Hannelore Montrieux

Student acceptance of tablet devices in secondary education: A three-wave longitudinal cross-lagged case study

Abstract As ICT is increasingly permeating all aspects of everyday life, it is apparent that education cannot leap behind. In this article we longitudinally investigate a much-debated obligatory full-scale implementation of tablet devices in a large secondary school. We adopt a Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) approach to verify the dynamic nature of students’ acceptance of the tablet as a learning tool at three waves of data collection, both at pre- and short and long-term post-adoption stages. The results clearly indicate the evolutionary nature of the acceptance process, challenging the adequacy of cross-sectional approaches to technology adoption. In the pre-adoption stage, attitude appears as a key uptake factor, whereas three months later, due to practical and technical constraints, the attention shifts to subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Finally, six months after introduction indicative traces of habituation appear, raising concerns on the suitability of the TPB in established post-adoption circumstances.

Teaching and Learning with Mobile Technology: A Qualitative Explorative Study about the Introduction of Tablet Devices in Secondary Education

This paper investigates teachers’ and students’ perceptions concerning the impact of using tablet devices for teaching and learning purposes. An explorative focus group study was conducted with teachers (n = 18) and students (n = 39) in a secondary school that has implemented tablet devices since 2012. The general finding of this study shows that the use of tablet devices in the classroom setting has an impact on both teaching and learning practices. The results suggest that teachers can be divided into two categories: the innovative teachers and the instrumental teachers. Innovative teachers attempt to shift from a teacher-centered to a learning-centered approach. They have changed their teaching style by transforming lessons in accordance with the advantages tablet computers can offer. Instrumental teachers seem to use the device as a ‘book behind glass’. The distinction between the two groups has consequences for both the way courses are given and how students experience them. In general, the introduction of tablet devices entails a shift in the way students learn, as the devices provide interactive, media-rich, and exciting new environments. The results of this study indicate that policy makers should consider introducing technical and pedagogical support in order to facilitate both teachers’ and students’ understanding of the full potential of this kind of technology in education.

“Pedagogical tweeting” in higher education: boon or bane?

Social media have become widely adopted by the current generation of students. Yet, not every social media tool is as popular as others; for instance in 2016, 74.4% of Flemings ever had an account on Facebook, only 34.1% were once active on the microblogging platform Twitter. However, Twitter might have advantages over Facebook as a didactic agent in higher education. To date, research results on the added value of Twitter as a learning and teaching tool are still ambiguous. Therefore, this paper describes two interventions, which are evaluated using a mixed methods approach, to determine higher education students’ expectations and experiences about using Twitter for educational purposes. Results indicate that although students had moderate to high initial expectations about using Twitter in higher education, they were rather skeptical about this tool after using it. The most critical obstacles formulated by students were competence frustration, (information) overload, and extrinsic motivation; that were taken into account by designing the second, follow-up intervention. The results of both interventions are presented and discussed. This study also highlights practical implications regarding the educational use of Twitter as well as suggestions for further research.