Students’ experiences of learning with iPads in upper secondary school – a base for proto-TPACK

• Published in: Education and information technologies 2017-07, Vol.22 (4), p.1299-1326
• Main Authors: Kontkanen, Sini, Dillon, Patrick, Valtonen, Teemu, Eronen, Lasse, Koskela, Hannu, Väisänen, Pertti
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Affordances; Analysis; Attitude Change; CAI; Cognitive Style; Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer assisted instruction; Computer Science; Computers and Education; Education; Educational Change; Educational Technology; Foreign Countries; Handheld Devices; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Learning; Pedagogical Content Knowledge; Portable computers; Qualitative Research; Resistance to Change; Secondary School Students; Secondary Schools; Student Experience; Students; Teacher Education; Teachers; Teaching Methods; Technological Literacy; Technology Uses in Education; Telecommunications; Use Studies; User Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction; Writing Assignments
• ISSN: 1360-2357; 1573-7608
• DOI: 10.1007/s10639-016-9496-7

This research focuses on Finnish students’ ( n  = 84) experiences of using personal iPads in their studies through 3 years of upper secondary schooling. It is based on results from one of the first schools in Finland where all the new students were provided with iPads at the start of their studies. Data consists of: (i) 127 short stories written by students about how they would advise a new teacher and a new student to use iPads in teaching and learning, and (ii) four group discussions on the same topics. Qualitative thematic analysis of the data was guided by the TPACK framework. Results suggest that: (i) teachers’ pedagogical approaches changed little in response to the new devices and remained largely teacher-centred, and (ii) students do not have the confidence to radically change learning styles to take advantage of the affordances of the devices. The value that iPads add to teaching and learning is difficult to quantify because of the complex and often conflicting factors involved. Overall, the findings imply that teachers’ TPACK is generally resistant to change and students’ proto-TPACK is insufficiently developed to initiate change. An approach that systematically develops both students’ and teachers’ TPACK is advocated.