Teachers have access to many different forms of technology at Carson Graham Secondary. Classrooms are equipped with projectors, dedicated computers, and Elmo (or similar) digital presenter devices. Teachers can also choose to reserve sets up iPads and MacBooks (which can only be used in the library). Having all of these tools at your disposal is wonderful, as many students do not have their own devices and they allow you to access a whole different world of digital, educational tools. However, the point remains to be seen if devices, such as iPads (or similar tablets) are useful educational devices in secondary schools.
Montrieux and colleagues (2015) investigated iPad use over 1 year in a Belgian School which was committed integrating digital technology into not only classrooms, but also the entire school culture. Their results showed that having access to iPads improved fact checking, enhanced collaboration between students, and greatly improved access to multimedia. However, some teachers were disappointed by the lack of sufficient educational software or resources. Furthermore, because of the gaps in software, teachers felt it was necessary for them to create resources for their classes to use, which was quite time-consuming and draining. Additionally, despite going through a crash course in iPad use, many teachers recommended that more training would have been beneficial.
This study also differentiated between two different types of teachers and how they tackled iPad use in their classrooms. “Instrumental” teachers simply used the technology as a “book beyond the glass,” namely substituting the iPads in place of books or other devices. “Innovative” instructors tended to take a much more learning centered approach, and were more willing to adapt their curriculum to better suit the technology at hand. Innovative teachers also were more likely to take full advantage of the technology at hand, and seamlessly integrate the iPads into their lessons.
It seems apparent that iPad use in classrooms can be a mixed bag. Montrieux and colleagues (2015) suggest that teachers must move past the “book behind the glass” and find new ways to integrate the technology into their classrooms. That being said, at the time of the publication, there were not many educational tools which took full advantage of the benefits of technology, especially iPads. This left some teachers adrift and frustrated, namely because of all the additional content they had to create. It seems that iPad use in schools can have many benefits, but teachers must be cautioned that they use them for new and exciting tasks which cannot be done without the technology, rather then a substitute for older methods. Furthermore, instructors must be willing to adapt in order to take advantage of the benefits of such technologies.
Reference:
Montrieux, H., Vanderlinde, R., Schellens, T., & De Marez, L. (2015). Teaching and learning with mobile technology: A qualitative explorative study about the introduction of tablet devices in secondary education. Plos One, 10(12), e0144008. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0144008