Professional learning to support elementary teachers’ use of the iPod Touch in the classroom

Abstract

This single case study reports on the programme of professional learning that a Canadian staff of elementary teachers (Junior Kindergarten to Grade Eight) and their school principal engaged in to learn to use a mobile multimedia device as an instructional resource. The professional learning was facilitated by two university researchers who used the gradual release of responsibility framework to work with the teachers’ attitudes about using iPod Touches and their need for technological pedagogical content knowledge. Fourteen teachers co-planned and co-taught technology-enhanced lessons during a five-month period. This study proposes a framework that outlines particular characteristics for supporting elementary teachers’ effective integration of mobile multimedia technology into classroom practice. The school principal’s role as a leader of technological change is highlighted along with the facilitators’ roles as coaches as the teachers began to gradually embrace the multimedia technology as an instructional resource.