What the research says: iPads in the classroom

! !

London!Knowledge !Lab!

2013!

What!the!research!says!

iPads!in!the!Classroom!

Wilma!C lar k!and!Rosemary!Luckin !

EXECUTIVE!SUMMARY!

In!the!three ! yea rs!since!the!iPad!was!first!introduced,!there!has!been!a!rapid!u ptake! of!iPads!and!

other!‘Post<PC’!tablet!devices!in!schools!both!in!the!UK!and!globally.!Enormous!investment!is!being!

made,!but!do!we!have!the!evidence!to!support!this!show!of!faith?!!

The!adoption !and!inte gra t ion !of!table t!devic e s!into!sch o ol!syst ems!is!n ot !with o u t!its!contro v ers ie s,!

and!the ! purpo se! of!this!report!is!to! explo re! if!we!know! enou gh ! to!demon strate !if,!h o w ! an d! wh e n !

iPads! su p po rt ! lea rn in g .! O u r! aim!is!to!identify! k ey ! ide a s! fro m ! th e ! literature!on!the!effective!use!of!

iPads!an d !o t h er!‘Post<PC’!tablet! devices,! to!discuss! the!implications!o f!tablet!technologies!for! school!

leaders,! netwo rk! mana g ers ,! teachers ,! learners! and! their! parents,! and! to!set! this! w ithin! the! wider!

global! context.! The! term! ‘Post<PC’! tablet! is! use d ! to! enco mpass! the! pleth o ra! of! new<lo o k! mobile!

tablet!devices.!!

This!report!is!based!u pon!a!review!of!the!literature,!including!newspaper!reports!and!blog!posts!as!

well!as!academic!and!corporate!research!papers.!The!report!is!divided!into!five!sections:!!

1. An!Introduction;!!

2. What!the!research!says!about!Teaching!and!Learning!with!iPads;!!

3. What!the!research!says!about!Implications!for!Decisions!Makers;!!

4. What!the!research!says!about!Implications!for!Differe n t!U se r!Grou ps;!

5. A!review!of!the!Research!Context.!!

Before!proceeding,!it! is!important!to!state!that!this!report! has!an! unapologetic! emphasis! on!iPads! in!

schools:!1)!because!that!is!where!m ost!of!the!current!research!on!‘Post<PC’!tablet!devices!is!to !be!

found;!an d!2)!in !t h e!knowled g e !t h a t!th ere !a re!n ev erth eless!commo n!lessons!to!be !lea rne d!that!are!

applicable!to!other!tablet!devices!and!their!use!in!education.!

When!it!comes!to!Teaching!and!Learning!students!are!generally!reported!to!be!positive!about!the!

iPads,!seei n g !the m!as !ess e n ti a l!for!21st!century!edu cation.!Within!this!report!there!are!exam ples!of!

iPads! being! used! to! support! learners! beyon d ! simple ! drill! and! practice! games,! to! support!

collaborative! learning,! to! provid e ! personalised! learning! experiences,! iPads! to! augm ent! an d!

enhance!deep!learning,!as!ubiquitous,!distributed!and!connected!learnin g ! to o ls.! We!also! d isc u ss ! th e!

ways!in!which!iPads!can!contribute!to!DigitallyJEnhanced!Monitoring!and!Assessment.!!

• iPads!can!supp o rt! seamless! learning,!allowi n g ! learn e r s! to! easily ! swi tc h ! learn ing!contexts!–!

from!formal!to!inform al!or!perso na l!to!social!–!and!to! take! con trol!of!their!own!learning .!For!

example,!to !sup plement!what!the y!are !learnin g!in!class!in!rea l<time !thro ugh !ad dition al!we b<

based!inquiry,!or!by!making!digital!notes.!

• The! finger<driven! iPad! interface! can! motivate! and! engage! students,! keep in g ! them!

intereste d !in!con te n t!for!lon ge r,!an d!allo w in g !gro up s !to!inte ra ct!w ith !the !dev ice !at!the !same!

time!a nd !with!the!sam e !object.!This!enhances!and! stimulates!simultaneous!opportunities!

for!faceJtoJface!so cial! inte ractio n!in!w ay s!that! d es kt o p ,! la p to p ! a n d ! e ve n !netboo k ! c o m p u tin g !

with!their! mouse<driven! screen,! ‘individual’!peripherals,! fixed! location,!weight! and! overall!

design!do!not.!!

• Research!suggests!that!the!adoption!and!use!of!iPads!in!and!beyond!the!classroom!allows!

students!to!augment!an d!enhance! their!learning! in!w ays!that!were!previously! not!possible!

or!not!so!easy!to!do.!!

• Teachers,! students! and! parents! report! that! the! multiple! communication! features,! routine!

availability! and! easy! accessibility! of! iPad s! in! the! classroom! and! in! stude n ts ’! h o mes! make!

communication! betwe en! teachers! and! students,! and! school! and! hom e! easier! and! more!

routine.!

• A!key!potential!benefit!of!iPad<lik e ! d e vic es !involves!their! working!in!combination!with!other!

technologie s.! In! combination! with! efficient! network! connectivity! and! cloud! storage! they!

offer!ever<increa sin g !capacity!for!the!c o lle ctio n !and!co lla tio n !of!data!about!le a rning!act ivit y!

wherever!learners! are.!The!analysis!and!re p re se n tatio n !of!this!data!about!learning !is!vital! to!

formative!ev alua tion,!asse ssm e nt,!selfJ assessme nt!and!reflection.!!

For!decision!makers,!such !as!school!leaders,!there!is!pressure!to!enhance!learning!and!iPads!offer!

potential! to! help.! Many! s ch o o ls! have! a d o p ted ! the! iP ad ! or! sim ila r! ‘Post<PC’! tablet! devices,! whilst!

many! others! are! looking! to! do! so! in! the! near! future.! We! can! learn! from! their! experiences.! Our!

research!revealed!multiple!drivers!and!implementation!models!fo r!iPads !in!schoo ls !and!clas sro o ms.!

The!majority! of!1:1!implementation! models!were!driven!by! government! bodies! and!school!leaders.!!

SmallJscale!approaches,!suc h !as !class!sets,!and!shared!group!iPads,!tended!to!origina te!from !oth er!

groups:!industry! p ilo ts ,! res ea rc h er <supported! studies,!individual!teachers!or!digital!cham pion s! and!

individu al! schools.! Primary! schools! were! more! likely! to! go! for! shared! devices! and! class! sets,!

whereas!secondary!sc hools! tended!to! aim!for! 1:1!devices.!Early!adopters!tended! to!fund!devices!

whereas!more!recent!adopters!are!more!likely!to!seek!funding !throu gh !parental!contributions!or!to!

arrange!leasing!options!for!students.!

Our!review!suggests! that!sc hools!wishing!to!use!tab lets!sho uld!h ave!a!clear!rationale!for!adoptin g!

this!te chn o logy.!Successful!im plementation! of!tablet!technologies! in!schools!requires! careful,! longJ

term!planning!befor e,!during!and!after!the!event.!Such!plann in g!invo lve s!con sid e ra tio n!of!existin g!

technical!ne tw ork s,!o w ne rship!models,!the !te ch no logy !lifecy cle,!b roa d!stakeholder!preparation!a nd !

on<going! engagement! (parents,! teachers,! learners,! technical! manager s,! etc.)! as! well! as ! plans! fo r!

capturing!progress!and!evaluation.!!

In!the!curre n t!UK !clim a te ,!fun d in g !in!sch o o ls !is!very!tight!a n d !ma n y !feel!th at !the !hig h !cos t!of!ro llin g!

out!1:1!tablet!initiatives!requires!strong!justification.!The!potential!impact!of!initial!and!followJon!

costs! on! what! is! an! already! limited! funding! stream! is! a! particularly! controversial! issue! for! some,!

especially! in! those! instances! where! parents! are! being! asked! to! ‘take! up! the! slack’.! A! variety! of!

ownership! models! were! id en t ifie d.! It! is! impo rt ant! to! reco gn is e ! th a t! the ! rang e! an d! va riety! o f!

ownership!models!do,!however,!have!implication s! for ! orga n is in g ! stud e n ts ’! lear n in g ,! continuity!of!

access!to!students’!work!and!learning!data,!as!well!as!to!managemen t,!maintenance!and!s ecurity!

of!the!devices.!!

Beyond! decision! makers! there! are! significant! implications! for! other! user! groups.! The! technical!

support! implications! are! significant.! The! apparent! ease! of! transition!that! many! of! the! UK! schools!

that!hav e! su cce ssfu lly!im p lem e nte d! a n! iPad!initiative!exhibited!was!masked!due!to!the! fact!that!they!

had!recently!moved!to!new,!wellJequipped!school!buildings.! Beyond!the!provision!of!th e!n etw ork,!

the!inte g ra t io n !p r o cess!can!be!made !worse!if!new!devices!like!tablets!are!not!provided!by!the!schoo l!

or! college! and! belong! to! learners,! are! of! different! m akes! and! types! and! use! different! operating!

systems.!The!consistency!of!the!iPad !operating!system!and!interface!and!the!availability! of!apps,!as!

well! as! issues! of! secu rity,! back up,! restore! and! lifecycle! support! was! identified! as! an! important!

benefit!of!iPads!over!other! devices.!However,!other!device!m anufacturers!have!upped!their!game!

and!can!now!compete!in!this!important!area.!In!this!respec t,!the!rap id!pa ce!o f!dev elo pm e n t!in!the!

area!of!tablet!computing!is!a!key! issue!for!schools!as!they!plan!for!future!technology!needs!and! one!

that!requires!a!process!of!continu ous!ev aluation.!

For! teach er s,! there ! is! evid e n c e ! tha t! iPa d s ! enhanced! the! learning! experience! and! transformed!

teaching!pra ctice.!Mobility,!portability! and!general!ease!of!use!as!well! as!rapid! one<touch!acc ess!to !

tools! (comp are d! w ith! tim e ! con su m ing! log ins! a nd ! reso urc e< booking! requirements! for! networked!

computers)! enabled! a! wider! range! of!learning! activities! to! routinely! occur! in ! the! cla s sro o m.! The!

availability! of!a!wide!range! of!apps!and!connectivity!to!cloud!computing!as!well! as!the!immediacy!of!

communication!(via! em ail,! facetime,!etc.)! with!students!afforded! by!the!omni <present! iPads! enabled!

teachers!to!explore!alternative! activities! (3 D ,!interactive,!multimodal,!virtual!tours,!etc.)!and !forms!

of! assessment.! In! ad d itio n ,! teache r s! felt! that! the! devices! enabled! them ,! as! teachers,! to! promote!

indepe n d e n t !le a r n in g ,!to ! d ifferentiate!learnin g !more!e a s ily!for!different!stu de nt!n ee ds !an d! to!e asily!

share!resources!both!with!students!and!with!each!other.!There!are!however!some!implications!for!

training! and! development! and! we! identify! that! there! are! recognisable! phases! in! teache r!

familiarisation!with!these!devices!and!their!inte gratio n!into!classroom !activity.!The!identifica tio n !of!

these!phase s!can !inform!CPD.!

The! evidence! from ! parents! is ! positive! in! the ! main.! The y! identify! b e ne fit s! s u ch ! as:! incr e a s e d !

engagement!and!intere s t!in ! le a rn in g ,! g a in s! in! k n o wledge! a n d !te c h n o lo g y !s k ills,! more!time!spen t !o n !

homework! and! more! opportunity! to! make! learning! relevant! and! authentic.! Parents! state! that!

homeJschool! commu nication! is!impro ved! with!the!introduction!of!1:1!tablet!devices!and!that!not!

having!heavy!school!bags!to!carry!around!is!a!m a jor!ben efit.!Parents!do!also!express!some!anxiety!

about!breakage,!theft,!loss!or!misuse!of!the!devices!by!children,!and!express!concern!about!costs!

and!inconsistencies!in!what!parents!are!expected!to!contribute.!

For! learners! iPad s ! are! easy ! to! use! an d! attr ac tiv e. ! The! research! on! iPad! use! and! adoption!

overwhelmingly!reports!that!tablet!devices!have!a!positive!impact!on!students’!engagement!with!

learnin g.! Findings! report! increased! motivation,! enthusiasm,! interest,! engagem ent,! independence!

and!self<regulation,!creativity!an d!im p rove d!p roductivity.!!!

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! !

CONTENTS!

EXECUTIVE!SUMMARY! 2!

PART!1:!INTROD U CTION!A N D!BACKGRO UND! 6!

PART!2:!WHAT!THE!RESEARCH!SAYS!ABOUT!TEACHING!AND!LEARNING!WITH!IPADS! 9!

PART!3:!WHAT!THE!RESEARCH!SAYS!ABOUT!IMPLICATION S!FOR !DECISION!MAKERS! 14!

PART!4:!WHAT!THE!RESEARCH!SAYS!ABOUT!IMPLICATION S!FOR !DIFFERENT!USER!GRO UPS! 19!

PART!5:!THE!RESEARCH!CONTEXT! 25!

APPENDICES! 29!

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PART!1:!INTRODUCTION!AND!BACKGROUND!

A! recent! Horizon! report! on! emerging! technology! in! education! (NMC,! 2012)! suggests! that! tablet!

computing! is! one! of! $'%# hot! trends! for!technology! adoption! in! schools! in! 2013,! alongside! mobile!

devices!and!apps.!There!is!evidence!of!increased!adoption!of!Tablet!PCs,!iPads!and!other!‘Post<PC’!

tablets!in! s c ho o ls ! a ro u n d!the!w o rld !(e.g.!N MC,!201 2 ;!Quillan,!2011;! Henderso n ! &!Yeo w ,! 2 0 1 2 ;! S a en z ,!

2011)! and,! more! recently,! in! the! UK! (e.g.!BESA,! 2012;!NAACE,! 2012).! However,!the! adoption!and!

integratio n ! o f! ta b let ! de v ice s! in to ! s ch o o l! sy st ems!has! no t! b e en ! without! it s! c on t ro ve rs ies ! –!be!they!

pedagogic,!technical,!social!or!economic.!!

A! recent! article!in! Time!(Tech),!for! example,! suggests!that!iPads!m ight! be!“good! for!learning,!but! we!

don’t! have! the! evidence”! (Subramanian,! 2012).! Similarly,! Larry! Cuban,! a! professor! emeritus! of!

education!at! Stanford! University,!has! urged! caution,!suggesting! that,!“There!is!very! little!evidence!

that!kids!lea rn! m o re,! faste r!o r! be tter! by! u sing! th ese !m a ch ines !...! iPad s!a re! m a rvelou s! too ls! to! en gag e!

kids,!but!then!the!novelty!wears!off! an d!you!get!into!hard<core!issues!of!teaching!and!learning”!(Hu,!

2011).!!

In!c o n tr as t!to!such!views,!how e v er ,!schoo l!leade rs !involv ed !in!an! iP ad !stud y!at!Roslyn !Heigh ts !schoo l!

in!New !York!arg u e!that!“th e!iPad!is!not!jus t!a!cool!new!toy!but!rathe r!a !p ow e rful!a nd!versatile!tool!

with!a!multitude!of!applications,!including!thousands!with!educational!uses”!(Hu,!2011).!!

Past!research!has!sho wn ! that! schools! and! classroom s! are! complex! system s! requiring! a! considered!

approach! to! technology! integration! and! its! potential! impact! o n ! techn ica l,! social! and! e co n o mic!

infrastruc tu re s.! For! scho o l! lead er s,! tech nic ia n s,! paren t s,! polic ymakers! and! taxp ay er s,! the! latter !

issues!are! just!as!im portant! as!pedagogical!effectiveness!w hen!it!com es! to!new!technology!adoption!

in!schoo ls.!S o !fa r!as!the!new!range!o f!app<enabled!tablet!technologies!are!concerned,!the!potential!

impact !of!init ial!and!follow<on!costs!on!what!for!many!schools!is!an!already!limited!funding!stream!is!

a! particularly! controversial! issue! for! some,! especially! in! those! instances! where! parents! are! be ing!

asked!to!‘take! up!the!slack’!(This! is!Bristol,!2011;!Daily!M ail,! 2011,!2012).! For!this!an d!other! reasons,!

the!add ed ! valu e! o f! the se! d evice s! an d! th e! id en tification ! of! effe ctive ! ad op tion! models!are ! curre ntly! a n!

importa n t!q u es tio n !for!many.!Thus,!whilst!it!is!evident!that!there!is!increasing!interest!in!the!use!of!

‘Post<PC ’!tablet!devices!by!schools,!there!are!nevertheless!concerns!abou t!schools!‘jumping!on!the!

iPad!ba n dwagon’!(K o b ie,!2 0 1 1 )!without!fu lly !co mprehen d in g !th e !n at u re !o f!t his!potentially! dramatic!

technology!shift!in!the!class roo m .!W ith !su ch !issu es!and!conce rns!in!mind,!ou r!a im!is!to !id en tify!ke y!

ideas!from!the! lit era t ur e!on!the! e ffe ct ive !use!of!iP a d s!and!other!‘Post<PC’!tablet!devices!for!learning;!

specifically!the!aims!of!this!review!are:!

! to!provide!a!su m m a ry!re view !o f!the !literatu re!o n!the!use!of!iPad s!a nd !oth er!‘Post<

PC’!tablet!devices!in!the!classroom;!!

! to! identify! and! discuss! the! implications! of! tablet! technologies! for! school! leaders,!

network!managers,!teachers,!learners!and !t he ir!p a re n ts. !

! to!provide!a!con tex t!for!curre nt!d em a nd !for!iPad !and !oth er!‘Po st<PC’! tablet!devices!

in!the!clas s ro om;!

IPADS!AND!OTHER!‘POST<PC’!TABLETS!IN!THE!CLASSROOM!

When! the! New!Media! Consortium! described!tablet!computing!as!a!hot! trend!for!2013!(NMC,!2012)!

they!are!re ferrin g!to ! the !rec en t!so<called!‘Post<PC’!tablets!such!as!the!iPad!or!Google!Android!device.!

Not!to!the!earlier!generation!of!stylus<driven!Tablet!PCs!and!handheld!devices!(Slates,!PDAs,!PIMs)!

which!first!started! to!appear!commercially!in!the!early!to!late! 1990s.!The!design! an d!use!of! this!new!

generation!of!tablets!are!characterised!by!their!adoption!of:!

• a!mobile!OS;!

• capacitive!high<resolution!to uch <screens;!with!!

• multi<touch!finger< driven!interfaces;!!

• backed!up!by!a!well<provisioned!a p p s!marketpla ce ;!a n d! !

• a!much!broader!range!of!connectivity!options!including!wireless!broadband,!3G,!4G,!etc.!!

In! co n tr a st! to! early! T a b let ! PCs,! which! failed! to! g a in ! groun d ! in! the! face ! of! lig h te r ,! more! efficien t!

laptops ! an d ! n e tb o o ks ,! th e! n e w ! g e n era ti on! of! tablet! devices! have! profited! from! fast! moving!

developments!in!the!related!area!of!m obile!phone! technology.!They!are!rapidly!gaining!ground!as!

consumer! tools! of! choice! for!general!media! consum ption! and! inform al! learning.! Increasingly,!they!

are!being!adopted!as!potentially!useful!tools!for!teaching!and!learning.!

EARLY!TABLET!COMPUTING!IN!SCHOOLS!

The! idea! that! portable,! handheld! and! mobile! devices! are! useful! tools! that! enhance! teaching! and!

learning! is! certain ly! not! ne w ! and,! inde e d ,! it ! is ! worthw h ile! referring! b ack ! to! earlier! studies! in! UK!

schools! to! identify! transferab le! lessons! from ! work! already! carried! out.! PD A<GPS! projects! like!

Savannah!(Futurelab,!2004)!or!Mudlarking!in!Deptford!(Nesta,!2005),!for!exam ple,!com bined!web<

based!resources! w ith!m obile!devices!to!encourage!independent!and!collaborative!learning!amongst!

groups!of!pupils!in!and!out!of!the!classroom.!Such!studies!continue!to!provide!some!basic!context!for!

understanding! how ! to! integrate! tablet! technologies! into! classrooms! to! promote! learner! inquiry,!

collaboration!and! com m unication! skills.! The! Homework! project! dem onstrated! the ! effective! u se! o f!

tablet! technology! to! link! home! and! schoo l! in! support! of! young! learners’! math s! educa tion ! and!

illustrated !th e !co n te xt u alis ed !p e rso n a l!lea rn in g !po wer!that!w ell!designed!software!can!bring!to!bear!

when!running!on!these!devices!(Luckin,!2010).!

Other!PDA<type! studies! include! the! eScape! (QCA,! 2003<4)! project! that! looked! at! students’! use! of!

PDAs!to!generate!coursework!eportfolios!for!design!technology!and!other!subjects!like!geography,!as!

well!as!their!use!as!a!support!for!assessment,!learner!creativity!and!teamwork.!This!type!of!study!

provides! useful! insights! into! the! utility! of! portable! tools! in! facilitating! student! mobility! and!

collaboration! in! practical! w orkshop! settings! and! the! use! of! portable! handheld ! tablet! devices! to!

capture!work!in!progress!in!text,!annotation,!image!and!audio!or!video.!!

A! major! Tablet! PC! initiative! in! the! mid<2000s! was! Microsoft’s! ‘Tablet! PC s! in! Schools’! programme!

(Becta,!2005 ).!T he !M ic roso ft!Tablet!PC !didn’t! really! take!off!in! the!UK!and!was!gradually!superceded!

by!laptops!and!netbooks.!Like!the!studies!mentioned!earlier,!however,!Becta’s!‘Tablet!PCs!in!Schools’!

report! also! offers! a! very ! releva nt! startin g! po int! for! co nsid erin g! the ! pote ntial! im plications! for! the!

adoption! and! use! of! ‘Post<PC’! tablets! like! the! iPad! or! Google! Android! or! other! similar! devices.! It!

provides! detailed! guidelines! on! evaluating! tablet! technologies! whilst! reporting! on! em ergent!

practices!and!processes!in!the!effective!adoption!an d!us e !of!mo b ile !tab let !dev ice s !as!a!sup p o rt!for!

teaching!and !learn ing,!as!w ell!as!!their!inte gratio n!into !scho ol!syste m s!m ore !gen era lly.!

‘POST<PC’!TABLET!DEVICES!OTHER!THAN!THE!IPAD!

Since! the! introduction! of! the! iPad! in! January! 2010,! other! new<lo o k ! ‘Post<PC’! tablet! devices! have!

rapidly! ga ine d! ground ,! building! on! th e! popularity ! and! fu n ction ality! of! m o b ile! devices! such! a s!

Smartphones.!Although!a!year!or!so!behind!Apple!in!bringing!their!mobile!tablet!devices!to!market,!

Apple’s!key!competitors!now !include!producers!of! Google!Android! O S!devices! such!as! Sam sung!with!

its!Gala xy ! ra n ge ! as ! w e ll! a s! a ! w id e !r an g e !o f !o t he r! p la ye rs ,!lik e ! So n y !with!its! Ta b le t! 5 ,! A su s’s ! N e xu s !a n d !

Eee! Pad ,! Blackberry’s! Playbook! and,! latterly,! M icrosoft! with! its! Windows! 7! and! 8! devices.! More!

recently!a !raft!of!new,!m iniatu rised !tablet!de vice s,!including!th e!new!iPad!m ini,!have!also !begun!to!

appear.!And,!alongside!these,!a!range!o f!tablet<lap t o p!hybrid s!by! m a k er s!such!as!T o sh ib a ,!Sony,!Dell,!

Asus! and!Lenovo!although,!w ith!a!price!tag!even!higher!than! Apple’s!iPad,! it!seems!unlikely!that!the!

latter!curre n tly !re p re se n t!s erio u s !co mpetitors !to !th e !‘Po s t<PC’!tablet!market.!

In!a d d itio n !to!the!abo v e<mentioned! app<enabled!tablet!devices,!a!broad!selection!of!e <rea de rs!such!

as!the!Sony!e<reade r,!Am azon’s!Kindle!and !others! like! the!Kobo,! N ook,!etc.!is!also! available! together!

with!an!emerging!range!of!hybrid!e<reader/table t<lik e !touch!device s!providin g !facilities!not!only!for!

full<colour!textbook!read ing!bu t!also,!increasingly,!as!w ith!A ma zon’s!Kindle !Fire!for!example,!offering!

access!to!the!web,!email,!social!networks,!multimedia!and!apps.!

It!is!clear!that!there !is! an ! in cr ea s in gly !wide!ran ge !o f! ‘Po s t<PC’!tablet!devices!available,!each!with!their!

individua l! b e n efit s! a n d ! lim it at io n s.! S u cc es sf ul! a d o p tio n,! use! an d ! in t e gr a tio n! of! such ! to ols! into!

schools!thu s!requires!that!relevant!stakeholders!take!sufficient!time!not!only!to!un derstand !the!key!

features! of!available! d ev ices!but,!m o re!importan tly,! to ! id en tify! w h eth er!and! ho w ! th e!various! d evice s!

might!‘best!fit’!the!need s!of!th eir ! s ch o o ls!and! th e ! wider!‘sc h o ol!community’.! A ! k e y!aim!o f ! th is ! r ev ie w !

of!the!literature!is!to!aid!stakeholders!in!that!process.!

! !

PART! 2:! WHAT! THE! RESEARCH! SAYS! ABOUT! TEACHING! AND! LEARNING! WITH!

IPADS!

In!th e!three !year!period !since!January!2 01 0,!when!the!iPa d!was!first!introdu ce d,!there!h as!been!a!

rapid! uptake ! of! iPad s! an d! o the r! ‘Post<PC’! tablet! devices! in! education! and,! increasingly! and! more!

recently,!in !schools!(NMC,!2 01 2).!As!of!January!2012,!Ap ple !reported!some!1.5!million !iPad!devices!

being!sold!into!educational!institutions,!including!m ore!than!a!thousand!reflecting!1:1!deployments!

(Apple,!2012 ).!A !ye ar!la ter,!in!Ja nu ary !20 13 ,!the !ge ne ral!co n sen su s!is!that!whilst!the!iPad!is!still!the!

preferred!leader!for!school<based!tablet!PCs,!its!c o mpetito rs !are!rapidly ! catching!up.!S a msung,!for!

example,!had!recently!begun ! to! roll!out! pilot!projects!for! its!Galaxy! Tab! 10.1! device!b oth! in!its! native!

South!Korea! and,! m ore! recently!w ith! partner! schools!in!Memphis,! USA!(Samsung,!2012).! Others,!like!

LearnPad! (LearnPad,! 2013)! or! Frog4O S! (FrogTrade,! 2012),! m eanw hile,! are! quietly! developing!

education<focused! tab let<based!content!management!systems!akin!to!learning!platforms!in!the!hope!

of!catching!the!current!wave!of!enthusiasm!for!tablet!devices,!particularly!in!the!UK.!!

IPADS!IN!THE!CLASSROOM!–!TEACHING!AND!LEARNING!

Whilst!many!parents!are!concerned!about!the!high!cost!of!tablet!devices!and!sometimes!find!it!hard!

to! see! the! value! in! them ! as! a ! support! for! stud en ts’! learning,! teachers! a nd ! students! are! generally!

reported!to!be!positive !abou t!the!devic es,!seeing !them !as!an!essen tial!‘toolbo x’!for!the!21

!century!

classroom!(Clarke,!2012).!!

LEARNERS:!KNOWING!WHAT!THEY!KNOW!AND!NEED!

As! part! of! their! 1:1! iPad! initiative,! Longfield! Academy! in! Kent! surveyed! teachers,! students! and!

parents!towards!the!end!of!the! first!year!of!the!whole! school! roll!out.!Students! reported!use! of! their!

iPads!in!almos t!all!subje ct !areas ,!with !key!uses !being :!rese arc h in g!top ics !onlin e ,!brain sto rming!(mind !

mapping)!and!presentations.!They!further!indicated! that!they!wanted!to!use!their!iPads!more!often!

to!replace !pen,!pap er!and!b oo ks;!to!take!notes,!design !games,!make!m usic,!do!on line!research!and!

homework;!and!to!access!the!school!VLE.!Things!students!felt!their!iPad!supported!which!couldn’t!be!

done! (as!easily! before)! w ere!described! by!students! as:!easy! Internet! access,!use! of!iBooks,! access!to!

translation!tools,!easy!access!to!e du catio na l!games!and!apps!to!support!learning ,!routine!access!to!

tools!that!suppo rt!reflec tion,!e.g.!d igital!mind!mapping!and!annotation!of!texts.!(Heinrich,!2012).!

Being! able! to!understand!what! a!learner!knows! and! understands!is! key! to!teaching! and! learning.!

Learners!need!to!be!com pleting!tasks!that!are!app ropriately!challenging,!without!being!so!difficult!

that! learners! are! bou n d ! to! fail.! It! is! therefore ! vital! to! ask! if! there! is! a! risk! that! iPads ! mig h t! risk!

‘dumbing!d o wn’!by !making!lear n e rs !perce iv e !ease!of!u se !as!a !key!f a c to r!in!their!en g a g e ment!with!

learning.!Th e re !m ay !be!rea so n a b le!gro u n d s!for!pr ob in g !the !extent!to!which!some!iPad!drill!and!skill!

games! are! too! simple!and! not!adap ted! for! education.!However,! there! are!also! exam ples! in! which!

iPads!p la y !a!role!in !learning!activities!that!en h an c e ,!a u g m e n t!and!su p p o rt!deeper !learning!(science,!

maths),! authentic! learning! (foreign! la ng u a ge s ),! a nd ! virtual! visits ! (a st ro n omy,! histor y).! There! are !

some!difficulties!to!n egotiate,!such!as!the!fact!that!the!device!is!not!d esigned!for!productivity,!and!

10!

has!no!keyboard!other!than!the!touch!screen.!However,!if!these!difficulties! are!overco m e !the re!are !

clear!opportunities!for!greater!collaboration,!connectivity,!and!distributed!support!networks.!

BIG!DATA:!DIGITALLY<ENHANCED!MONITORING!AND!ASSESSMENT!

A! key!potential!benefit!that!iPad<like!d ev ice s!offer!is!the!po s sib ility !to!use!them !in !comb in at io n !with!

the! ever! increas ing! capacity! for! the! collection! and! c ollation ! of! d ata ! about! learning! ac tivity! that! is!

afforded!by!efficient!network! conn ectivity!and! cloud! storage.!Th e! analysis!and ! representation!of! this!

data!about!learning!which!is!vital!to!further!developing!technology!enhanced!teaching!and!learning.!!

A! small,! portable! device! that! is! personal! to! a! learner! and! through! which! they! conduct! learning!

activities! is!not!only!a!window!for!learning,!but!also!a!window!through!which!invaluable!data!about!

the! learner! and! their! interactions! can! be! captured,! stored! and ! analysed .! Howe ve r,! whilst! some!

recent!studies!on !adop tion !and !use!of!iPa ds!m ad e!refe ren ce!to!m on itorin g!stud en ts’!learnin g,!giving!

feedback! and! impro ved ! ease!of!sharing!assessm en t!and!grades,!as!yet!the se! were! few! in!number,!

although!in!one!reported!example!an!English!teacher!at!Lod i!Uinified!School!District!in!California!is!

said! to! be! using! the! app! Edmodo! to! alert! students! ab ou t! assignm en ts! an d! keep! track! of! the ir!

homework!submissions!whilst!students!use! it! to! turn!in!work,!share!notes! and! check! their!grades!

(NMC,! 2012 ).! In! anothe r! UK! exa m ple ,! the! Essa! Aca de m y ! in! Bolton! (BB C,! 2013 )! is! makin g! use ! of!

tablet<based!testing!in!some!subject!areas,!like!Maths!and!Science,!which!give!immediate!feedback!

to!students!tha t!can !also!be !sha red !in!real<tim e !with !the!tea ch er.!

Overall,!however,!it!seems!that!the!rollout!of!tablet!devices!like!the!iPad!may!still!be!too!new!for!

impact !in!the!area!of!asse ss ment!an d !feedba ck !to!ha ve !been!fully!inv es tig a te d .!We!know!that!can!

collect,! collate! and! share! d ata,! conduct! basic! analysis! in! real<time! to! enable! m on itoring ! and !!

feedback!on !stu de nts ’!learnin g!as !it!hap pe ns!to !sup po rt!formative!assessm e n t!and !self<assessment.!!

Schools! are! starting! to! monitor! student! learning! with! these! devices! is! in! their! use! as! a! digital!

portfolio,! with! students! making! use! of! the! tool! in! com bination! w ith! cloud! computing! to! store! a!

record! o f! their!ongoing! work,!as! is! th e! case!at! Ro slyn! High! Schoo l! on!Long! Islan d! (Hu,!2012)! a nd ,!

indeed,! UK ! scho ols! like! the! Essa! Academy! in! Bolton! (BB C,! 2013)! and! Longfield! Acad emy! in! Kent!

where! the!cloud/dropbox!model!is!also!in!evidence.!Whilst! storage!capacity!of!the!iPad!device!may!

be! limited,!access!to! cloud!based! storage! is!clearly!being!used! by!schools! to!alleviate!this! constraint.!

At! the! same! time,! this! necessitates! adequate! access! via! w ireless! or! networks,! with! attendant!

concerns!regarding!security!of!data,!netw ork!stability!and! reliability!(Henirich,!2012).!In!the!Lon gfield!

iPad!evaluatio n ,!teachers !did!indicate !that!having!a!pe rs on a l!tablet!device!did!help!t he m!wth !data!

management!in!areas!like!pupil!registration!(Heinrich,!2012).!Similarly,!in!a!US!study!on!the!use!of!

iPads!by!sch o o l!principa ls,!participa n ts !indicate d!that!the!mobility!and!multimed ia !tools!of!the!iPad!

helped! them! monitor! and! assess! teachers! in! classrooms! and! to! manage! everyday! administrative!

tasks!more!effe ctively!(W in solo w !et!al.,!2012 ).!

Whilst!teacher!interaction! with! such!portfolios!for!assessment!purposes!was!not! explicitly! discussed!

in!the!re vie w e d !re se a rc h,!le s so n s!may!be !d ra w n !f ro m !earlier!rese ar ch !s tu d ie s!o n !t h e!use!of!dig ita l!

portfolios! and! assessment! using! earlier! generations! of! tablet! PC! (PDAs)! such! as! the! QCA! eScape!

project!in!the!UK!(QCA,!2003<4).!

11!

The! visualisation! of! analysed! data! on! the! iPad!offers! important! support!for! assessment,! feedback!

and! personal! reflection! and! the! potential! for! the! widespread! use! of! tools! that! can! capture! the!

progress!of!a!learning!episode,!individual!or!joint!is!particularly!powerful.!The!recent!development!of!

more! school<friendly! tablet<based! learning! platforms! for! Android! OS! by! companies! like! Samsung!

(Samsun g,!20 12 ),!Learn Pa d!(L earn Pa d,!2 013 )!an d!F rog Tra de !(Fro gT rad e,!20 12)!may!go!som e !wa y!to !

facilitating! the! transfer! o f! data ! betw e en ! mo b ile! table ts,! school! netw orks! and! the! ‘cloud’.! The!

Samsung!Smart! School!So lution,!for!example,!incorporates!a! Student! Information!System! that! allows!

teachers!to!track!stu de nt!d ata ,!includin g!grad es!a nd !atten da nc e!(Bu rke ,!2012 ).!!

The!combination! of! the! apps<based!environment!of!the! tab let!device,!whe ther!iPad!or!Android,!with!

web<based! systems! and! cloud! computing! also! offers! a! potentially! unique! opportunity! for!

transferring! lea rne rs’! digital! data! between ! systems,! e.g .! w h en ! using! gam e<based! learning! or!

interactiv e!learning !apps!th a t!provide!teachers !and!lea rn er s!with!in st an t!feedba ck !on!their !learning!

progress,!e.g.!the!Socrative!app,!described!as!an!‘instant!assesment’!e<clicker!device,!which!allows!

teachers! to! create! (a nd ! share)! tests,! quizzes! and! games<based! learning! or! instant! voting,! and! to!

collate!feedback!from!students!instantly!and!anonymously!(SmarterLearning,!2013).!!

PERSONALISED!

All! learners! are! different! and! require! teaching! and! learning! interactions! that! acknowledge! these!

differences! and! provide! suitable! support.! A! technology,! such! as! an! iPad,! that! is! owned! by! an!

individua l! le a rn e r! a nd ! p o p u la te d ! w it h! material! an d ! a p plic a tio n s! t h at ! a re! particularly! su it ab le ! fo r!

their!needs!cou ld!be !a!po w erfu l,!portab le,!pe rson al!learn ing!p artn er.!!

For!m any!students,!h aving!not!only!0%1-"(,).-%5!,&&%--!to!th is!state<of<the<art!technology!but!also!

.(5.=.56, )# "2(%1-' .0! of!the!device,!is! highly!motivational.!Indeed,!Burden!et!al.!(2012)!found! that!

personalised! access! and! individual! ownership! is! a! crucial! element! in! successful! adoption! and!

effective!use!of!the!iPads!in!their!study.!

Henderson! &! Yeow! (2012)!reporting!on! an! iPad! study!in!a! New!Zealand!primary!school!point,!for!

example,! to! the! idea! that! such! devices! can! support! seamless! learning,! allowing! learners! to! easily!

switch!learning! contexts!–!from !formal! to ! in form a l! o r! p ers on al!to!socia l!–!and!to!take!control!of!their!

own!learning,!e.g.!to!supplement!what!they!are!learning!in!class!in!real<time!even !as!their!teach er!

speaks,!through!ad ditional!w eb<based! inquiry! or!by!making!digital!notes,! practices! also!identified!by!

students!as!a!benefit!of!on e<to<one!iPad!ownership!in!a!UK!study!evaluating!a!whole<school!rollout!

of!iPad!devices!at!Longfield!Academy!in!Kent!(Clarke,!2012).!!

In!‘shared! iPad’!pr o je ct ! in! a!Norw e g ian!p rimary!schoo l,! students!were!able!to!‘own’!the!iPad!on!a!

rostered! ba sis,! takin g! tu rn s! to ! tak e! th e! device!h o m e! (Gasparini,!2012).! Stud en ts! w ere ! free ! to ! ad d !

apps,!allowing!a!degree!of!personalisation.!Researchers!later!collected!the!ipads,!interested!to!see!

what!kind!of!apps!stude nts!ha d!ind epen den tly!selected.!Th ey!d iscovered!one!student!(pseu don ym !

Josh)!ha d! o rga nise d!his!app s! into ! th em a tic! gro u ps.! A d ditio na lly,!h e! h ad ! ins talled ! so m e ! free!apps!th at!

supported!text<to < sp eech.! Thro ugh! ob servation!a nd! discussion !w ith!the! class!teacher,!they!identified!

Josh!as! ha vin g!readin g!difficulties.!Thu s,!Josh!was!able!to!use!the!apps!feature!of!the!iPad!to! ide ntify!

and!obtain!useful!assistive!technology!to!support!his!additional! n eeds,!an !act!that!w ould!have!been!

far!less!likely!to!o ccu r!w ith!a!desktop! computer!where! such!specialist!software!is!typically!expensive!

to! buy! and! installed! by!school! te ch nician s.! Josh’s!experience ! illustrates!the! eas e! with!which! iPads!

and!similar!tablet!devices!can,!where!personalisation!is!permitted,!be!custom ised!to!suit!individual!

needs.!!

12!

Personalisation!can,!however,!take!many!

forms! –! whether! that! is! through!

ownership! of! the! device,! the! design! of!

individua lis ed ! learning! activities! an d !

personalised! assessments,! or! something!

as! basic! as! available! choice! of! software!

and! peripheral! tools! as! a! support! for!

teaching!and!learning.! !In!a! class!project!

on!Haiti,!a!US!educator!supported!young!

learners! in! engaging! with! recent!

immig ra nt s!to!their!class!with !share d !use!

of! 3! class! iPads.! W orking! in! groups,!

learners! were! ab le! to! self<select!

appropriate! apps! and! tools! to! support!

their! lea rnin g! in! an! approach ! that! not!

only! allowed! the! learners’! voices! to! be!

captured! but! also! facilitated! a ! student<

centric! construction! of! knowledge!

(Bearson!et!al.!20 12 ).!!#!

I%,1(%1G-%)%&$%5#,00-#J#/+K,.$.!!

In!this!se n se ,!e ve n !when!sh a re d !a mongst!a !g ro u p !of!learn er s,!t ab le ts !lik e!t h e !iP ad !c a n !st ill!support!a !

high!degree!of!personalisation!in!student!learning.!

COLLABORATIVE!

We!know!that!human!knowledge!arises!from!social!interaction.!Social!interactions!can!take!the!form!

of! traditional! teacher! and! learner! interactions,! peer<centred! interactions,! o r! participation! in!

activities!with!large!groups!or!communities.!Research!evidence!suggests!that! ‘Post<PC’!tablet!devices!

like!the!iP ad !c a n !co n trib u t e!t o !b et te r!q u alit y!c o lla bo ra t ive ,!co<operative!or!cross<contextual! learning!

experiences!for!students.!!

The! portability! of! d evices! like! the! iPad! m ay! also! help! to! develop! the! coherence! of! the! learner’s!

experience,!which!can!in!turn!reinforce!prior!learning!and!create!deeper!understandings?!

A! study! of! iPad! use! in! a! New! Zealand! primary! school! classroom,! for! example,! reported! that! the!

portability! of! the! iPad,! its! multi<touch,! rotata ble! screen,! ran ge! of! app s! and! ge ne ral! ease! of! use!

provided!learners!with!“much!better! opportunities! for!collaboration!than!w ere!possible! in!the!past”!

(Henderso n ! &! Yeo w ,! 2012).! T he ! finger<driven! interface! motivates! and! engages! students,! keeping!

them! interested! in! content! for! longer! periods! of! time,! and! allows! students! to! interact! with! the!

device! at! the! same! time! and! with! the! same! object,! enhancing! and! stimulating! simultaneous!

opportunities! for! face<to<fa ce ! soc ial! inte ractio n! in ! w ay s! tha t! de skto p ,! lapto p! a nd ! eve n ! ne tbo ok!

computing!with!their!mouse<driven!screen,!‘individual’!peripherals,!fixed!location,!weight!and!overall!

design!do!not.!The!class!teacher!summed!up!the!collaborative!nature!of!the!iPad!as!a!learning!tool:!

L"6#',=%#$"#,M#;1.(*#,#*1"60#$"#$'%#&"/06$%1#,(5#;M#',=%#$"#?.(5#":#-.$#,1"6(5#.$4#

2'%1%,-#.:#+"6#2,($#$"#-'"2#-"/%;"5+#2"1?#"(#$'%#.8,5#+"6#&,(#:).0#.$#"=%1#,(5#$'%#

-&1%%(# 2"6 )5# :).0N# O(&%# +"6H=%# :.(.-'%5# 2.$'# .$# + "6# &,(# 0,--# .$# $"# $'%# &),--# .(#

-%&"(5-4# 2 '%1%,-# ,# 5%-?$"0# &"/ 0 6$%1# +"6# ',=%# $"# -'6::)%# %=%1+; "5+# $"# $'%#

&"/06$%17#

13!

On!the!other!hand,!teachers!observing!use!of!the!device!by!groups!of!students!did!report!that!the!

multi<touch!facility!of!the!iPad !tablet,!alth ou gh !a!tech nica l!reality,!did!not!work!v ery!well!in!practice !

as!the!device!size!was!too!small!for!mo re !tha n !one !stu d en t !to!m an ip u la te !the !tou ch<screen!at!one!

time.! Wh ere ! it! w a s! m o re! successful! wa s! in ! terms! of! its! porta bility! a nd ! th e! ability! of! studen ts! to !

generate!information!and!easily!pass!the!device!to!a!p eer!for!sharing.!Another!useful!collaborative!

aspect! was! the! ability! to! use! the! networked! nature! of! the! iPad! to! collaborate! or! compete! using!

shared!apps!(Henderson!& !Yeow ,!2012).!

AUGMENTED!AND!ENHANCED!

The! research! suggests! that! the! adoption! and! use! of! iPads! in! and! beyond! the! classroom! allows!

students!to!augm ent!and!enhance!their!learning!in!ways!th at!w ere!previou sly!no t!po ssible!or!n ot!so!

easy!to!do!(Heinrich,!2012;!DEECD,!2011).!!

At!the!Auburn!School!in!M aryland,!USA,!for!example!students!were!able!to!mix!and!match!from!a!

wide!range!of!apps!to!enhance!their!learning!about!T.S.!Eliot’s!‘The!Wasteland’!–! all!from!a!single!

device,!including!video!interviews!with!authors!and!scholars,!podcasts,!dedicated!‘easy<notes’!apps!

on!the!text!and!to!use!the!in<built! tools!of!the!iPad!to!m ake!their!own!annotatio ns,!e.g.!h igh lighting!

text!or!recording!au d io!reflectio ns!o r!no tes!(NMC,!2012).!!

UBIQUITOUS,!DISTRIBUTED!AND!CONNECTED!

In! many!stud ies ,!teac h er s,!students!and!pa re n ts !repo r te d !tha t!the !mu ltip le !commun ica tio n !fea tu re s ,!

routine! availability! an d! ea sy! accessibility! of! iPads! in! the! classroom! and! in! students’! homes! made!

communication! between! teache rs! and! students! and! school! and! hom e! easier! and! more! routine!

(Heinrich,!2012 ;!Bu rde n!et!al.,!201 2;!Cla rke,!20 12 ). !

Another! way! in! which! the! iPad! can! be! particularly! effective! is! the! w a y ! in! which! it! can ! ea s ily! p u t!

people!in!touch!with!each!other!w hen!they!are!in!distant!physical!locations,!through!wi<fi!o r!p ho ne !

network!connections!and!using!software!applications!such!as!Facetime!or!Skype.!In!one!Texas!school!

which!had!implemented!a!1:1!iPad!program,!teachers!com municated!with!parents!using!Facetime,!

whilst!the!potential!for!this!feature!of!the!iPad!to!be!used!to!“provide!a!venue!for!guest!speakers,!

interview s !a n d !p e er !d isc u ss io n s” !was!also!recogn ise d !(P ilg rim!et!al.,!2012). !S imilarly!i n !a !UK!st u d y !of!

tablets!in!schools,! a! key! finding! w as! tha t! teach ers ,! pupils! and ! pare nts! ag reed ! that! co m m un icatio n!

had! improved!through! tablet! use,! enabling! pupils! to! use! their! iPads! to! collaborate! on! homework!

activities! using!Facetime!(Clarke,!2012).!W hilst!other!technologies!also!allow!for!video<conferencing!

features,!the!portability,!speed!and!ease!of!u se!of!the!iPad!and!the!p rop rieto ry!nature!of!Facetime !

allows!for!additional!reliability!and!security,!whilst!the!device!itself,!with!its!ability! to!support! add<on!

apps!also! allows! for! flexibility!in! this! area.!In!this!respect,!w hilst!the! iPad!is!not! un ique! in! its! offering,!

these!early!exam p les!do !ap pe ar!to!su gge st!tha t!it!offers!a!high !qu ality!platfo rm !for!sh ared !learn ing.!

We!know!that!the!circumstances!of! learning! make!a! great! d ifference!to!the!efficacy! of!learning.!! The!

people,! places,! and! things! with! which! learners! interact! are! crucial! elements! in! their! developing!

understanding! of! knowledge! and! skills.! The! mobility! of! the! iPad! can! offer! great! oppo rtunities! for!

learners!a n d !th e ir!te a ch e rs!t o !b uild !meaning s!a n d !ex p e rien c e s!a cro s s!d iff ere n t!lo c a tio n s.! !

14!

PART! 3:! WHAT! THE! RESEARCH! SAYS! ABOUT! IMPLICATIONS! FOR! DECISION!

MAKERS!

What! this! review! of! the! research! has! revealed! is! that! in! the! three! years! since! the! iPad! w as!

introduc e d ,! many! schoo ls ! have! adopt ed ! the! iPad! or! similar! ‘Po s t <PC’! tablet! devices,! whilst! many!

others! are! looking! to! do! so! in! the! near! future.! Non<iPad! devices ! re po r te d! in ! th e ! re se a rch ! a re ! as !

varied! as! Android! tablets,! e<Readers,! Kindles,! iPod! Touches,! all! the! way! through! to! the! recent!

phenomenon!referred!to!rather!comically!as!‘phablets’!(smartphones!with! screens!between!5!and!7!

inches).!Whils t!sales!of!t h e!iPad!have!grown !very!fast,!with!predicted !sales!of!more!than!60!m illio n !

units! for!2012!and !furth er!p redictions!that!the!com b ined!sales!of!iPad!and!And roid!tablets!will!soon!

outstrip!PC! sales,!information!on! the! adoption!and! use! of! these! devices!in!schools!remains! small.!

Further,! whilst,! as! indicated! above,! evidence! about! learning! in! sch oo ls ! w ith ! iPa d s ! is! gra d u ally !

beginning!to!emerge,!what!there!is!remains!variable!in!quality.!What!is!clear!is!that!little!is!certain!

when! it! comes! to! the! future! of! tablet!computing! in! schools.! It! is! against! just! such! a! context!that!

Heinrich!(2012)!suggests!that!$'%!key!lesson!from!the!research!is!that!schools!nee d!to!h ave!a!‘clear!

vision!and!strategy’!for!imp lementing!any!‘Post<PC’!tablet!scheme!–!and!that!means!knowing!what!

you!want,!why!you!want!it,!how!to!get!it!and!how!to!implement!it!when!you!do.!!

INITIAL!DRIVERS!

The! research! revealed! multiple! drivers! and! implementation! m odels! for! iPads! in! schools! and!

classrooms:!

! Government!(South!Korea,!USA,!Australia)!

! Region,!district!or!local!authority!(Canada,!USA,!Scotland)!

! Indust ry !(A p p le ,!Sa msung,!Microsoft! an d!others)!

! Research!(BESA,!NAACE,!NERP,!Family!Youth!and!Kids,!University!of!Hull!and!others)!

! School!leadership!!

! Technology!team,!manager!or!department!

! Individual!teach e r! o r! d ig ita l! ch a mpion!( o fte n ! tra in e e !t ea c h er s! o r! t ea c h er s! st u d ying!for!h ig h e r!

degrees)!

IMPLEMENTATION!MODELS!AND!FUNDING!

The!majority!of!1:1!implementation!models,!particularly!those!aimed!at!whole!school!provision!were!

driven!by!government!bodies!and!school!leaders!(often!assisted!by!technology!teams,!managers!or!

departments).! Small<scale! approaches! (class! sets,! shared! group! iPads)! tended! to! originate! with!

industry !pilots ,!resea rc h er <supported! stud ies,! ind ividual!teachers! or!digital!ch am pions!and!individual!

schools.!Primary!scho ols!w ere!m o re!likely!to! go!fo r!shared !d evices!an d!class! sets,!whereas!secondary!

schools!tended!to!aim !for!1:1!devices!where!possible,!and!class!o r!subject!sets!w here!fun ding!w as!

tight.!Early!adop ters!tended !to!fu nd !devices!whereas!more!recent!adopters !are!m o re!likely!to !seek!

parental!contributions!or!to!arrange!leasing!options!for!students.!

P"/%#%9,/0)%-#:1"/#$'%#1%-%,1&'#QR)";,)#A"($%9$MJ#

15!

! South! K orea:! A! gov e rn ment<led ,! cen t rally <funded! US$2! billion! 1:1! tablet! provision!

scheme!for!every!school!child.!Linked!to!a!wider!digital!curriculum!policy!focusing!on!

tablet<based! e<learning ! between! hom e ! an d! sch o o l,! e<textbook! provision ! and! clou d!

computing.!First!introduced!in!2007!and!set!to!be!comp lete d !by!201 5.!Initially!pilo t ed !

in!5 0 !schoo ls,!and!using !Sams u n g!Galax y!10.1 !Andro id !tablets .!Relate d!deve lo p m e n t!of!

tablet<based! learning! platform! and! tablet<enabled! school! management! system!

software.!Tablets!and!so ftware!now!being!rolled!out!to!other!countries.! H ome!project!

meanwhile! being! cut! back! due! to! concerns! over! student! over<reliance! on! digital!

devices.! E<textbooks! will! no! longer! replac e! textbo ok s! but! both ! will! co<exist! side! by!

side.!Young!learners!(1

!and!2

!grade)!may!not!use!them!at!all.!(Saenz,!2011)!

! United!States:! V a ria b le !imple m e n t at io n !and!fund in g !mod e ls.!Many!sch o o ls!influe n ce d !

by! general! government! focus! on! digital! curriculum! and! e<te xtbo o ks! in! p articu lar.!

McAllen! County,! Texas!–!district<wide!and!district<funded!1:1!tablet!provision!scheme!

for! a ll! schoo l! age! childre n! for! a! total! of! some ! 25,000 ! iPads.! Stag gere d! roll! out.!

(Sherman ,!201 2). !

! Canada:!gove rn ment<fu nd ed ,!school<le d !1:1!iP a d !provision !–!Calgary!Science!School!–!

pilot! school.! Roll! out! to! one! year! group! of! 100! G rade! 7 ! students.! Parents! asked! to!

contribute!to!insurance!costs!–!CAD$60!per!annum!and!CAD $100!excess.!(Petronech,!

2012)!

! Australia:! govern ment<fun de d! 1:1! iPad! p ro vision ! –! Ringwood! North! Primary,!

Melbourne.!Apple<related!pilot.!136!Ye ar!4!an d!5!students.!(DEECD,!2011)!

! Norway:! researc h <funded! iPad! pro vis ion .! 6! iPads ! in! on e! 4

! grade! class! (age! 8<9).!

Researcher<led!study.! 1!iP a d ! for!t e ac h er,! 1!for! each ! group! of! 5 ! students.! L o an e d ! for!

one! school! year.! Wireless! had! to! be! specially! installed! for! the! project.! Students!

allowed!to!take!iPads!home!on!rotational!basis.!(Gasparini,!2011).!

! New!Zealand:!scho o l<funded!p rovis ion !o f!iP ad s,!s ha red !c lass !s ets!5/6!iPads!per!class,!

managed! collaboratively! by! school! leaders,! ICT! manager! and! class! teachers.!

(Henderson!&!Yeow,!2012).!

P"/%#%9,/0)%-#:1"/#$'%#1%-%,1&'#QST#A"($%9$MJ#

! Honywood! Community! School,! Essex:! Apple! pilot! school.! School<funde d,! cost!

£500,000.! 1:1! iPad! 2! provision! to! all! 1200! students.! Parents! asked! to! d onate! £50!

towards!insu ran ce.!Ac ad em y!sta tus!(C larke,!2012).!!

! Longfield! Academy,! Ke nt:! Apple! pilot! school.! Leasing! scheme! with! Apple.! 1:1!

provision,! 726! units! as! of! March! 2012! (76%! of! pupils),! additional! 100! students! had!

iPads! not! sup p lie d ! by! sch o ol.! Im p le m e n ta tio n ! led! by ! senio r! m a n ag e m e n t! thr ou g h ! an!

iLearning!Group!led!by!the!principal.!Parental!contribution!of!around!£16!per! month!

over!3!year!leasing!period!requested!(Clarke,!2012).!

! Wallace!High!School,!Belfast:!Apple!pilot!school.!Leasing!scheme!with!Apple.!530!1:1!

iPad! p ro vis io n! for! pu p ils! in! years ! 8<11! for! use! in! class! and! hom ework.! Parental!

contribution!of!£170!per!year!requested.!Implem entation!led!by!staff!working!group ,!

led!by!vice <principal!(an!Apple!Distinguished!Educator)!blah!(Clarke,!2012).!

! Essa! Academy,! Bolton:! 1:1! provision! of! iPads,! 840! stu de nts ,! scho o l<fu nd ed .! (BB C ,!

2013)!

! Clevedon! School,! Bristol:! 1:1! iPad! provision.! Lease! or! purchase! scheme.! Parental!

contribution! o f! approximately! £16! per! m onth! required.! School < le d ! w it h ! ex te n siv e !

16!

parental! consultation! and! additional! information! evenings! for! incoming! Year! 6!

students.!Online!portal!–!iCle v ed o n !to !s up p o rt !ta b let !in itia tive .!(T h is !is!B ris to l,!2 0 11 )!

What! is!evident! from!these!UK!models!is!that!the!Apple!leasing!option!at!a!cost!of!around!£16! per!

month!over!3!years!appears!to!be!the!most!commonly!accepted!model!for!more!recent!adopters.!!

THE!RATIONALE!FOR!TABLET!ADOPTION!!

A!review!of!the!literature!suggests!that!schools!wishing!to!use!tablets!should!have!a!clear!rationale!

for!a do p ting! this! techn olo gy .! The! Redo ub t! Prima ry! Scho o l! in!Auckland ,! for!examp le,!identified!the!

wide! range! of!available! apps!as!one!of! the!most!compelling! reasons! for! adopting! iPads! as!a!support!

for! teaching! a nd ! lea rnin g! (H en de rso n! & ! Y eo w ,! 20 12).! A cc ess ibility,! eas e! o f! us e,! incre as ed !

productivity! and! the! potential! for! collaborative,! co<operative,! personalised! and! seamless! learning!

were!also!cited!as!good!reasons!by!many!early!adopters!(Henderson!&!Yeow,!2012;!Clarke,!2012;!

NMC,!2012,!Burden!et!al,!2012).!Others!point!to!the!iPad!as!an!easily!accessible!tool!for!accessing!

learning! content! in! the! form! of! e<tex tbo ok s,! web<based! m aterials,! and! content! not! generally!

available! in!print!textbooks!or!readily!acccessible!on!a!1:1!basis!other!than!in!school!computer!labs,!

e.g.! 3D! environments,! virtual! learning! environments! and! interactive! materials! (Saenz,! 2011;! Hu,!

2012;!Quillan,!2011,!Heinrich,!2012;!BBC,!2013).!School!leaders!and!teachers,!meanwhile,!point!to!

the! ease! of! ac cess ,! portability! and! real<time! mon itoring ! and! assessm en t! of! student! learning! and!

progress!and!teacher!CPD!(BBC,!2013;!W inslow!et!al,!2011).!W hatever!the!rationale,!this!suggests!

that! any! adoption! of! such! tools! for! schools,! requires ! a! particular! focus! on! teachin g! and! learnin g,!

school!m an agem ent! systems,!and!added!value!for!learners!and !parents,!esp ecially!where!parental!

contribution! to! leasing! agreem en ts! is! requested.! Additionally,! as! with! any! new! technology,! these!

devices!require!significant!strategic!planning!to!ensure! adequate!and!appropriate!integration!with!

existing!systems! and! negotiation! of! the!general! lifecycle! of! the! techn olo gy.! Whilst! one! teache r! at!

Longfield,! for! exam ple,! has! claimed! that! “iPads! have! revolutionised! learning”! at! the ! school,! the!

school!mana gem ent! team !resp onsible! for! imp lemen ting!th e!ro ll!out! w ere!a lso!q uick!to !e stablish!th at!

“effective! project! management! has! been! critical! to! the! success! of! this! development”! (Heinrich,!

2012).!

ROLL!OUT!MODELS!AND!STRATEGIES!FOR!IMPLEMENTATION!

A! majority! of! existing! 1:1! roll! outs! in! UK! schools! from! the! early! adopters! (Cedar,! Honywood,!

Longfield,!Wallace!High!School)!to!mo re!recent!a do pte rs!(Clevedon,!Essa!an d!Rossett)!h av e!shown!

that!succe ssful! im plementation!o f! tab let!te ch no logies !in !sc ho ols! req uire s!c are ful,!lon g<term!plann ing !

before,!during! and! after! the! event! (Heinrich,!2012;! BBC,! 2013;! This! is!Bristol,! 2012;! Burden!et! al,!

2012).! Such! planning! involves! consideration! of! existing! technical! networks,! ownership! models,!

technology! lifecycle,! broad! stakeh old er! p rep aratio n! a nd ! o ngo ing ! en gag em e nt! (p are nts,! te ach ers,!

learners,! t ec h n ica l! manager s,! e tc .)! a s!well!a s! p la n s! f o r !stepping!progress!a nd! evaluation.! The! team !at!

Longfield,!for!example,!suggest!a!nine<lesson !model!(H ein ric h ,!20 1 2 ).!

1. Develop!a!clear!vision!and!strategy.!

2. Define!your!learning!culture.!

3. Define!and!create!your!user!experience!and!support!model.!

4. Work!with!a!traffic!light!and!reporting!system.!

5. Evaluate!your!existing!position.!

17!

6. Know!how!many!staff/students!already!own!an!iOS!device.!

7. Involve!a ll!s ta ke h o ld e rs !–!don’t!let!a!perception!grow!that!it!is!a!‘done!deal’.!

8. Get!devices!into!the!hands!of!teachers!and!learners!as!soon!as!!possible.!

9. Record!and!share!your!experiences.!

Burden! et! al.! (2012)! also! signal! the! importance! of! engaging! parents! and! seeking! their! views! and!

feedback!at!all!stages:!before,!d urin g!and!after!the !project.!K ey !parental!concerns!in!th e!Longfield!

study!(Heinrich,!2012),!for!example,!focused!on !va lue!for!money,!high!costs!of!leasing,!especially!in!

multi<child! families! and! fears! over! security! and! safety! of! devices.! Following! a! survey! of! parental!

perceptions,!Longfield!decided!that!m ore!work!was!needed!to!m ake!the!added!value!of!the!tablet!

initiative!vis ib le !to !p ar en ts ,!e .g.!b y !p ro vid in g !m o re !fe e d ba c k!o n !h o w !th e y !w e re !be in g !u se d !in !sc ho o l. !

FUNDING!

In!the!curre n t!UK !clim a te ,!fun d in g !in!sch o o ls !is!very!tight!a n d !ma n y !feel!th at !the !hig h !cos t!of!ro llin g!

out! 1 :1! tablet! initiatives! requ ires! strong! justification .! With ! no! centra lised! prog ram ! and ! scho ols!

rolling!out!a!range!of!differen t!mo de ls,!som e!pare nts !have !expre ssed !con cern !ove r!the!dispa rity!in!

funding! models,! w ith! some! sch o ols! providing! th e! devices! free! or!for!very!little!cost,!whilst!others!

require! lon g<term,! heav y! leasing! pa ym en ts! (This! is! B ristol,! 2 01 1;! Mail! On line,! 2012).! O the rs!

(teachers,!parents ,!school!ma n age rs)!have !expres sed !conc ern s!aroun d !supp lem e nta ry!costs,!e.g.!of!

downloading!apps,!upgrades!to! existing !technolog y,!e.g.!w ire less!netwo rks!and!access!to,!sto rage !on!

and!backup!costs!for!cloud!computing!as!w ell!as!insurance,!training!and !general!maintenance!costs!

(Henderso n ! &! Ye ow ,! 201 2;! Ga sp arin i,! 2011;! H ein rich,! 201 2,! Bu rde n! et! al.,! 2012 ).! Some! schools!

adopting! 1:1! roll! out! models,! how ever,! claim! to! be! able! to! make! cost! savings! in! relation! to!

‘paper le ss ’!le a r n in g !with!less!p h otocop yi n g !a n d !te x t b o o k !c o st s!( B B C ,!2 0 1 3 ) .!O t h e rs !a rg u e !t h a t!c o s ts !

are!justified!as!part!of!the!general!ongoing!technology!lifecyc le!of!th e!sch o o l!(He in ric h,!20 1 2 ).!On c e!

again,! how ever,! a! key! issue! here! is! the! level! of! parental! contribution! required,! for! what! purpose!

(purchase,! lease,! insuran ce)! and! the! ability! of! parents! to! meet! those! requests! and ,! if! not,! h ow !

schools!deal!with!students!w h ose !p are nts !a re!unable!to!fund!a!1:1!tablet!initiative.!Ways!in!which!

schools! do! recognise! and! m ee t! these! con cerns! include! p rovision! of! scho ol<ow ned! devices! on! a!

‘lendin g ’! basis! to ! i n d iv id u a l ! s tudents! where! t h is ! is! deem e d ! necessar y ,! a n d! subsidised! funding! in!

whole!or! in! part!for!multi<child! fam ilies! a nd! those! on! low!incomes! (Heinrich,!2012),! e.g.! students!

who!get!free!school!meals!(This!is!Bristol,!2011).!

OWNERSHIP!MODELS!

A! variety! of! ownership! models! was! identified! in! the! literature! on! iPad! use! in! scho ols.! These!

‘owne rs h ip! m o d e ls ’! inclu de! th e ! con c e p t ! not! on ly ! of! ‘prov is io n ’,! i.e.! wh e th e r ! prov is io n ! lea ve s !

ownership! and! control! in! the! hands! of! the! school! or! the! student,! but! also! to! ‘physical’! and!

‘econo mic’!ownershi p ,!i.e.!who!the !device !ultima tely!belongs.!The!following!‘provision’!types!were!

identified !in !th e !re se a rch !(Henderso n !& !Y e o w ,!2 0 1 2 ;!H e inr ich ,!2 0 1 2;!B u rd e n !et !a l.,!20 1 2 ).!

! 1:1!tablet!devices!–!provided!for!use!by!individual!students!

o some!only!for!use!in!school;!

o some!for!use!at!home!and!scho ol;!

o some!whole<school!roll!outs;!

18!

o some!partial/staggered!roll!outs!(1:1!but!by!class,!year,!subject);!

o funding!mo de ls!for!1:1!pro vision ;!

! free!but!scho ol<owned;!

! 3<year!lease,!school<owned!for!duration!of!lease,!then!student<owned;!

! outright!purchase!–!student<owned;!

! BYOD!–!student<owned;!

! Shared!tablet!devices!–!provided!for!use!by!multiple!students!

o some!only!for!use!in!school;!

o some!for!use!at!home!and!scho ol!(on!rotational!basis);!

o generally!partial/staggered!roll!outs!rather!than!whole!school;!

o sometimes! class! sets! or!year! group! provision,!more! often!primary! than! secondary!

schools;!

o sometimes!subject!sets,!more!often!second ary!than!prim ary!schools;!

o funding!mo de ls!for!shar ed!tab let!pro vision ;!

! almost!universally!school<funded!a nd !sch oo l<owned;!

The!range!and!variety!of!ownership!models!do,!howe ver,!have!implications!for!organising!stud ents’!

learning,! co n tin u ity ! of! a cc es s! to ! stu d e n ts ’! wo rk ! an d ! lear n ing ! da ta ,! as ! we ll! as ! to! management,!

maintenance!and!security!of!the!devices.!Many!schools,!for!example,!placed!restrictions!on!the! kind s!

of! apps! that! could! be! installed! and! who! could! install! these! (Henderson! &! Yeow,! 2012;! Heinrich,!

2012),! placing! additional! constraints! on ! flexible! use! of! the! devices! by! learners,! especially! in! the!

home!setting!and!an!additional!burden!on!technical!support!in!terms!of!managing!multiple!devices!

within!the!school!system.!Most!schools!deployed!an!acceptable!use!policy!(AUP)!to!deal!with!such!

issues.!Se e ,!fo r!e xa mple!the!A U P !fo r!u s e!o f !m o b ile !d ev ice s !at !B ells h ill!A ca d e m y !in !S co tla n d !(B u rd en !

et!al.,!2012,!p!113).!

! !

19!

PART! 4:! WHAT! THE! RESEARCH! SAYS! ABOUT! IMPLICATIONS! FOR! DIFFERENT! USER!

GROUPS!

The!iPad!studies!in!the!UK!were!not!implemented!without!issue!or!concern.!As!indicated!in!section!3,!

such!issues!an d! con cerns! requ ire!close! con sideration! by! school! leaders.!In!ad dition,!there!are! further!

implicat io ns !fo r !n et w o rk !manager s!if !ta b le t!d e vic e s! are !t o !b e !s uc ce s sfu lly !in te g ra te d !in to !c la ss ro o m s .!

Teachers,!learners!and!parents!all!have!their!role!to!play!too!if!iPads!are!to!fulfil!their!potential!to!

support!teaching!and !learning.!W e!now,!consider!the !implications!for!network!managers,!teachers,!

parents!and!learners.!

IPADS!AND!NETWORK!MANAGERS!

The! level! of! resourcing! for! technical!support! in! schools! is! often!low! and! the! prospect!of! m ultiple!

devices! moving! in! and! out! of! a! school! or! college! and! then! re<co nnecting! to! a! network! can! be !

challenging.! In! m any! of!the! recent! UK!iPad! pilots,! embedding! tablet! PCs! into!classrooms! requ ired!

installing! new ,! or! upgradin g ! existing ,! wireles s! netw o rk s! to! cope! with! dem an d . ! Perceived! ease! of!

transition! was! masked! in! some! studies! due! to! the! fact! that! many! of! th e! UK! schools! who! have!

successfully! imp lemen ted! an! iPad! initiative! had! recently! moved! to! new,! well<equipped! school!

buildings,!e.g.!Essa!Academy!in!Bolton!(BBC,!2013),!Longfield!Academy!in!Kent!(Heinrich,!2012)!and!

Honywood! Community! School! in! Essex! (Clarke,! 2012).! In! an! equivalent! Norwegian! study,! the!

participating!school! in! a! researcher<led! proje c t! had! no! wireless! sys te m! prese n t! at!the! st ar t! of!the!

project!and!one!had!to!be!installed!(Gasparini,!2011).!

THE!DEVICE!LIFECYCLE!

Impor ta n t!tech n ica l!(and !financ ia l)!implic a tio n s !of!iPad!adop tio n !and !use!in!schoo ls!wer e!iden tif ied !

as! relating!to!the! d evice!lifecycle!and!the!need !for!regular! equipm ent!upgrades,!installation!of!apps,!

ongoing!maintenance!and!upgrading!of!technical!support!netwo rks,! insura nce ! costs! for! pro tectio n!

against!loss,!theft!or!damage!and!maintaining!accurate!records!and!logs!for!1:1!devices!for!a!whole!

school!pop ulation.!In!addition,!resou rce!costs!in!terms!of!mon itoring!and!controlling!the!use!o f!th e!

devices!and!maintaining!an!acceptable!use!policy!were!also!identified!as!potentially!high!cost!issues,!

both!economically!and!in!terms!of!time!and!people!resources.!This!was!true!also!for!the!provision!for!

on<going!eva luations!of!relevance!and!performance!to!ascertain!whether! tablet!devices! continue!to!

be! a! ‘best! fit’! for! the! school! whether! for! teaching! and! learning,! home<school! commun ication,! or!

general! administration! and! d ata! managemen t! (Henderson! &! Yeo w,! 2012;! B urden! et! al.,! 2012,!

Heinrich,!2012).!

MINOR!TECHNICAL!ISSUES!!

Other,!more!general!technical!issues!were!identified!around!compatibility!of!existing!school!systems,!

like!sch o o l!VLEs!with!Apple!softwa re!such!as!th e!Safari!browse r!(Heinric h ,!2012)!or!th e!inability !of!

the!iPad!to!utilise! F lash ,!a!platform !upo n!wh ich!many! existing!school<based!e<learning!too ls !(e.g .!the !

very! po pular! myMaths)! are! based! (Heinrich,! 2012).! Scho ols! were,! however,! able! to! meet! these!

‘mino r!techn i ca l !issues ’!e.g.!by!u sing!an !altern a tiv e !app!such !as!t h e !Puffin !Web !browser!(Heinrich ,!

2012).!!

BENEFITS!OF!IPADS!OVER!BYOD!AND!ALTERNATIVE!‘POST<PC’!TABLETS!

20!

The!integration!process!can!be!made!worse!if!new!devices!like!tablets!are!not!provided!by!the!school!

or! college! and! belong! to! learners,! are! of! different! m akes! and! types! and! use! different! operating!

systems.! The! Longfield! Academy! iPad! study,! for! example,! suggested! that! a! 1 :1! solution,! fully!

managed! by! the! school,! using! a! single! OS! minimised! technical! problems! and! areas! like! teaching,!

learning!an d !administratio n !also !ben e fite d !bec au s e !all!stud en t s!w ere!able! to! use!the! sam e! tools!and!

apps,!in!contrast!to!‘Bring!Your!Ow n! D evice’!(BYOD)! m odels! where! students! and!staff!might!be!using!

a!variety!of!different!devices,!from!Smartphone!to!iPads,!bringing!with!them!a!‘raft!of!technical!and!

management! issues! and! associated! resource! costs’! (Heinrich,! 2012).! The! Longfield! project! team!

(Heinrich,!2012)! a lso !argued!that!iPads! in !particular!offered!significant!benefits!over!similar!‘Post< PC ’!

tablet! device s! insofar! as! it! offered! a! ‘consistenc y! of! opera ting! system! a nd ! int erf ac e ! and! th e !

availability!of!apps’!as!well!as!on!‘issues!of!security,!backup,!restore!and!lifecycle!support’!which!only!

Apple! was! currently! providing.! Whilst! this! may! have! been! true! as! of! summer! 2012,! when! the!

Longfield!report!w as!published,!as!indicated!earlier!in!this!repo rt,!Samsun g!and!other!tablet!device!

and! OS! m akers! are! rapidly! pushing! similar! education<focused! packages! that! could! so on ! compe te!

with!Apple!in!this!area!(Samsung,!2012;!LearnPad,!2013).!!

In! this! respect,! the! rapid! pace! of! develop m e nt! in! the! area! of! tablet! comp uting ! is! a! key! issue! for!

schools! as! they! plan! for! futu re! technology! needs! and! one! that! requires! a! ‘robust! and! systematic!

approach’!(Burden!et!al.,!2012)!and!a!process!of!continuous!evaluation.!

ONGOING!EVALUATION!

The!key!UK!studies!(Burden!et!al.,!2012;!Clarke,!2012;!BESA,!2012;!Heinrich,!2012)!o n!iPads!in!the!

classroom!suggested!three! im portant!ph ases!in! evaluating! the!integration!o f!tablet!de vices!into!their!

schools:!

! 81%G./0)%/%($,$." ( # 0',-%! <! strategic! plann ing,! familiarisation! with! device! and!

use/user! context(s)! through! initial! teacher/stakeholder! workshops;! evaluating!

existing! technology! infrastructures! and! device! ownership! data;! preparing/engaging!

with!relevant!stakeholders!<! parents,!students,!teachers,!school!m anagers,!and! the!

wider!community,! e.g.! local! authorities,! support! charities,!technology! advisers! and!

researchers;!dev ising!im p lem e nta tion !plan .!

! U(.$.,)#1" ))#"6$#G# evaluating!use!of!iPad!and!apps!for!teaching!and!learning,!including!

homework!and!informal!learning;!use!in!home<school!or!distance!contexts;!ongoing !

evaluation! of! impact! on! perceptions! –! across! stakeholder! groups;! monitoring! and!

supporting! issues! –! technical,! pedagogic,! social,! economic;! ongoing! resourcing! and!

support!for!teaching,!learning!and !C PD ,!e.g.!through!specially!set<up!project!teams,!

regular! discus sion s! a t! staff! briefings,! classroo m ! o bs erva tion s! o f! tea ch ers! a nd !

learners,!te a ch e r!u s e!o f!o n lin e !iP ad !re s ea rc h!n e tworks,!etc.. !

! V(5#":#0',-%#1%=.%2#<!full!pha se!re view ,!u sua lly!at!e nd !of!ye ar,!to!monitor!progress!

and! review! issues! arising;! and! to! seek! stakeholder! views,! e.g.! using! surveys,!

interview s ,!stu d e n t!fo c u s!g ro u p s.!

IPADS!AND!TEACHERS!

21!

Teachers!have!been!qu ick!to!take!up!iPad!type!applications!an d!there!are!many!examples!of!their!

use! to! be! found! in! practitioner! blogs! (Swanson,! 2013;! P age! Burdick,! 2013;! A ndrew s,! 2013),!

discussion!forums!and!informal! practitioner!networks!(Gliksman,!2013).!This!presents!a!challenge!as!

well! as!an!opportunity:! authors!rarely!discuss!'"2!th e!applications!th ey !h ave !used!were !in te gr at ed !

into!pract ice !%::%&$.=%)+!and! it!can! be!hard! for!teachers! to!know! w hich!of! the!many!options!available!

would!be!best! for! them!and! their! learners.!The!benefit!of! m any! of!the! recently! emerging!studies!on!

iPad!pilots !in!the !UK !(Bu rd en !et!al.,!20 1 2 ;!Clarke,!2012;!Heinrich,!2012)! and! other! schools!w orldwide!

(NMC,! 2 01 2;! DEECD,! 2011)! is!that! some!of! these ! iss ue s! are!fina lly! b eg inn ing ! to ! b e! addressed! in! a!

more!systematic,! practical!way.! In!this! section! of!this! report,! we!deal! with! general! issues!in!relation!

to! teache rs! a nd ! iPads,! including ! te ac he r! p erce ptio ns! of! the! d ev ice,! teacher! CP D ! a nd ! p o ten tial!

changes!to!the!teacher’s!professional!role!in!the!classroom.!

TEACHER!PERCEPTIONS!ON!IPAD!USE!

In! the! ‘iPa d s ! in ! Sc o tla n d ’! s tu d y ,! Bu r d e n ! et ! al. ! (2 0 12 ) ! fo u n d ! th a t! teach ers ! felt! that! us ing! iPad s! to!

support!teaching!and !learning!in!the!classroo m !enhanced!the!learning !experience!and!transform ed!

their!teaching!pra ctice.!!

Teachers! were! particularly! enthused! at! the! way! in! which! iPads! tranformed! access! to! and! use! of!

technolog y!in!the!cla s sro o m.!Th e!mob ilit y,!portab ility !and!genera l!ease!of!u s e!as!well!a s !rapid!one <

touch!access!to!tools! (c om p are d!with!time!consu m ing !logins!and!resource<booking!requirements!for!

networked! computers)! enabled! ‘a! wider! range! of! learning! activities! to! rou tine ly! occur! in! the!

classroom.!The!availability!of!a!w ide!range!of!app s!and!connectivity!to!cloud!com puting!as!well!as!

the! imm ed iacy! of! comm un icatio n! (via! email,! facetim e,! etc.)! with! stud en ts! a fford ed ! b y! th e! omni<

present!iPads!enabled!teachers!to!explore!alternative!activities!(3D ,!interactive,!multimodal,!virtual!

tours,!etc.)!and!form s!o f!asses sm en t!(Bu rde n!et!al.!20 12).!!

In! addit io n ,! te a ch e rs ! fe lt! t h a t! th e ! u s e ! o f! iP a d s! in! the! class ro o m! cause d ! th e m! to! reth in k! their!

professional! role! and! facilitated! greater! collaboration! betw een! themselves! and! students! as! co<

learners!in!part ne rs h ip !with !each !oth e r,!and !with !stud e n ts !learn in g!ind ep e n d en t ly!of!the!tea ch e r!as!

well!as!increasing!peer<to<peer!learning!and!mentoring!(Burden!et!al.,!2012).!!

Other!studies!produced!similar!findings.!At!Longfield!Academy! in!Kent,!for! example,!teachers!also!

identified !t h e!benefit!o f!‘n o t!h a v ing !t o !w o r ry!about!fin d ing !a!comp ut er ’!a nd !spoke!of !h o w !p e rs o n al!

ownership! of!iPads!enabled!them!to!use!the!tool!not!only! to!support! teaching!and!learning!but!also!

for!adm in istratio n!and!data!pu rp ose s!such!as!taking !registration,!planning!lessons,!facilitating!ta rge t!

setting!an d!enabling!students!to!see! imm ed iately!the! results!of! th eir!learning.! The y!also! felt!that! th e!

devices!enabled! them,!as!teachers,!to!p rom o te!in de pe nd en t!learn ing,!to !differe ntiate !learn ing!m o re!

easily!for! different!student!needs!and!to!easily!share! resources! both! with! students!and! with! each!

other.!At!the!same!time,!they!did!identify!lack!of!time!to!develop!relevant!resources,!e.g.!teacher<

authored!iBooks!and! lack!of! budget!for! paid< fo r!apps! a s!an!iss ue ! w h ilst,! a t!the!sa m e ! time,!expre ssin g!

a!desire!for!m ore!‘subject<specific’!apps.!A ctivities!w hich!were!not!y et!widespread!in!the !school!b ut!

which! were! seen! as! useful! developments! for! the! future! were! use! of! performance! videos! for!

assessment!and!peer!review!(for! both! students!and!teachers),!self<review ! a nd ! p ee r! asse ssm e nt! in!

general,!peer!teaching,!the!creation!and!use!o f!revision!materials,!use!of!voting!systems!and!gam e<

based!learning!(Heinrich,!2012).!!

22!

TEACHER!CPD!

Whilst! some! (Heinrich,! 2012;! Henderson! &! Yeow,! 2012)! identify! teacher! training! as! a! necessary!

support!for!effective!integration!of!tablet!devices!in!classrooms!(covering!technical,!pedago gic,!social!

and! economic! aspects!o f! the! device),! Burden! e t! al.,!(2012)! suggest! that! requirements! for!‘formal’!

training!of!teachers!sh ou ld!be !minim a l,!with!teac he rs!learnin g!instea d!thro ug h!exp erie ntial!learn ing,!

virtual!practitioner!networks!and!commu nities!of!practice.!They!did,!however,!feel!that!some!form!

of!initial!familiarisation!with!the!device!w as!important!in!getting!teachers!started.!In!some!schools,!

e.g.!Longfield!Academ y! in!Kent!(Heinrich,!2012)!and! Calgary! Science! School!in!Canada!(NMC,! 2012)!a!

dedicated! school! improvement! pro gram me! encouragin g! staff! to! share! exp erien ce s! and! rep ort! on!

findings!w a s!included!in !initial!implem e nta tion !and!on <going!evaluation!plans.!These!ranged!from!a!

simple! sharing! of!experiences! for! 5<10!minutes!at! regular!staff!briefings!(Andrews,! 2012)! to!more!

formal!repo rting !of!cas e!stu dies !(Petro n ech ,!201 2;!DE E CD ,!201 1).!

What! the! research! does! indicate! throughout! is! that! there! are! recognisable! phases! in! teacher!

familiarisation! w ith ! the se ! de vices ! an d! th eir! inte gra tion ! into ! clas sroo m ! a ctivity,! w ith! e xa m ple s!

identified !a s:!

• initial! familiarisatio n ! with! the! tablet! device! –! it’s! features,! functionality! and! resourc es !

(including!storage!and!in <device!tools!such!as!camera,!audio,!video!and!communication!

functions!as!w e ll!as!it’s!pote ntial!fo r!teach ing !an d!lea rnin g); !

• locating! a n d !u n d e rst an d in g !a p p s! a n d !t h e! a p ps ! m a rk et p lac e ,!in c lud in g ! un d e rs ta n din g ! an d !

negotiating!issues!around!the!use!of!free!apps!(e.g.!inappropriate!advertising);!

• identifyin g ,!insta llin g!an d !usin g !ap p ro pr iat e!an d !1%)% =,( $#apps!that!support!teaching!and!

learning!in !g e n er al!a n d !cu rric u la r!(su b je ct )!co n t en t!more!spe cif ica lly; !

• identifyin g !app s !tha t!su p p o rt!pe rs on a lis ed !an d /o r!co lla b o rat ive !lea rn in g,!inc lu din g !th os e !

that!can!cater!to!lea rne rs!with !add ition al!nee ds!(e .g.!autism ,!dy slexia,!etc.);!

• identifyin g !ways!that!tablet!devices!can!be!used!beyond!basic!teaching!and!learning,!e.g.!

for! dis tribu ted ! learning,! m o nito ring ! and! ass ess m en t,! pastoral! ca re,! data! m an ag ement,!

facilitating!student!voice !(e.g.!voting,!survey s,!noticeb o ard s),!virtual!excha ng es!or!tours,!

and!engaging!with!the!wider!learning!community!(other!schools,!external!experts,!etc.);!

• creating,!uploading!and!sharing!teaching!resources!(for!students!and!peers).!

This!recognisable!phases!for!the!general!roll!out!of!iPads!in!schools!is!also!reflected!in!the !pro ce ss!

implementation ,!a s!d e ta ile d!e ls ewhere!in!th is !re po rt .!

IPADS!AND!PARENTS!!

As! with! many! of! the! studies! emerging! from! UK! iPad! early! adopting! schools,! in! those! schools!

researched! by !Bu rd en !et! al.!(20 12 )!as !pa rt!o f!the !‘iPa d!in !S cotla nd ’!pro gra m m e ,!made!use!of!baseline!

and! exit!surveys! to! gain! data! on! parental! attitudes! towards! the! iPad! Pilot.! They! found! that! m ost!

parents!felt!confident!in!helping!their!children!use! the!iPad!to!support! learning!in! the!home.!One!

importa n t!finding ,!echoed !also!in!the !South!Korean!tablet!initiative!(Saenz,!2011),!was!a!concern!in!

some! parents! (not! held! at! the! baseline! survey! stage)! of! young! primary! school! learners! that! their!

children’s! increased! use! of! technology! at! home! a nd! school! m ight! actually!be! detrimental! to! their!

23!

academic!work!mo re!generally.!Overall,!however,!83%!of!parents!felt!that!the!iPad!pilot!had!been!

valuable!and! indicated,! amo ngst! other! things,! that! it!led! to! increased! en gagem ent! and ! interest! in!

learning,!gains! in !knowle d ge !and! te ch n o lo gy ! s k ills,! more!t ime!spent!on!hom ewo rk!and!offering!more!

opportunity!to!make!learning!relevant!and!authentic!(Burden!et!al.,!2012).!

In! the! F K & Y ! ‘Table ts ! for! Schoo ls’! stud y,! Clarke ! (2012 )! foun d ! that! paren t s! felt! that! home<scho ol!

communication! had! been! imp roved! with! the! introduction! of! 1:1! tablet! devices.! Some! parents!

indicated !greater!engage m e n t!with!t h eir!children ’s!learning!with!t h eir!child!fe e lin g!‘proud’!to!sha re !

work!with!their!parents,!a!finding!also!upheld!in!the!Norwegian!iPad!study!(Gasparini,!2011).!Parents!

of!pupils!at! one!school!in! the! FK& Y! study!–!Alex!Hunter!in!Braintree,!Essex!were!found!to! be! positive!

about!the!idea!of!tablets!and!felt!that!the!ability!to!‘have!everything!in!one!place!and!not!having!to!

carry!roun d! heavy! school! bags’! was! a!major! benefit!(Clarke,!2012).!This!finding!echoes!thinking!in!

other!projects,!such!as!the!e<textbo ok /tab let!initiative! in!South!Korea!(Saenz,!2011).!Concern s!raised!

by! parents! in! the! FK&Y! related! to! fears! about! breakage,! theft,! loss! or! misuse! of! the! devices! by!

children,!however,!by!the!end!of!the!first!year,!these!had!dissipated!somewhat!(Clarke,!2012).!

At!Longfield!Academy!in!Kent,!a!parental!survey!was!conducted!at!the!end!of!the!first!year!of!the!

iPad! in it iat ive .! Despite! re ce ivin g ! only!a! small! nu m b e r! of!respon se s,! some! ke y! concerns! of! parents!

were! nevertheless! highlighted.! Perhaps! unsurprisingly! in! the! current! climate! of! austerity,! a! key!

concern!for!parents!w as! costs,! with! nearly!half!of!resp onding! parents! feeling! that!the!scheme! did!

not!represent!good!value!for!money.!Parents!were!concerned!at!the!length! of!the! leasing! period!(3!

years)!and!the!long<term !costs!of!on goin g!paym e nts !(£16!per!m on th),!particu larly!for!families!with!

more! than!one!student! at!the!school.!They!were!concerned!also! about!the!lifecycle!of!the!machine!

and!possible!further!expense!in!future!upgrades.!One!particularly!disgruntled!parent!indicated!th at!

they!‘felt!bullied!into!particip ating !in!the!lea se!sch em e ’!(Hein rich,!201 2).!

The! available! studies! suggest! that! key! questions! that! arise! for! p arents! relate! to! the! benefits! and!

implicat io ns ! of! iPad! use,! how! they! will! be! u se d ! to! support! teach in g ! and! learning ! gene rally ! and!

homework,!exams!and!revision!as!well!as!more!practical!concerns!relating!to!use,!misuse,!security,!

lifecycle,!t ra in ing ! a n d ! su p p o rt! a n d ,! ab o v e! a ll,!costs!to!parents.!In!this!respect,!eme rging!studies!sho w!

that! early,! ongoing! engag em e nt! with!parents! that!includes! o p po rtun ities! to!d iscu ss! and!negotiate!

approaches!to!implementation,!as!well!as!to!learn!more!about!the!b enefits!of!the!tool!have!a!high!

impact!on!acceptance!and !overall!success!of!these!iPad!initiatives.!

IPADS!AND!LEARNERS!

The! research!on!iPad!use!and!ado ption!overwhelmingly! reports!that!tablet! d evices!like! these!have!a!

positive! impact! on! students’! engagement! with! learning.! Whilst! there! are! some! minor! concerns!

raised! about! po ten tial! overuse! or!distracting! influence! (Saenz,! 20 11),! misuse! (Clarke,! 2012 )! and! a !

lack!of!co n fid e n ce !o r!s kills !in !so me!stude n ts !(B B C ,!2 0 1 3;! H e nd e rs o n! & !Y e o w ,!2 0 1 2 )!th e se !fin d in g s!a re !

far!outwe igh ed !b y!those!w hich !report!on!increased!motivation,!enthusiasm,!interest,!engagement,!

indepen d e n ce ! and !self<regulation,!creativity!and!improved!produc tivity! (NMC ,!2012;!Burden! et!al.,!

2012).!Many!report,!more!specifically,!on!students’!ability!to!control!their!own!learning!in!ways!not!

possible! before! (Gasparini,! 2011;! Heinrich,! 2012;! NMC,! 2012)! whilst! others! report! students’! own!

view!that!1:1! ow nership! of! tablet!d evices!p rovides! them! w ith! easy! access! to! resources! and! ap ps! that!

24!

can! help! them! collate! and! organise! notes! an d! support! materials! which,! in! turn ,! imp rov es! the ir!

productivity!(Heinrich,!2012).!!

Such! positive! findings! are,! how ever,! contrasted! with! reports! from! early! adopters! that! point! to!

learner! difficult ie s! in! using! the! iPad ’s! touc h sc ree n ! interfa c e! for! exten siv e ! text <based! input!

(Henderso n !& !Ye ow ,!2 01 2),!an d !in!u sin g!a pp <based!tools!to!capture!and!collate!information.!As!a!key!

benefit!of!the!iPad!is!its!portability,!the!idea!of!‘attaching’!peripherals!such!as!a! wireless!keyboard!to!

address! these! issues! is! anathem a! to! som e! (Henderson! &! Yeo w ,! 2012 ).! Mo re! recen t! resea rch,!

however,!does!not!appear!to!see!these!issues!as!problematic,!pushing!the!idea!that!the!iPad!is!just!

‘one! tool!amo n g s t! many’! a n d ! that! it! sh o u l d ! not!be! expected! to!do! ev e r yt h in g ! (Clarke,! 20 1 2 ;! BBC,!

2013).!

In!t er m s !of!learn e r!con fid e n ce !with !tab let !dev ice s!like!the !iPad ,!a!majo rity !of!recen t !stud ies !sug ge s t!

that!m o st!students !find!them!easy!to !use!(e.g.!He inrich ,!2012).!Others!suggest!that!so m e!studen ts,!

and!particularly!younger!learners,!may!require!initial!support!not!o nly!in!d ea ling!with!the!featu res!

and!functionality!of!the!device!–!in clu d in g !ho w !to !fin d,!d ownload!an d !us e !ap p s!(G a sp a rin i,!20 1 1 )!as !

well!as!how!to!create!and!access!accounts!and!storage!in!‘the!cloud’!(Allen,!2011),!e.g.!using!dropbox!

(Heinrich,!2012)!<!but!also!in!terms!of!how ,!when!and!where!tablet!devices!can!be!used!to!support!

learning!( B BC ,!2 0 1 3 ;!H e nd e rs o n!&!Yeow ,!20 1 2 ).!!

! !

25!

PART!5:!THE!RESEARCH!CONTEXT!

As! context! for! the! rising! demand! for! iPads! and! iPad<like! device s! in! scho o ls ,! in! the! sect ion ! tha t!

follows,!we!provide!a!summ a ry!review!of!key!trends!and!develo pments!in!th e!ado ptio n!and!use!of!

‘Post<PC ’! tablet! devices! firstly! in! the! global! context,! followed! by! a! brief! overview! of! the! current!

situation!in!the!UK.!

SCHOOL<BASED!IPAD!STUDIES:!GLOBAL!CONTEXT!

There!has!been!considerable!take!up!of!iPads!in!K<12!education!in!the!US!since!the!introduction!of!

the!device!by!Apple! in!2010.! Forbes ! lists!in!O cto b er! 2012 ! report! 70! out! of! the! top! 100! rollouts ! of!

iPads! b y!enterpris e ! a re ! in ! K <12!education!(Lai,!2012).!A!reported!1 .5! m illion ! iPad ! de vices !h av ing! b ee n!

sold! to! the! education! market! b y! Apple! as! early! as! Jan uary! 2012.! Some! school! districts,! such! as!

McAllen!County!in!Texas,!have!pushed!for!a!district<wide!rollout!of!iPad!devices,!despite!the!high!

initial! inves tment!cost!(Sherman,! 2012).!Others!have! taken!a!more!cautious!approach,! with!small<

scale! p ilots!in!individual!scho ols!focusing !on!the!use!of!apps!a nd!tab lets!to!sup po rt!various!activities!

around!teaching!and!learning!as!well!as!communication!and!administration.!!

The!recent!Horizon!report!on!emerging!technologies!in!K< 12!education!(NMC,!2012)!provides!useful!

examples!of!how!iPads!are!being!used!in!such!schools:!!

• for!inte rac tive! learning !(8)%,-,($#A.$+#V)%/%($,1+#P&'"")4#E)"1.5,)!real<time ! comm u n ication !

and!feedback!between!teachers,!students!and!parents;!!

• use! of! apps! to! support! students! with! special! needs,! e.g.! autism! (W%))%# X.%2# V)%/%($,1+#

P&'"")4#X.1*.(.,);!

• social!and!communication!nee ds!(F6;61(#P&'"")4#Y,1+),(5)!and!!

• for!home work,!assessment!and!grading!(I"5.#S(.:.%5#P&'"")#Z.-$1.&$4#A,).:"1(.,),!!

At!Snoqualmie!Valley!School!District!in!Washington!iPads!are!used!to!identify!student!and!teacher!

training! nee ds! and! to! facilitate! teache r! networking! (Y%%?-4# [\]])! whilst! stu de nts ! at! Roslyn! High!

School!on!Long!Island!use!them!for!digital!portfolios!and!interactive!learning!(K64#[\][).!

Elsewhere,! and!as!early!as!2007,!the!South!Korean!Ministry! of!Education!announced!its!intention!to!

push! for! a! US$2! billion! government<fund ed ! m an da tory ! dig ita l! cur ricu lu m! in! all! of! the! cou nt ry’s !

schools!by!2015.!The!plan!had !a!strong!focus!on !digital!textbooks,!cloud!com pu ting!and!tab let!PCs!

(Saenz,!201 1).!T he !h op e!was!that!le arn ers!would!n ot!o n ly!b en efit!fro m !lighter!schoo lbag s!but!that!

they! would! also! de velop! enhanced ! information! skills! and! practices,! an d! obtain! access! to! new !

learning! m e d ia ! not ! pre vio u sly ! ava ila ble ! in! prin t! te xt bo o k s,! e.g.! m u lt im e d ia ,! we b<based! support!

systems,!3D!interactivity!and !distributed!content!storage!‘in!the!cloud’.!F ive!years!on!the!program,!

initially! pilo te d ! in! 5 0 ! sc h o o ls,! h as ! met! with! s ome! succe ss e s! a n d! s o me! unant icip a te d ! an d ! le ss !

welcome!outcomes.! The! provision! of! government<funded! Samsung ! Galax y! tablets! to! learne rs! has!

delivered!on!the!desire!to!make!e<textboo k!conte nt!readily!available.!The!digital!textbook!program!

has,!however,!also!led!to:!

• concerns! about! po ssible! dam age! to! student! health! (Internet! addiction,! dep ression,! vision!

problems);!

• a!perception!that!these!‘digital!devices!are!too!pervasive’,!and!

26!

• that! a! ‘you ng ! generation! of! tablet<carrying,! sm artphone <obsessed! students! might! benefit!

from!less!exp os ure !to!gad ge ts,!no t!m ore ’!(Ha rlan,!20 12 ).! !

Alongside!these!developments,!however,!the!South!Korean!tablet!m anufacturer!Samsung!has!been!

able!to!develop! and!trial!an!education! specific!‘learning! hu b’!!<!the!Sam su ng!Sm a rt!Scho ol!Solutio n!–!

for!its!ta blet!dev ices !(Chos un !Ilbo,!2012).!Pilots!are!bein g!run!initially!in!South!Ko rean !scho ols!an d,!

more!recently!with!Geeter!Middle!School!in!Memphis,!USA!(Samsung,!2012)!and!Loreto!Secondary!

School!in!Kilkenny,! Ireland!(Burke,!2012).!Samsung’s!Smart!School!Solution!is!a!fully!integrated!o ne<

to<one!learning!platform!that!enables!teachers!to!create!an!interactive!learning!environment!using!

devices! such! as! the! Galaxy! Note! 10.1! tablet,! a! 65<inch ! interactive! e<board! and! an! AllShare! Cast!

Dongle!to!allow!for!wireless!streaming!of!content.!The!solution!comprises!three!integrated!systems:!

• an! IMS! (Interactive! Management! Solution)! that! allows! teachers! to! control! interactive!

lessons,!in c lu din g !th e !a b ility !to !lo ck !d o w n !st u de n t!s cr ee n s,!!

• an! LMS! (Learning! Management! System)!providing! course! materials! such! as! e<books,! apps,!

timetables,!scho ol!no tices,!foru m s!an d!!

• an!SIS!(Student!Information!System)!to!track!student!attendance,!grades,!etc.!!

In!Canad a ,! th e! Alb e rta ! go ve rn ment! host ed ! an ! ev en t ! for! ed u ca to rs ! in! O ct o b er! 2 01 1 ! to ! exp lo re ! the !

use!of!iPads!in! schools! and! to! discuss!the!opportunities,!challenges!and! emerging!lessons!learned!

from! implemen tation ! of!iPads! a s! a!support! for!teaching! and! learning ! in!local! cl assroom s! (Alberta,!

2011).!

In!Australia,! th e !Victoria n !govern ment! h as !been!runn in g!an! iP ads!trial!in!c o n ju n ct io n !with!Apple.!The!

‘iPads!for!Learn in g ’!initia tiv e !saw !700!iPad s!distri b u te d!on !a!1:1! b a s is !to!studen t s!at!nine!scho o l s!and !

one! hospital! school.! The! trial! is! suppo rted! by! a! web<based! project! site! offering! a! w ide! range! of!

resources,! including! first<hand! accounts! from! iPad!educators,!including! school<based! case! studies,!

app!reviews,!reports!and! other! guidelines!docum enting!a! w ide! range!of! uses! and!ways!of!integrating!

iPads!in!t h e!c las s ro om!(DEEC D ,!2 0 1 1 ).!!

In! New! Ze a land,! one! early ! ad o p ting! iPad! scho ol,! t h e ! Redoubt! No r th ! Pr imary! Scho o l! in! Au c k lan d !

(Henderso n !&!Yeow,!2012)!had!previously!used!netbook s!and!turned!to!iPads!d ue !to!the!ran ge !of!

apps! available.! This! iPad! case! study ! is! a! particularly! stron g ! example! of! one! school’s! con sid e re d!

implementation !st ra te gy !fo r!th e!u s e!o f!iP ad s !be in g !sh are d !b y!small!group s!a s!p a rt!o f!a!la rg er !clas s!

set.!

An! early! iPad<adopting! rural! elementary! school! in! Norway! provides! a! similar! (and! usefully!

contrasting)! case! study! on! the! initial! implem entation! of! iPads! in! the! classroom! w ith! groups! of!

children! (Gasp arini,! 2011).! Whereas! in! the! New ! Zealand! study,! management! of! the! roll! out! was!

essentially! a! top<down! affair,! in! Norway,! the! opposite! was! the! case,! at! least! initially,! with! much!

freedom! regarding! choice! of!ap ps ! a nd ! u se ! o f! the!de vice s! being!given! to! s tud en ts.! Taken!together!

these!two!studies!provide!a!u sefu l!overview ! on!the!use!of!iPad s! 1)!only!a t! school! and! 2)!between !

home! and! school,! with! a! focus! on! manageme nt! of! devices,! selection! of! apps! a nd! the! impact! of!

device!‘ownership!models’!on!learners.!

Before!concluding!this!section,!it!is!worth!returning! briefly!to!the!Sam sung/Apple!situation!outlined!

earlier!as!Samsung’s!foray!into!tablet<based! learning!platform/school!management!system!software!

could!mean!that!its!Galaxy!tablet!range!could!become!a!serious!iPad!competitor!in!the!near!future.!

27!

Samsung’s!education<focuse d! pilot! is! in ! stark! contrast! to! the! iPad!pilot! programmes! run! by! Apple!

which! have! tended!to!focus! more!on!real<world! contextualisation! of!educational! apps,! i.e.!as!a!sub<

category! of! a! w ider! app ! fam ily! rather! than ! a! ‘closed’! educational! system! rem iniscent! o f! the!

desktop/laptop! PC! generation.! Each! system! has! its! own! benefits! and! limitations.! The! Samsung !

offering!will!be!familiar!to!schools’!existing!practices!for!managing! learning! and!other! school<related!

tasks.!The !Apple!offering,!meanwhile,!offers!a !more!‘open’!system!capable!of!linkin g!learners!to!the !

wider!knowledge!community!via!systems! like!iTunesU.! Apple,! however,! has! the! advantage! of! a!head!

start! in!the !educa tional!research!stakes!w ith!initial!research!data!b eginning!to !em erge!from !its!early!

pilot!studies!around!the!world,!m any! of! which! feature!in!this!report.! Samsung! and,! indeed,! other!

Android<style!tablet!device!players!have!yet!to!prove!the!ro bustne ss,!stability!an d!overall!utility!of!

their!systems,!with!little!re sea rch !having!bein g!publish ed !to!date.!It!is!clear,!how e ver,!that!there!is!

an! em erging! battle!for! tablet<based! education,! which! has!yet! to! be!fought! in! the!‘Post<PC’!tablet!

arena.! Whilst! iPads! continue! to! be! regarded! as! ‘leading! edge’! costs! are! high! on! the! agenda! and,!

insofar!a s!schools !g en e ra lly!have!tig h t!b u d g et s!a n d !limited!reso u rc e s,!it !re m a in s !to !b e !s een! who!will!

win!the!battle.!!

Judging! by! re ce nt! re po rts! in! n ew s pa pe rs! an d ! ea rly! rese arc h! re po rts! b y! the ! British ! Ed u catio na l!

Suppliers! Association! (BESA,! 2012)! and! the! National! Association! of! A dvisors! for! Computers! in!

Education! (NAACE,! 2012)! the! situation! regarding! iPad! adoption! is! currently! trending! just! as!

‘hotly’!in!UK!education!as!elsewhere.!!

SCHOOL<BASED!IPAD!STUDIES:!UK!

In!a! s p e e ch !to !the !Sch o o ls !Ne twork!Ann u a l!Co n fe re n ce !in!D ec e m b e r!20 1 1 ,!the !UK !Se cr et ar y!of !Stat e !

for!Educatio n,!M ich ae l!Go ve ,!sug ge sted !th at!“A s!w e!m o ve!to !a!w o rld!w he re!w e!e xp ect!e very !child!

will! have!a!tablet,!the!nature!and!range! and! type!of! content!that! can!be!delivered!will!be!all!the!

greater.”!!

In!co n tr as t!to!this!some what!o ptimistic!statement!regard in g!table t!ow n er sh ip ,!in!a!rec e n t!survey!by!

the! British! Education al! Sup pliers! Asso ciatio n! and ! the! Na tiona l! Educ ation ! Rese arch ! Pan el,! 82% ! of!

schools!saw ! fun ding!as!a! ba rrier!to ! the!uptake! of! tab lets! in! sch ools! (BE SA,! 2 012).! In!the!sam e! su rvey,!

and!despite!recent!government!p olicy!giving!schools!freedom!and!autonomy! to!choose!ICT!tools!and!

resources! appropriate! to! the ir! needs,! 6 1% ! of! primary! an d! 39%! of! secon da ry! schools! felt! it! w a s!

importa n t!t o !w a it!fo r!t h e!g o ve rn ment!to!su p p o rt!a d o p tio n !o f!th e se !d e vic es .!!

The! survey,! carried!out! in!May!2012,!also!carried! the!m essage!that!a!majority! of!schools!(72%)! w ant!

more!evidence!that!tablets!are!suitable!for!the!classroom!before!they!will!support!adoption!of!the!

devices.!Despite! this! note! of!caution,! a! high! number! of!respondents:! 66%! of! primary! schools! and!

70%!of!secondary!schools!admitted!to!an!awareness!of!apps!being!used!in!the!classroom.!!

Key! concerns! raised! by! respondents! were:! funding! (82%),! security! an d! m anagement! of! devices!

(85%),!value!and!risk!of!dam a ge !(73% ),!and!issu es!relatin g!to!the!ins ta llat io n !of!an d !fun d ing !for !app s !

(71%).!

Against! this! general! background,! three! key! research! reports! provide! emerging! findings! on! the!

implementation !o f!iP a d s!in !e ar ly!a d o pt in g!s ch o o ls !th ro u gh o u t!t h e!UK.!!

28!

In!Scot lan d,!the!‘.8, 5 #.( #P & " $), ( 5 H!stu dy!w as!carried!ou t!by!the!U niversity!of!Hu ll!in!association!with!a!

variety!of! Scottish! scho ols! (primary,!secondary,! state!and! independent)! and! their!local! au thorities!

(Burden!et!al.,!201 2).! !

In!England !and !No rt h er n !Irelan d ,!the!‘<,;)%$-#:"1#P&'"")-H!study!was!carried!out!by!Family!Kids!and!

Youth!and!reported!on!iPad!adoption!in!three!pilot!schools:!Honywood!Com munity!School!in!Essex,!

Longfield!Academy!in!Kent!and!Wallace!High!School!in!Belfast!(Clarke,!2012).!!

A!more!detailed!report!on!the!Longfield!Academy!iPad!project!was!also!produced!by!NAACE!and!9ine!

Consulting!(Heinrich,!2012).!!

In! additio n ! to ! the s e! h igh e r! p ro file ! ca se ! stu d ie s,! U K ! tele vis io n ! an d ! ne wspaper s! ar e! in cre a singly!

reporting! on! whole<school! roll! outs! o f! iPads! to ! students! on! a! 1:1! basis,! includ in g! sch e m e s ! at!

Clevedon! Community! School! in! Bristol! (This! is! Bristol,! 2011),! Rossett! School! in! Harrogate! (Mail!

Online,!2012)!and!the!Essa!Academy!in!Bolton!(BBC,!2013).!

Each! of! these! studies! has! been! referred! to! in! more! detail! in! the! main! body! of! the! report.! In!

summary,! howe ver,! key! lessons! from! these! global! and! UK<fo cus ed ! stud ies! turn ! atte ntio n! on :! the!

rationale!for!tab let!ad op tion ,!roll!out!models!and!stra tegie s!for!im p lem e nta tion ,!fund ing ,!ow ne rship !

models,! strategic! planning,! technical! requirements,! teaching! a nd ! learning,! de vice ! lifecycle,! skills!

training!and!teac he r!CPD ,!secu rity,!risk!and !proje ct!eva luatio n.!!

! !

29!

APPENDICES!

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Andrews,!David!(2013)!iPads!in!Primary!Education!(Blog).!Available!online:!

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Apple!(2012).!‘Apple!reinvents!Textbooks!with!iBooks!2!for!iPad’.!Apple!Press.!19!Jan!2012.!Available!

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iPad.html!Last!accessed:!18!Jan!2013.!

BESA!(2012)!‘The!Future!of!Tablets!and!Apps!in!Schools’.!

Burke,!Elaine!(2012).!‘Kilkenny!secondary!school!to!pilot!Samsung!Smart!School!Solution’.!Silicon!

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FrogTrade!(2012).!‘Introducing!the!world’s!first!learning!platform!designed!for!tablet!devices’.!The!

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for<tablets/!Last!accessed:!18!Jan!2013.!

Gasparini!(2011).!‘Touch,!Learn,!Play!–!What!Children!do!with!an!iPad!in!the!classroom’.!Masters!

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Gliksman,!Sam!(2013)!iPads!in!Education!(Ning!Network).!Available!online:!

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Harlan,!Chibo!(2012).!‘In!South!Korean!classrooms,!digital!textbook!revolution!meets!some!

resistance’.!The!W a shin gto n!Po st.!24 !M ar!20 12 .!Availab le!online:!

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digital<education!Last!accessed:!18!Jan!2013. !

Heinrich,!P.!(2012)!‘The!iPad!as!a!Tool!for!Education’!NAACE!and!9ine!Consulting.!Available!online:!

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30!

Henderson,!S.!&!Yeow,!J.!(2012).!‘iPad!in!Education!–!A!case!study!of!iPad!adoption!and!use!in!a!

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Kobie,!Nicole!(2011).!‘The!school!that!swapped!its!laptops!for!iPads…!and!wants!to!switch!back’.!11!

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