Abstract
The Government of Mauritius has introduced tablets in the Secondary Schools in Mauritius in 2014. It is estimated that about 24000 tablets were distributed to students and educators. Secondary school students (Form IV) were given each a tablet, which was introduced as an innovative and revolutionary measure to transform educational practices in Mauritius and to align our educational system with 21st century education concept. In this paper, we conduct a situational analysis to understand the current state of affairs with respect to the Tablet PC initiative. The study addresses issues related to the different problems that educators have faced to integrate the tablet as a mainstream educational tool and as a techno-pedagogical instrument. We found that there were a number of issues raised, which have not been sufficiently addressed prior to and throughout the implementation of the Tablet PC project. It is further observed that the satisfaction level from educators is low as compared to the expected outcome of such an ambitious project. Educators highlighted that the challenges they faced outweighed the perceived benefits of Tablet PCs while students were generally neutral about the learning experience with tablets although they admitted enjoying some benefits of the electronic device.
Keywords: 21st Century Learning, Technology-enhanced Education, Tablet PCs, Pedagogy, Teaching and Learning.
Keywords
21st Century Learning Technology-enhanced Education Tablet PCs Pedagogy Teaching and Learning
References
- ADAMS, N., & HAYES, C. (2009) Does Teaching with a Tablet PC Enhance the Teaching Experience and Provide Greater Flexibility? [Online]. Available from: http://www.monash.edu.au/eeducation/assets/documents/atiec [Accessed: 23th December 2014]
- AUCKBUR, R. (2012) Digital Education in Mauritius: A Ministry Perspective [Online]. Available from: http://tec.intnet.mu/ [Accessed 25th January 2015]
- BAKER, A., DEDE, C. & EVANS, J. (2014) The 8 essentials for Mobile Learning Success in Education [Online]. Available from: https://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/files/ [Accessed 18th January 2015]
- BALANSKAT, A. (2013) Introducing Tablets in Schools: The Acer-European Schoolnet Tablet Pilot [Online]. Available from: http://files.eun.org/netbooks [Accessed: 29th December 2014]
- CLARKE, P. (2013) Tablets: Will They Replace PCs?[Online].Nemertes Research. Available from http://i.crn.com/custom. [Accessed: 19th December 2014]
- DUNDAR, H., & AKCAYIR, M. (2012) Tablet vs. Paper: The Effect on Learners’ Reading Performance [Online]. Available from: http://www.iejee.com/4_3_2012 [Accessed: 27th December 2014]
- GOODWIN, K., (2012) Use of Tablet Technology in the Classroom [Online]. Available from: http://www.tale.edu.au/tale/live/teachers/shared/next_practice [Accessed: 7th January 2015]
- ISAACS, S., (2012) Mobile Learning For Teachers: In Africa and Middle East [Online]. Available from: http://unesdoc.unesco.org [Accessed 10th January 2015]
- KOTHANETH, S., ROBINSON, A. and AMELINK, C. (2012) Tablet PC Support of Students’ Learning Style [Online]. Available from: http://www.iiisci.org/journal/CV$/sci/pdfs . [Accessed: 5th January 2015]
- LEELACHAND, P., (2013) Sankoré Project – All classes to be equipped by 2017. DefiMedia. [Online] Available from: http://www.defimedia.info/ [Accessed: 10th January 2015]
- Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (2012) National Broadband Policy 2012-2020. Available from: https://www.icta.mu/ [Accessed 28th January 2015]
- MOTIWALLA, L.F., (2007) Mobile Learning: A Framework and Evaluation [Online]. Available from: http://www.qou.edu/arabic/researchProgram/distanceLearning/ [Accessed 15th January 2015]
- MULLER, H., GOVE, J. & WEBB, J. (2011) Understanding Tablet Use: A Multi-Method Exploration [Online]. Available from: http://research.google.com/pubs/archive. [Accessed: 17th December 2014]
- ORTEGA, H.G., (2011) Tablets: Know Your Operating Systems [Online]. Founder Tegatech. Available from http://www.tabletpccorner.net . [Accessed: 18th January 2015]
- OZOK, A. et al. (2008) A Comparative Study Between Tablet and Laptop PCs: User Satisfaction and Preferences [Online]. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. Available from: http://userpages.umbc.edu . [Accessed: 17th December 2014]
- ROBSON, D., and KENNEDY, D. (2013) Using Tablet PCs For Active Learning: Learning From Other’s Mistakes [Online]. Available from: http://www.merga.net.au/documents/ [Accessed: 6th January 2015]
- SHEEHY, K. (2007) Tablet PCs in schools: A review of literature and selected projects [Online] Available from: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/ [Accessed: 22th February 2015]
- THORNBURG, E.J. (2012) UsingiPads in Undergraduate Mathematics [Online] Available from http://www.usma.edu/ [Accessed: 6th January 2015]
- XIANG, W. et al. (2006) Use Of Wireless Tablet PCs As An Effective Learning and Teaching Enhancement Tool [Online]. Available from: http://www.researchgate.net/publication. [Accessed: 20th December 2014]
The Government of Mauritius has introduced tablets in the Secondary Schools in Mauritius in 2014. It is
Abstract
References
- ADAMS, N., & HAYES, C. (2009) Does Teaching with a Tablet PC Enhance the Teaching Experience and Provide Greater Flexibility? [Online]. Available from: http://www.monash.edu.au/eeducation/assets/documents/atiec [Accessed: 23th December 2014]
- AUCKBUR, R. (2012) Digital Education in Mauritius: A Ministry Perspective [Online]. Available from: http://tec.intnet.mu/ [Accessed 25th January 2015]
- BAKER, A., DEDE, C. & EVANS, J. (2014) The 8 essentials for Mobile Learning Success in Education [Online]. Available from: https://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/files/ [Accessed 18th January 2015]
- BALANSKAT, A. (2013) Introducing Tablets in Schools: The Acer-European Schoolnet Tablet Pilot [Online]. Available from: http://files.eun.org/netbooks [Accessed: 29th December 2014]
- CLARKE, P. (2013) Tablets: Will They Replace PCs?[Online].Nemertes Research. Available from http://i.crn.com/custom. [Accessed: 19th December 2014]
- DUNDAR, H., & AKCAYIR, M. (2012) Tablet vs. Paper: The Effect on Learners’ Reading Performance [Online]. Available from: http://www.iejee.com/4_3_2012 [Accessed: 27th December 2014]
- GOODWIN, K., (2012) Use of Tablet Technology in the Classroom [Online]. Available from: http://www.tale.edu.au/tale/live/teachers/shared/next_practice [Accessed: 7th January 2015]
- ISAACS, S., (2012) Mobile Learning For Teachers: In Africa and Middle East [Online]. Available from: http://unesdoc.unesco.org [Accessed 10th January 2015]
- KOTHANETH, S., ROBINSON, A. and AMELINK, C. (2012) Tablet PC Support of Students’ Learning Style [Online]. Available from: http://www.iiisci.org/journal/CV$/sci/pdfs . [Accessed: 5th January 2015]
- LEELACHAND, P., (2013) Sankoré Project – All classes to be equipped by 2017. DefiMedia. [Online] Available from: http://www.defimedia.info/ [Accessed: 10th January 2015]
- Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (2012) National Broadband Policy 2012-2020. Available from: https://www.icta.mu/ [Accessed 28th January 2015]
- MOTIWALLA, L.F., (2007) Mobile Learning: A Framework and Evaluation [Online]. Available from: http://www.qou.edu/arabic/researchProgram/distanceLearning/ [Accessed 15th January 2015]
- MULLER, H., GOVE, J. & WEBB, J. (2011) Understanding Tablet Use: A Multi-Method Exploration [Online]. Available from: http://research.google.com/pubs/archive. [Accessed: 17th December 2014]
- ORTEGA, H.G., (2011) Tablets: Know Your Operating Systems [Online]. Founder Tegatech. Available from http://www.tabletpccorner.net . [Accessed: 18th January 2015]
- OZOK, A. et al. (2008) A Comparative Study Between Tablet and Laptop PCs: User Satisfaction and Preferences [Online]. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction. Available from: http://userpages.umbc.edu . [Accessed: 17th December 2014]
- ROBSON, D., and KENNEDY, D. (2013) Using Tablet PCs For Active Learning: Learning From Other’s Mistakes [Online]. Available from: http://www.merga.net.au/documents/ [Accessed: 6th January 2015]
- SHEEHY, K. (2007) Tablet PCs in schools: A review of literature and selected projects [Online] Available from: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/ [Accessed: 22th February 2015]
- THORNBURG, E.J. (2012) UsingiPads in Undergraduate Mathematics [Online] Available from http://www.usma.edu/ [Accessed: 6th January 2015]
- XIANG, W. et al. (2006) Use Of Wireless Tablet PCs As An Effective Learning and Teaching Enhancement Tool [Online]. Available from: http://www.researchgate.net/publication. [Accessed: 20th December 2014]
Details
| Journal Section | Articles |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | April 22, 2016 |
| Submission Date | April 17, 2016 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2016Volume: 2 Issue: 4 |
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