Abstract
Driven by perceived millennial student expectations, the in-class use of mobile technology is becoming increasingly popular in postsecondary institutions. Thus, it is important to gain insights into students’ self-competence and learning transferability when using these technologies within the learning environment. This study was undertaken to assess an iPad iLearn Program in a school of business after students had been provided with an on-loan tablet that would become their property after a pre-determined period of enrollment. In this study, comfort with technology, comfort with iPad, perceptions of iPad, and frequency of use were all significant predictors of learning transferability. The adjusted R2 explained 72% of the variance in the model. Moreover, this study found there were significant differences for these predictor variables depending on university support of the program and tablet ownership. This reinforces the point that when selectively targeting this generation by promoting in-class use of tablet technology, institutions must provide the needed resources.
Highlights
Over the past several years, there has been a significant advancement in the choices of digital technologies available in the field of teaching and learning (Maddux & Johnson, 2012)
There were some minor differences in the blend of academic concentrations within the survey population (N = 136) with 26 students or 19% of the sample coming from a range of majors other than business
The overwhelming majority (93%) of students were under 26 years of age and so would have been born between 1989 and 1998, fitting within the millennial generation exposed to the use of digital technology throughout their lifespan (Tanaka et al, 2012)
Summary
Over the past several years, there has been a significant advancement in the choices of digital technologies available in the field of teaching and learning (Maddux & Johnson, 2012). Many traditional classrooms are attempting to transform into more of a two-way communication laboratory that prompts educators to fulfill the role of knowledge facilitators (Kukulska-Hulme, 2013) where students are active participants Technology has advanced this collaborative approach through students’ use of the Internet on mobile devices for everyday tasks, both inside and out of the classroom, and through changes made to course delivery options. Current job market demands expect fresh graduates to have developed adequate social skills in order to work collaboratively in teams at their future workplaces (Alvarez, Alarcon & Nussbaum, 2011) This particular trend has prompted educators to somewhat modify students’ job design and to encourage them to get more engaged in classrooms (Barnes, 2014; Saorin, Torre, Martin & Carbonell, 2013). The use of technology has allowed higher education providers to offer flexible course delivery options, which are an important consideration when students are selecting academic institutions (Baasanjav, 2013). Morris, Ramsay & Chauhan (2012) found that 50% of students surveyed indicated that the offer of a mobile device would have influenced their university application decisions
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