Centering Questions
In an age when public dollars are becoming increasingly scarce for funding elementary and secondary education, while the imperative to expose students to an increasingly broad spectrum of technology is becoming more and more crucial, the selection of technological items and the implementation of those items comprise two vital decisions for instructional designers.
In one area of technological expansion is the ability of students to contribute to an interactive technological discussion, both inside and outside the classroom. Many school districts have set up the necessary bandwidth to allow for many different elements of Web 2.0 implementation, such as teacher blogs, where students can follow teacher comments, gain access to notes and other missed assignments, as well as handouts for upcoming test reviews and other items. Wiki pages allow for students to join an interactive discussion following threads set by the teacher – and, in some cases, even set by each other.
Inside the classroom, student interaction takes place on slates, where students can write and see their work appear on the screen at the front of the room, as well as remote controls that allow students to choose answers to questions, individually, while seeing how the rest of the room is answering. Both of these tools allow students to share their answers in nonverbal ways and can serve as a springboard for class discussion.
An even more recent trend is the use and possible distribution of tablet computers, such as the iPad and its successors, to students. Elementary and secondary campuses are purchasing these devices for their students to use in class – in many cases, in districts where students already have access to desktop and perhaps even laptop computers on their campus. These tablets allow students, in districts with wireless Internet access, to perform research as well as access the social media features that go with each class.
Given the per-unit expense of tablet computers, even with the purchasing scale that would go along with districtwide purchasing, what would be the benefit of adding tablet computers to a technological environment that already includes desktops and laptops? In other words, what do tablets offer that the other computing formats do not? The central question to my dissertation will ask whether or not tablet computers are worth the cost of purchase and infrastructure, the time of training, and the potential disruptions in the classroom (with wireless access, what is to keep students from posting to Facebook or playing Tetris while their teachers think they are taking notes or researching the Han Dynasty online?).
Literature Review
The question of interacting handwriting with typed notes, or using handwriting for classroom presentations and interaction, goes back to the days of overhead projectors and dry-erase markers. For most of the history of education, all of this writing was done by the teacher. In the past decade, though, the possibility of student interaction has become a powerful tool in the classroom, as students can annotate the text they see on the projector with interactive tablets. A team at the University of Washington published “Experiences with a Tablet PC Based Lecture Presentation System in Computer Science Courses” that goes into the issue – primarily from the instructor's side, but also with implications for student response, indicating that student interactivity could have some value.
In addition to enhancing instruction with student responses inside the classroom, there is also the possibility that tablet computers will allow students to provide educational products that go beyond the typical worksheet or essay by adding artistic elements to the response (Yeung; Masic). While styluses and other tools can provide basic drawing, programming environments such as Scratch, as in a paper by a team from MIT (Maloney), can turn an ordinary tablet into an artistic palette that will allow students to demonstrate learning in a variety of ways.
An ongoing question has been the ideal age for implementing the capabilities that a tablet computer (Parker). Should it begin with middle school – or perhaps even earlier? A study at the University of New Hampshire held that tablet computers could provide benefits to students in elementary school. Not only was the stylus a pretty easy way to write or draw, students that had teachers with a more thorough set of requirements for a job tended to struggle, at least because they couldn't work as independently. Because student interest is high, though, particularly in elementary and middle school, though, it can be worth the added costs and time of infrastructure and training.
Given the multiple connections that students make between symbols and ideas, particularly in the elementary grades, allowing students to create symbolic responses through drawing rather than requiring more traditional written responses can unlock knowledge in new ways. While this is certainly possible using pencils, crayons and other drawing forms, adding the functionality of tablet computers to the process has value, according to a study by Anne Haas Dyson. According to a study by Leslie Couse and Dora Chen (2008), tablet computers can be an effective tool for children as young as three years old; once they gain familiarity and comfort with the stylus, the new technology motivates them to take part in class activities. However, most three-year-olds also enjoy coloring on a variety of media – including the traditional ones.
Also, what about the physical effects of tablet computer use on students? While it might not come into play with older students, who may spend a lot of time already sitting at desktops or while watching television, younger students tend to be more active, and sitting down with a tablet could alter the amount of the time they spend at play (or exercise). L.M. Straker led a group that performed an insightful study comparing the postures at work when younger students used a tablet as opposed to a desktop.
It is worth pointing out that mobile and handheld technological devices allow learning to take place in any place where a student can find a wireless connection to the Internet. Whether riding the subway, or sitting in Starbucks, students can log in to their classroom environment and work. This can be a benefit in classes that meet face-to-face, as an auxiliary network of communication, as well as in a purely online class based on forum discussions and pre-recorded lectures and slide shows. Mike Sharples, in an article in Computers and Education, discusses the ways that instructional designers can shape their curricula around these capabilities.
Sharples also recognizes the possible downside of this constant online capacity. Having an open window on the Internet through all hours of learning requires a significant amount of personal responsibility that may be beyond the capacity of many students, as potential distractions lurk all over the Web. Sitting in Starbucks with a tablet will only be productive if the student uses the tablet to work on the assigned project, instead of surfing eBay or looking for movie tickets. However, a study led by Ignacio Casas (2010) has identified several different ways for instructors to overcome these potential problems. Finding ways to motivate students to avoid distractions and complete assignments has been an issue since the very first schools were in session; having them happen while dealing with tablet PCs involves the same issue on a new level, but according to this study, this is not a matter that should rule out the use of tablets in the classroom.
Indeed, as with many different types of educational opportunities, the use of scaffolding can alleviate many difficulties. Simply presenting students, especially in the elementary and middle grades, with a tablet PC and expecting them to succeed with independent work will not be effective. However, according to a study led by Jeremy Dickerson (2009), scaffolding, or providing students with the information and the insight they need to work with tablet PCs, while working gradually from whole-group to small-group and then to independent assignments, leads to a far higher level of student success. In other countries, such as Singapore (So 2008), the result of intensive scaffolding and student training, prior to the introduction of tablet PCs in the classroom, has led to considerable student success in the early grades, as students gain not only familiarity but the ability to produce excellent work and demonstrate higher levels of learning after the use of tablet PCs in a variety of assignments.
Allowing work to be completed on tablet computers also has the potential problems of student error – not in the area of knowledge, but in the area of handling the tablet correctly (Reed). Because they do not understand the directions of an online assignment, or because their ability to use the technology itself is not sufficient, the teacher may or may not be able to accurately assess student learning based on work completed with the tablet (Hess). If student error in the use of the tablet clouds knowledge, though, the usefulness of the tablet may be in doubt.
A legitimate question involves the comparative value of an online discussion as opposed to a face-to-face Socratic series of questions (Avery). Is sitting in front of a computer, taking part in an online forum, analogous in any way to sitting in a classroom, right in the middle of a swirling fog of debates? Is there a particular intellectual advantage to sitting in a room with the people in your discussion, or is the content basically the same? Kim Parker was part of a the Pew Internet and American Life Project, and their paper comparing perceptions of online as opposed to brick-and-mortar education is instructive for designers.
That said, though, educators in multiple disciplines can combine their instruction through the use of tablet computers (Anderson). Students can access assignments that go across curricular lines conveniently and quickly by using their tablet computers, in just about any setting. This allows for opportunities that would be much more difficult for teachers to coordinate in a traditional classroom setting, according to a study by James Rogers and James Cox (2008).
Framing and Organizing the Research Question
The literature review covers elements of instructional design that range from preschool to college. This is clearly too broad a group for the purpose of this dissertation, as the issues that revolve around a three-year-old using a tablet computer differ from those revolving around a middle school student or an undergraduate. The likelihood of spilling Jell-O on a tablet, or a student experimenting with a crayon instead of the stylus, is much different than a seventh grader pulling up inappropriate pictures or Facebooking one of his friends (or doing both), and differs even further from a college student running a gambling operation from his tablet. In addition to these issues of management and discipline, there are cognitive and pedagogical issues in play as well, as the tablet-based activities one would plan for a preschool classroom are based on completely different educational bases and have divergent educational goals when compared to those for fourth graders or high school sophomores.
Clearly, tablets are a necessary item for high school and college students, if their school systems have funded more basic necessities in a satisfactory fashion. For example, a school that doesn’t have a high-speed wireless network in place that can handle student table use doesn’t need to buy the tablets first. Schools that are in need of updated curriculum materials shouldn’t buy tablets without addressing their curricular needs. If the other basic items are in place, though, tablets can be a welcome ancillary device, if the supporting infrastructure is ready to go. While elementary-age students can benefit from various art products using a tablet and stylus, the literature I looked at did not indicate many significant benefits that are not available through the creation of more traditional art-based products.
However, the use of tablet PCs in lower primary and early middle school is an area that is worth studying. Students in grades five through seven are already sophisticated users of electronic technology; many of them carry cell phones – and not the flip phone variety. They have smartphones that they can already use in a variety of ways, and so moving from the stylus on a Nintendo DSi or the scrolling screen of an iPhone to the technical aspects of using a tablet PC should not be overly burdensome for them. Also, students in these grades have built up enough maturity to the point where independent use of a tablet should be permitted, if there is an instructional benefit. While middle school students do tend to lose things, they are not generally so careless that they would damage a tablet that is distributed for classroom use.
And so the question becomes an instructional one. Are students in grades five through seven instructionally ready to use tablet PCs in class? Are there assignments sophisticated enough that the use of tablets would add a benefit not already available through desktop and laptop computers available in class? Is the integration of cross-curricular assignments happening at a rate in those grades, such that the use of tablets would make for a significantly improved instructional experience? In short, is the use of tablet PCs in grades five through seven worth the investment of funds and time?
Data Gathering
Ideally, I would plan to use two different data surveys as a part of this dissertation. First, I would construct an attitudinal survey for distribution to teachers in grades five through seven. This survey would incorporate the questions in the final paragraph above, but phrased so that the teachers could answer either using a five-point or seven-point attitudinal scale. Once I have composed the specific phrasing of the questions, I will decide on the number of points in the scale.
Second, I would construct a lesson for instruction to a group of sixth-grade students. Half of the students (divided by class section) would complete the lesson without the use of tablet PCs, while the other sections would have access to tablets. I would then analyze the final products of ten students from each half of the study, after consulting with the teachers to identify students of equal ability. I would gather samples from students of high, medium and low ability on each side and compare their products, with the goal of identifying elements in the tablet-based products that would justify the use of tablets in the classroom during these grades. I plan to develop a rubric that will identify specific elements for evaluation. Once I have developed the rubric, I will identify the specific analysis method that I want to use on this group of produced data.
Significance
This dissertation will contribute significantly to the decision-making process of instructional designers and educational budget writers over the next decades. The use of tablets involves a significant expense to school districts; if it turns out that tablets are only beneficial at certain grade levels, then adding them at other grade levels is a misuse of money that could be more effectively spent in other areas. Because schools are publicly financed, their budgets come into question even during times of prosperity – and extras are often the first to go when a crunch hits. This can leave a school with half as many tablets as it needs to implement a program, or with tablets that lack the software that the instructional designers had intended when ordering the machines. The end result is a waste of funding. This dissertation will help facilitate optimal decision making.
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