EstimationLine is a fully configurable, iPad version of a popular estimation test used with children. It has been field tested with very young children by researchers at Carleton University.
EstimationLine collects ands stores important data about the participant with their performance data. Before beginning a session you can enter information such as birth date, gender and a unique ID.
All data is recorded by the app and output in CSV format. This makes it easy to analyze in Excel, SPSS or any other data analysis program. The format is specifically designed to be easily to analyze in statistical analysis programs like SPSS.
Many configuration files are also in CSV format for ease of editing. The data files can be retrieved from the iPad via iTunes.
Many parts of the app are configurable including stimuli, instructions and button text.
Because of this, EstimationLine can be adapted to fit any situation in which a number line estimation test is required.
EstimationLine comes with default stimuli designed by researchers and used in a study by researchers at Carleton University.
In the NumberLine app, the line is shown with a 0 below the left end of the line and a configurable endpoint (usually 10, 100 or 1000) below the right end, with the stimulus or target number for each trial displayed above the line. The participant (usually a child) is asked to mark the location on the number line where they think that target number belongs. In this iPad app version, the child touches the number line with their finger to mark their estimate of the target location. A red vertical mark is displayed to show their estimate. A small 'Retry' button is shown with each trial, since small children occasionally made accidental touches.
The app shows four configurable sets of target stimuli. Each set has two configurable aspects: a single endpoint for the entire set, and the group of target or stimuli numbers that will be shown as trials in the set. After each set of trials for a particular endpoint,, an option to continue to the next set is displayed for the experimenter, so that the number of sets can be adjusted for each child, based on either a predetermined design or on the child's performance.The endpoints can be modified for each set and like the stimuli, can also be pre-configured via iTunes.
The stimuli sets provided as app defaults increase in endpoint size, complexity and number of trials. These four sets of default target stimuli were created to cover the full range of development: from the pre-kindergarten children (endpoints of 10) to older grades five and six students (endpoints of 100 and 1000). Each set of stimuli can be modified to meet the experimenter's needs. The app randomly shuffles the target stimuli at the start of each set to randomize the display order of the trials. The end-points of the number lines for each set have default values of 10, 20, 100 and 100. End points can also be modified for each participant session.
NumberLine spares the experimenter the considerable work of converting pencil marks on paper into usable output data files. The output data for each trial is written into a trial by trial file in CSV format. The files can be retrieved via iTunes. Each trial output includes the participant's identifying information and the endpoint, the stimuli that was displayed and the participant's estimate. The estimate is computed based on the endpoint and the location they touched. The estimate is shown with up to two decimal points. For example, on a trial with a stimuli target of 9, above a line with an endpoint of 10,the touched estimate was written out to the datafile as 8.56.
