Teachers’ use of iPads in the classroom in a South African public school

Abstract

This study examined the use of iPads by teachers in a public school in South Africa. The school is a public school located in a township East of Johannesburg. The majority of the learners are from for the surrounding townships. The school was part of the ‘Paperless Classroom’ project of the Gauteng Department of Education which equipped schools with smartboards in classrooms, iPads for the learners and teachers and additionally laptops for the teachers. The paperless classroom, is an initiative provides devices to learners and teachers, access to online educational content and classrooms are equipped with smart boards and Internet connectivity. The education department of Gauteng’s objectives is to encourage ICT adoption, skills development and improving the quality of education in townships. The project was rolled out in 2015 and schools were selected based on academic performance. The school was included in the project as they had achieved a one hundred percent pass rate of its matric class for three consecutive years. The study sought to explore how the teachers use iPads in the classroom in a township school context. The Affordance framework was applied in exploring how teachers use iPads in the classroom and the associated benefits and challenges. Qualitative data was collected through interviews with the teachers and at a single school. Seven teachers were interviewed including the principal. The findings of the study indicated that overall the effect of iPad use by the teachers has been positive. The use of iPads resulted in the teachers having access to quality multi-media and educational apps to teach their subjects which resulted in learners’ increased class involvement and independent learning. The study revealed that effective use of iPads requires teachers that are adequately trained to use the iPad technically and also on subject specific training. Additionally the study showed that a reliable wireless connection and reliable technical support and mitigation of learners’ distractions increased the effectiveness of using iPads in the classroom.