Ipads in the Secondary Classroom
Author(s):
Ann-Britt Enochsson (presenting / submitting)
Conference:
ECER 2014
Format:
Paper

Session Information

06 SES 08, Future Classroom? Integrating Media and Changing Environments and Patterns

Paper Session

Time:
2014-09-04
09:00-10:30
Room:
B109 Sala de Aulas
Chair:
Anja Kraus

Contribution

In Sweden, like in many other European countries, schools begin to equip their pupils with laptops or, even more common today, tablets. Each pupil having his or her own computer is commonly known as one-to-one. In Sweden, the first evaluation reports are published (Kroksmark, 2011; Tallvid; 2010) and the Unos-Uno-project in at Örebro University is studying how learning is affected out from several aspects (Grönlund et al., 2011; 2013), but the knowledge is still very limited both concerning teachers approaches to pupils with a continuous connection and pupils’ learning. Except for young children using the method ”write-to-read” developed by Arne Trageton in their reading and writing, there are no other measurable effects on learning (Grönlund et al. 2013). Reports from USA points at more motivated pupils (e.g. Berry & Wintle, 2009; Silvernail & Lane, 2004; Zucker, 2005), but without really discussion learning. According to Kroksmark (2011), a municipality working with one-to-one in secondary school during the period 2007-2010 has lowered their results since the start of the project. A common problem seems to be that decisions are made without asking teachers. In many cases they are supposed to find out how to use the laptops or tablets without any further training.

In our project, we follow all three lower secondary schools in a small municipality in the middle of Sweden, where there has been a discussion between the management and the teachers at the schools during the period of implementation of iPads to every pupil. A consulting society is contracted to give training according to the teachers needs.

The overall aim of the project is to look at didactical use. In a first step we focus on expectations from pupils and teachers. IPads have mainly been used in primary school, since it is usually considered that there is a need for more powerful devices and other type of programs in secondary schools. This makes this project extra interesting. The aim in this part of the project is to see to what extent the iPads are integrated in the activities in the classrooms and if there are any differences between subjects and also if the teacher’s attitude plays an important role.

The theoretical base stems from a sociocultural perspective on learning, taken into account the multimodal environment, which gives a greater variation of learning possibilities. Digital media are artefacts, which change the activity itself, and also how people act, communicate and think (Säljö, 2005). To analyse the view of the didactical use of the iPads, we have started out from a model developed by Angeli (2005) in order to assess to which extent student teachers in science used ICT in during their practice periods. In her model (or instrument as she calls it), there are four dimensions, which are assessed on a two-rating scale. The model will be slightly modified to fit our purpose, but these are Angeli’s dimension: (a) selection of appropriate topics to be taught with technology, (b) use of appropriate technology-supported representations and transformations of content, (c) use of technology to support teaching strategies, and (d) integration of computer activities with appropriate inquiry-based pedagogy in the classroom (ibid.). In this first part of the study, we cannot expect to use the complete model, but we have used the model as a starting point when looking at the views on the didactical use of digital technology.

Method

The methods used in this part of the project have been interviews and classroom observations. The observations will take place in February-March and the aim is to find examples from three subjects to be able to see different approaches to the integration of the iPads. Parts will be video-recorded to make it possible to make more thorough analyses of the activities. A group-interview with 10 teachers is already carried out, but the observations will be completed with individual interviews concerning the findings from the observations. The settings will be 7-grade classrooms in Swedish compulsory school. The pupils are 13-14 years old and it is their first year in secondary school, which in Sweden means the first year organised with subject teachers. All pupils participating together with their parents have agreed on being video-recorded, and so have their teachers. The project is important for the municipality and as researchers, we have had good support in informing about our activities. For the analyses, Angeli’s (2005) will be used as a starting-point. It will probably have to be revised, but this is difficult to describe in advance.

Expected Outcomes

The expected outcome is to get a deeper understanding of the integration of the iPads and not only counting minutes of use or. Will the iPads be used mainly for communication, including writing, or will they be used to enhance learning in other ways? Will it be enough with the iPads or is there a need also for computers in some subjects? We will not measure the pupils’ learning, so what will be described will be the teachers’ intentions.

References

Angeli, C. (2005). Transforming a teacher education method course through technology: Effects on preservice teachers’ technology competency. Computers & Education, 45(2005), 383–398. Berry, A. M., & Wintle, S. E. (2009). Using Laptops to Facilitate Middle School Science Learning: The Results of Hard Fun. Center for Education Policy, Applied Research, and Evaluation University of Southern Maine. Grönlund, Å., Englund, T., Andersson, A., Wiklund, M., Norén, I., & Hatakka, M. (2011). Årsrapport Unos uno 2011. Örebro: Örebro University. Grönlund, Å., Englund, T., Andersson, A., Wiklund, M. & Norén, I. (2013). Unos uno årsrapport 2012. Örebro: Örebro University. Kroksmark, T. (2011). Lärandets stretchadhet: Lärandets digitala mysterium i En-till-En-mil-jöer i skolan. Didaktisk tidskrift, 20(1), 1–22. Silvernail, D. L., & Lane, D. M. M. (2004). The Impact of Maine’s One-to-One Laptop Pro-gram on Middle School Teachers and Students. Maine Education Policy Research In-stitute University of Southern Maine Office. Säljö, R. (2005). Lärande och kulturella redskap: Om lärprocesser och det kollektiva minnet. Stockholm: Norstedts Akademiska Förlag. Tallvid, M. (2010). En-till-En Falkenbergs väg till framtiden? Falkenberg: Göteborgs universitet & Falkenbergs kommun. Zucker, A. (2005). A Study of One-to-One Computer Use in Mathematics and Science In-struction at the Secondary Level in Henrico County Public Schools. Virginia: Education Development Center, Inc. Raymond McGhee, SRI International.

Author Information

Ann-Britt Enochsson (presenting / submitting)
Karlstad University
Department of Educational Studies
KARLSTAD

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