.edu.ec.
ORCID: 0000-0003-0262-9120.
Google Scholar
**
PhD in Pedagogical Sciences. Universidad de
Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
E-mail: roberto.milanesg@ug.edu.ec.
ORCID: 0000-0002-6879-3559.
Google Scholar
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DytectiveU application: contribution to the literacy in children with dyslexia
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación cientíca, vol 5, No. 36
Enero-marzo de 2021 2020. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 27-35
Resumen
Se ofrece el resultado de investigación sobre la aplicación DytectiveU
y su contribución al proceso de lectoescritura en niños con dislexia. Se
desarrolló una investigación explicativa-descriptiva con la utilización
de métodos cuantitativos y cualitativos para explorar el proceso de
lectoescritura mediado por tecnologías de la educación. Se constató
que la aplicación DytectiveU ofrece múltiples acciones para aprender a
leer y escribir durante el aprendizaje de niños con dislexia. Se concluye
que la aplicación DytectiveU devela potencialidades para desarrollar el
proceso de lectoescritura en niños con dislexia, así como los motivos
que conllevan a su empleo en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje
de la educación básica.
Palabras clave: lectura, escritura, tecnología educativa.
Introduction
Dyslexia is a specic language diculty. This disorder affects between 5 and 10 % of the world’s
population and is characterized by a series of diculties in the precise and uent recognition
of words, and by problems with spelling and decoding.
In a study carried out by the Institute for Statistics of UNESCO (2019) to countries that belong
of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), referring to dyslexia,
it is stated that:
The problem of reading is even more serious, as revealed by the conclusions of the PISA
2000 Study, recently carried out by this international organization and which shows us that
13 member countries, among which Mexico, Luxembourg, Latvia, Russia, Portugal, Italy and
the Czech Republic, had reading rates signicantly below the OECD statistical average for
reading skills. (p. 1)
From the above, it is retaken that more than 617 million children and adolescents are not
reaching the minimum levels of reading prociency, according to the new estimates of the
Institute for Statistics of UNESCO, this is equivalent to three times the amount of the population
of Brazil being unable to read or write.
In the particular case of Ecuador and in order to single out the level of Basic Education, according
to the newspaper El Telégrafo (2019):
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Andrews Aviles Agama, Roberto Milanés Gómez
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación cientíca, vol 5, No. 36
Enero-marzo de 2021 2020. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 27-35
There are 2621 children with learning diculties within the educational system, and in recent
years the term dyslexia have become very important within the Ecuadorian educational
environment, due to the fact that it is a problem in literacy that affects a large number of
children, which present problems when it comes to overcoming educational demands.
According to the census of the Master File of Educational Institutions (AMIE for its acronym
in Spanish), 9238 students with special educational needs not associated with a disability
participate in the national educational system, which reveals that 28.37 % of students present
problems in literacy.
In the Unidad Educativa Padre Marcos Benetazzo, it was detected that several children in the
seventh year of basic education have the learning disorder dyslexia, this is reected as problems
in the ability to read and write; this diculty arises due to the lack of knowledge about dyslexia
and the little use of technological instruments in said year of basic education at the institution.
At present, the educational process receives an important technological inuence, where
networks, computers, software and social websites mark social relations in a general sense and
these transcend the school institution, which, as part of society, it adapts and transforms all its
processes to the enormous recursion offered the Computing Technologies. This constitutes a
positive fact that enhances the act of improvement of dyslexia, however, a group of questions
about it becomes recurrent, which in this research is specied in a single problem for the
Pedagogical Sciences: How does the DytectiveU app inuence children’s literacy?
For this reason, in this research paper, what is sought is to determine the way in which the
DytectiveU application inuences the literacy of children with dyslexia in the seventh year of
basic education at the Unidad Educativa Padre Marcos Benetazzo.
In literary reviews of the last two decades, there is a trend towards an increase in studies on
literacy with the support of educational technologies; however, it has been proven that there are
few specic investigations that relate ICT with literacy problems from an educational approach.
Among the studies carried out, Álvarez (2015) stands out that “who delves into the characteristics
of writing the narrative text mediated by a word processor (Word) and a voice recognition
program (Dragon)” (p. 98). This contribution reveals that the narrative structure of children
with reading and writing problems is not restricted by the types of writing tools.
Another unique study is on a mental skills program to improve concentration. Where students
were divided into three groups of participants. In the rst group, they studied three multimedia
games that teach different skills. The second only played Tetris. While the third did not receive
any training. The results showed that: “in comparison with the other two groups, the rst
one reached signicant attentional competences in comparison with the other two groups”
(Navarro et al., 2016, p. 124).
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DytectiveU application: contribution to the literacy in children with dyslexia
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In the study by de Marco (2020) on the use of the MeMotiva program in children diagnosed with
ADHD, it reects that “it helps in reducing impulsivity, since children have to follow instructions
that make them have to be attentive, it also increases the capacity of working memory, and
improves cognitive tasks such as writing, calculation, planning and organizational skills” (p. 34).
In accordance with the above, a study was carried out on the operation and effect of the
virtual environment. The general objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the DytectiveU
application to improve the literacy skills and vocabulary learning of students with dyslexia
learning disorders.
To understand this creative character, an approach to communication skills is offered, rst
of all, as an object of study, mainly the inuence of the DytectiveU application on reading
and writing, taking as a basis some terms, authors and theories that will give validity to the
development of this research.
DytectiveU is a free application for people with dyslexia, with the aim of overcoming this
barrier in a fun way. It is a multi-device video game, with which you can play both on your
mobile phone, as well as on your computer or tablet. It offers educational games, taking into
account the following variables: perceptual processes, language skills, working memory and
executive functions (Rello, 2018).
The DytectiveU application has 35000 exercises that were created manually by linguists,
psychologists and computer scientists using two linguistic resources: the linguistic pattern
extracted from a corpus of errors made by people with dyslexia using linguistic data mining;
linguistic resources generated by natural language techniques (Rello, Macías, & Bigham, 2017).
Literacy is a teaching process, especially in the rst stage of primary education. Educators
have prepared their students for appropriate future development by guiding them to develop
the necessary skills so that their students are prepared for the upcoming reading and writing
assignments from early childhood.
In a rst study, the maturational factors found were four: linguistic, visual-motor structuring,
conceptual organization and reproductive memory. By relating this factorial structure with
the results obtained in literacy, it is shown that linguistic and conceptual organization factors
are the ones that best predict success in literacy (Caso, & García, 2016).
Due to its complexity, literacy is one of the learning that requires the highest level of abstraction.
Over the years, traditional literacy methods have focused on three trends: the rst is a synthesis
method based on word components. The second is analytical, it is a response to comprehensive
learning. Finally, there is the trend of eclecticism, which is characterized by the combination of
synthetic and analytical elements, and its focus is to develop an understanding of the meaning
of words (Tangarife, Blanco, & Díaz, 2016).
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Andrews Aviles Agama, Roberto Milanés Gómez
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación cientíca, vol 5, No. 36
Enero-marzo de 2021 2020. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 27-35
Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by diculties in reading, interpreting, and writing.
Its cause has been investigated and several theories try to explain the reason for dyslexia.
There is a strong tendency that the origin is related to genetics and neurobiology (Colares,
Guelber, & Pereira, 2019).
The basic concept of dyslexia from a behavioral point of view, dyslexia is characterized by
diculties in the correct recognition of words and the ability to decode them. It is also highlighted
that, in most denitions, the lack of ability at the phonological level is constant, as well as the
diculty in recognizing words (Menezes, Januário, & Sobral, 2018).
Materials and Methods
An explanatory-descriptive research is developed, with a dialectical use of quantitative and
qualitative methods to explore the literacy process mediated by computer technologies.
A non-experimental design was used in the interpretation, analysis and observation of a
population made up of 40 students who are in the seventh year of Basic General Education
of the Unidad Educativa Padre Marcos Benetazzo, located in the city of Babahoyo, province
of Los Ríos, Ecuador; during the 2020-2021 school period. To determine the sample, a non-
probabilistic type of sampling was applied, due to the fact that the population is small; since
the group of students has been chosen intentionally to carry out the experiment.
A questionnaire was designed for data collection, which consisted of 20 questions which were
divided into blocks, the rst block of questions referred to the use of the DytectiveU application,
while the second block to literacy learning. Which were tabulated in a spreadsheet for further
analysis and interpretation.
The questionnaire was applied in two rounds, initially in a test pilot to students of a parallel
of 7
th
grade, not included in the research sample, as piloting and verication of its adequate
functioning in the collection of information and in discerning which questions They may
present diculties with their understanding. Once the instrument was corrected and applied
to the research population, the following results were obtained.
Results
The results are offered according to the blocks of the questionnaire, referring to the DytectiveU
application and literacy. In the case of the block of questions linked to the DytectiveU application,
the following results were obtained.
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DytectiveU application: contribution to the literacy in children with dyslexia
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación cientíca, vol 5, No. 36
Enero-marzo de 2021 2020. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 27-35
According to the respondents, they appreciate the DytectiveU as a tool that offers a different
way to learn to read; which is supported by 82.5 % of the students that expressed agreement
on the item; linked to it and in a similar percentage, it is appreciated as a new resource that
enhances reading improvement, which is positive for the application in that it arouses interest
in its use in students.
In the case of the potential to offer creative and cognitive activities for the diagnosis of dyslexia,
more than 80 % of the answers consider this, similar to the answer about optimal actions that
can be carried out to learn to read and write, which is interpreted as: a tool that offers multiple
actions to learn to read and write, in the most optimal way for the use of literacy during its
teaching-learning and autonomous practice.
In a degree of acceptance above 85 % of coincidence, it is accepted that DytectiveU helps
the development of skills, relationships and a sense of humor, with a motivating and affective
character, which reveals the playful nature of the tool and enhancer of extrinsic stimuli for the
student to learn in a fun way.
It is signicant the result of responses on the possibility of encouraging teamwork and activities,
where 80 % of the participants expressed agreement. This reveals the character of socialization
that work with the application has and the possibilities it offers to achieve team relationships
and shared learning.
In the case of the block of questions related to literacy, the following results were obtained:
regarding the question about literacy as procedures for the construction of knowledge,
the respondents agreed in more than 80 % of the students according to the item related;
in a similar percentage, it is appreciated that the learning of literacy contains a set of
shares and operations. The foregoing reveals the procedural nature of literacy and as an
initial learning process of development, from which the individual will be able to guide
and structure their thoughts.
Regarding the possibility of working with previous knowledge to obtain new knowledge, 87
% of the participants expressed agreement, which is interpreted as literacy learning uses
experiences so that, in this way, they are used as a basis for the new knowledge obtained.
In a degree of acceptance above 80 % of coincidence, it is accepted that literacy develops
linguistic processes to participate eciently and skillfully in the eld of communication,
which reveals that it not only allows the construction of meanings to expand knowledge, but
also facilitates the opening of new communication channels with the social environment
in which it operates.
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Andrews Aviles Agama, Roberto Milanés Gómez
Espirales. Revista multidisciplinaria de investigación cientíca, vol 5, No. 36
Enero-marzo de 2021 2020. e-ISSN 2550-6862. págs 27-35
All the results obtained were tabulated and analyzed in their entirety, which facilitates the
process of analyzing the information and offering a scientic discussion.
Discussion
The DytectiveU application has optimal potential for the development of literacy, as could be
seen in the survey and the criteria of the students have been favorable for the development
of the literacy process. In this they highlight the possibility of arousing interest in work with
the application; however, it may be a motivationally biased result, since it was not possible
to verify whether in the time of its systematic use, students continue in their interest in work
with the app. This element is of consideration for future studies for the sake of the perspective
improvement of literacy as a teaching-learning process assisted by technological tools.
One of the most important ndings was related to the interaction possibilities offered by
the platform and its playful nature. However, and according to the review of the scientic
literature on the matter, it was found that the literacy process is theoretically designed for its
development in the face-to-face classes; even the national curriculum of Basic Education
in the countries of the region does not conceive of virtual work in this process that has had
greater execution in the presence of the student, the teacher and the text in time-space. From
this, it is inferred the epistemic need for new studies on the literacy process in its theoretical
and practical bases systematized during its development in a virtual way or even as support
for that recurring presence in its current conception.
One of the results obtained reveals the potential of the application to develop shared and
team work, which constitutes a very suggestive starting point for the approach to the problem
situation of the previous paragraph.
For its part, the reading-writing process, according to the respondents, is appreciated as a
vital need for self-development of other learning; in addition, the structuring of thoughts is
fundamental, which reverts in itself a potential for its conception from virtuality as a recursive
element and motivating to the student and teacher.
The foregoing reveals the character of signicance that the literacy process imposes on the
learning of children with dyslexia, especially when it is carried out with the support of technology.
Although it is theoretically necessary to continue investigating the intrinsic motivations of
the student towards technology and even the role of the family and other educational agents
during this reading-writing process.
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Conclusions
The DytectiveU application reveals potentialities to develop the reading and writing process
in children with dyslexia, evidenced in the use and interaction with the application, as well as in
the reasons that lead to its use in the teaching-learning process of Basic Education; however,
more in-depth studies are needed to assess the levels of motivation over time of use.
The current pedagogical process for the development of literacy learning is conceived at a
theoretical, curricular and school practice level as a face-to-face process, in which its virtual
execution is not at the level of scientic analysis, which opens up new investigative scenarios
for its improvement and inclusion in contemporary pedagogical practice.
Literacy has the possibility of becoming different and improving through the use of educational
technologies, studies are needed in more diversity of applications and their scientic arguments,
through continuous observations of practice and assessments of how to learn and under what
applications and resources.
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