Use of iPads in developing a child’s knowledge and skills: A teacher’s perspective

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to determine the effects of the use of iPads on children’s skills and knowledge, through the perspectives of teachers. It explores the views of teachers on the use of iPads by students in the classroom. Specifically, this study focuses on students aged between 12 and 15-years old. To achieve the study objective, research questions were created and then qualitative research undertaken through the means of semi-structured interviews with six teachers in Saudi Arabia. The study developed semi-structured questions and used these to conduct face-to-face interviews with the selected teachers. The selected teachers had been identified as already using iPads in the classroom, so that their perceptions of the use of these digital devices and the impact they might have could be better understood. The data was analysed and organised based on its emerging themes. The information obtained from the thematic analysis was used to answer the research questions that had been developed to guide this study. Five major themes emerged from the analysis of the data obtained from the interviews, which were repeated in the interviews with the teachers. The five major themes are: 1) creativity, 2) results, 3) writing and spelling, 4) communication, and 5) the role of teachers. The study’s findings showed that the teachers acknowledged that the use of these devices by students could lead to improved academic performance. However, the teachers did express concerns that the use of iPads could also have a negative impact on students’ development, such as leading to poor writing skills and increased spelling errors as students become heavily reliant on the technology to make these corrections for them.