Teachers Exploring Mobile Device Integration: A Case Study of Secondary Teachers’ Responses to iPads in the Classroom

Abstract

This qualitative study seeks to understand and resolve the difficulties that teachers encounter when integrating mobile devices in classrooms. To address the issue of teacher receptiveness, three undergraduate researchers collaborated with an education professor in spring 2012 to complete a qualitative study with a two-fold purpose: 1) to investigate how two secondary teachers in an independent school responded when adopting a class set of iPads throughout one school cycle (six school days); and 2) to elucidate what a school could do better to support teachers who are piloting mobile device integration. Although previous studies have commonly focused on the impact of 1:1 programs on student achievement, this study focuses on the role of the instructor when designing and delivering instruction with or without iPads. Qualitative data were collected and recorded after a series of observations and interviews with the teachers and the information technology director. All interviews were roughly transcribed and coded systematically so that patterns could be noted. Results found that both instructors commented about their instructional philosophy, instructional objectives, technology support, teacher efficacy, and classroom. At the conclusion of the experiments, the teachers had favorable impressions of the technology, despite initial misgivings and early technical issues.