Imagined Futures: The impact of mlearning and access to mobile technology on the role of the teacher

The use of mobile devices in education has long been predicted and imagined. Recent technological changes and increased affordability have enabled pioneering schools and educators to embark on mobile device initiatives. In the Irish educational context, schools were able to link their use of devices to anticipated curricular reforms, but lacked national guidance on the use of those devices for teaching and learning. This study concerned itself with the impact of mobile learning and devices on relationships of learning. The literature review revealed a significant gap in the research on the use of mobile devices in certain contexts and a lack of theoretical understanding of their use. The study employed a constructivist grounded theory methodology to explore the experiences of schools, teachers and students in Ireland. A sample of two post-primary schools and seven teachers, with their students, were recruited to the study. Data were gathered using interviews, video analysis, online observations and physical observations of classes. Some methods were extensions or innovations on traditional grounded theory approaches. These data were analysed through the process of constant comparison, from which codes and categories emerged. The categories demonstrated the importance of school context, the value of teachers’ virtual classrooms and the requirement to understand teachers’ beliefs. The findings add new knowledge to the field of mobile learning, and innovation in the methods of grounded theory, and yielded insights of value to school leaders and policy makers. The grounded theories which emerged placed emphasis on understanding a teacher’s beliefs, and demonstrated that those beliefs largely shape their use of technology. They also establish that mobile devices, despite substantial new benefits to users, were not intrinsically agents of pedagogical change.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

National University of Ireland Maynooth

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Young, Keith

Language dc:language

en