Can Students’ Smartphones Replace Data-show Inside the Classroom? Action Research (AR)

Abstract

Due to the shortage of adequate data-show and projectors at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) in Kuwait, smartphones and their accompanying apps provide a platform which, if exploited appropriately, could benefit both teachers and students. This research focuses on the use of smartphones as a technological alternative to inadequate data-show and projectors. Furthermore, the use of smartphones as a platform for pursuing collaborative work amongst pre-service teachers is explored here. For this purpose, action research (AR) was applied as a methodology, with several different approaches and technologies being adopted by the teacher and participants, i.e. collaborative learning (CL); group discussion; lectures; relevant video material (via personal data-show and smartphones); a summative activity through ClassMarker; an e-survey on SurveyMonkey, and finally, WhatsApp to connect participants with each other outside the lecture hall. Text messages from WhatsApp were analysed using interaction analysis (IA). In addition, two methods of data collection and analysis were applied, namely participant observation and an e-survey. Within AR, these allow for the ongoing and immediate analysis of data in recurring cycles of planning, data-gathering, evaluation and action.