EXPLORING ENGAGEMENT WITH I-PADS IN A HIGH SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES

CLASS

Mr. Drew Anthony

Buford High School

John.anthony@bufordcityschools.org

University of West Georgia

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I. Introduction
As a veteran teacher whose career spans twenty years, I have gone from using an

overhead projector to having a cart full of 30 I-Pads. I have seen the advent of the information

superhighway in my classroom as most students have some type of smart phone. Today we are

teaching digital natives. Children grow up with their parents cell phones in their hands from the

time they are babies. Today most students have an attention deficit, though it is not documented.

With the rise of technology, it is very hard to ask students to read a two page passage in a book

without their mind wandering. My students like using I-pads and their mobile devices but

does it help them learn more. Are they engaged more or do they like the ability to message each

other in class?

Statement of the Research Problem:

Do I-pads and mobile devices increase engagement in a high school Social Studies

classroom? Since the introduction of the I-Pad about 5 years ago they have taken the education

field by storm. They make learning more hands on and relevant. The apps allow children to

create recent and meaningful assignments instead of listening to a teacher lecture in a high

school history classroom. Research problem: Recent studies indicate that I-Pad use increases

engagement in learning. In order to justify schools and parents spending more money on I-pads,

educators need to prove that they increase learning and test scores. Realistically there are

reasons to suggest that I-pads create more work for teachers in behavior management because

they are constantly addressing whether or not students are using them for entertainment purposes

in the classroom. However, almost every educator agrees that the benefits of mobile technology

far outweigh the distractions they might create.

.
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II. Objectives or Purposes

The growing use of technology in the classrooms suggest the future of education will rest

on the effective use of personal mobile devices which include the use of I-pads and a BYOD

(Bring Your Own Device) policy, which is in most cases an I-Phone. Mobile tablets came into

the world in 2010 which the first Apple I-Pads (Rossing,Miller,Cecil,&Stamper,2004) In the fall

of 2011, without any training I was given my own cart of 30 I-Pads to incorporate technology

into my lesson plans. Since the students we are teaching today are digital natives, I was filled

with excitement and anxiety over my novelty. My hypothesis is that mobile learning is an

effective way to support variety of teaching methods. In addition to the I-Pads most of my

students also have a smart phone. We have great access to Wi-fi at my place of work, Buford

High School so we almost always are connected to the internet.

As a social studies teacher I am trying to find ways to increase engagement in the

classroom through the use of technology. I want to know if the use of mobile devices is a

gimmick that leads to improper use of technology such as social media or if it truly increases

engagement and motivation. The overarching research question is simple: Do mobile devices

increase student motivation?

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the impact of the use of mobile

devices on student engagement. The research questions are as follows:

1. To what extent did the use of the I-Pad or other mobile device motivate students to

learn the material more than other classroom activities as opposed to traditional

methods?
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2. To what extent was students attention to the task on the I-Pad compromised due to

distractions such as cruising the internet or playing games?

3. To what extent did the access of information due to the I-Pad motivate students to

want to explore the subject matter further than the textbook?

4. To what extent did interactive reviews online such as Kahoot increase engagement?

5. To what extent did the availability of mobile devices impact studying?

The key terms that needs are as follows: Mobile learning is defined as the efficient and

effective use of wireless and digital devices and technologies to enhance student learner

individual outcomes during participation in learning activities (Rossing,2004).

Mobile devices can be defined as cell phones, smart phones, netbooks, laptops, I-Pads and other

devices that are lightweight, portable, and connect to the internet (Franklin, 2001).

The justification for the study is to prove that 10th grade World History and 12th grade

American Government students at Buford High School are more engaged in their learning due

the use of 1-1 mobile devices. The research will presumably prove that there are drawbacks to

mobile learning such as the distractions that mobile learning can create by students being off task

due to cruising of the internet, engaging in games, or social media. The study will be

quantitative as is it will ask students to gauge their own personal level of motivation. I think

there are too many outside factors that determine whether or not mobile learning increases

learning or test scores. The questions will be given on a Likert scale to my 60 students on a scale

of 1 to 5 with 1 being none, 2 being moderate, 3 being somewhat,4 being most of the time, and 5

being almost always. In my opinion I believe that mobile devices are great supplements to
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learning because they increase engagement, provide access to information using the internet, and

increase motivation.

III. Literature Review

As high school teacher social studies I am always looking for ways to increase

engagement and motivation. Today, teenagers have a very short attention span because there

whole life is immersed on a mobile device. They are constantly checking e-mails, going to

Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. My goal is a teacher is to incorporate as much technology as

possible in my class to make history more interesting. I do not think technology is the be all,

end all but any teacher would be very nave to think that not incorporating into lesson plans has

it benefits. Many teachers struggle with motivating students to learn. This in especially

prevalent in social studies classrooms in which students perceive social studies as boring

(Heafner, 1). Students seem to lack motivation to learn social studies because they think it is not

practical. If students are motivated to learn because they view the information as relevant and

current, they will likely become more engaged. Motivation is referred to as what a person will

attempt (Heafner, 2). If I can teach a senior in high school that who they will vote for might

impact whether or not they go to war or how much they get taxed, they might see it as relevant.

In a study of high school social studies classrooms in North Carolina, students were more excited

about using technology because they found it engaging, entertaining, and easier to access

information. The use of mobile devices also empowers students by engaging them in the

learning process (Heafner, 6).

While mobile technology has many benefits, it does not change the essential aspects of

how people learn. Research does show that learning does increase when students feel actively
Running Head-I-Pads and Engagement- 6

engaged (Franklin, 264). Mobile devices are now parts of everyday life for children of all ages.

Parents entertain their children with videos. Mobile apps are being use by parents to informally

teach their kids. They provide a tactile experience with the use of technology (Franklin, 264).

Mobile devices are providing 3 Es-enabling (increase of access of information), engaging

(creating compelling learning experiences) and empowering (taking responsibility for exploring

information outside the classroom. Learning with mobile technology truly allows students to

expand investigation and discussion beyond the classroom (Rossing, 3).

One new avenue of mobile learning I am experimenting with in the classroom is Student

Response Systems (SRS). A SRS requires the teacher to be connected to a computer and a

projector, and students must have a mobile device. Students answer quizzes using handheld

mobile devices, which gives the teacher immediate feedback on depth of knowledge (Arnesan,

Korpas, Hennissen, Stav, 169). I use a similar system in class known that is a web-based game

called Kahoot where students and teachers create review questions and they review each other

using the same format as SRS. I have never seen the amount of engagement and excitement

level by high school students while playing this game.

Mobile learning does have drawbacks. It requires money to buy technology and apps,

internet access, and Wi-fi capabilities. The most common concerns of classroom teachers are

worrying about students being on task and focusing on learning and not just being engrossed

which the device itself that does have many distractions. There is also a lack of training for

teachers and students. I-Pads are usually given to a teacher with little to no instruction on how to

use them effectively. They should not be used as a replacement for teachers. Rossing states,

The problems and questions that digital technologies assist in solving in teaching/learning
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practices are blurred and not clearly defined. Other Mobile devices and technology are not

magic. It is clear that the benefits clearly outweigh the drawbacks.

IV. Methods

The type of research is to be used is quantitative. Sixty students will be given a 5

question survey using a Likert scale. The questions will address engagement, studying, and

motivation. The study will be a correlational study. In short, is there a direct connection or

correlation between the use of mobile devices such as I-pads and student motivation and

learning.

The study will involve a sample of 30 high school sophomores and 30 high school

seniors. Of the sixty students, there are 32 girls and 28 boys. Twenty eight of the students are

white, fourteen are African American, eighteen are Hispanic. I am randomly selecting the

students who range from age 15 to 19. 60% of the students are on a free or reduced lunch.

Students will be surveyed after we take an exam. They will be asked to participate, but not

forced. The results will have no impact on their grade.

The study will use a Likert scale which is commonly used in questionnaires to measure

the degree to which one feels about a question. The study is an attitudinal survey because it

measures feelings about questions. There will be a tendency to answer questions with strong

opinions. I feel it is the best and most efficient way to measure the attitude students have

towards the questions regarding usage of I-pads.

The null hypothesis is as follows: The use of I-pads in the high school classroom

increases engagement, thus increasing interest and learning. The usage of the I-pad as opposed

to using traditional methods is the independent variable. The dependent variables are motivation
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to learn, motivation to go deeper, level of engagement, and level of studying. The types of

variables are ordinal meaning the responses will be given a number of 1 to 5 with 5 being the

most positive answer and 1 being the lowest possible number.

For question 1 40% responded neutral, 20% a lot, and 40 always. Students clearly prefer

the I-pad over traditional methods. For question 2, 20% responded very little, 30% neutral, 30%

a lot, and 20% always. This is discouraging that 50% of students found the I-pad was a

distraction. For question 3, 10% of students responded very little, 20% neutral, 20% a lot, and

50% always. 70% of students found I-pads motivated them to go deeper and learn more about

the subject. Question 4 was the most encouraging as 30% answered a lot, with the remaining

70% saying always. Cleary, all students thought interactive review games increased

engagement. In question 5 20% answered neutral or a lot, while 60% said always. Mobile

devices also increased studying with 80% of students answering positively. (See Appendix I)

The results are useful in that they prove both of my premises (that I-pads increase

engagement and studying but are also a distraction). The level of distraction they create does not

override the overall effectiveness. Students are distracted by other factors in a traditional

classroom as well. So, in short, the usage of mobile devices and I-pads are not only necessary

but a benefit to the overall job of educators, which is to help students learn. I think the results

are valid and that students did not answer questions the way they thought I would want them to.

The way the questions were written makes it clear the questions are being answered truthfully. It

should be noted that I taught the lowest level students at my school this semester. I really wish I

could ask the same questions to my 1st semester students who were the brightest. I assert that

there would not been much of a difference between the income levels and ethnicity. I think high
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ends students like them because they own them and their whole lives revolve around technology

and I think low end students like them because they are a commodity.
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Appendix I.

120
Bar Graph
100

80
Always
A lot
60
Neutral
A little
40
None

20

0
Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5

1) To what extent did the use of the I-Pad or other mobile device motivate students to
learn the material more than other classroom activities as opposed to traditional
methods?
2) To what extent was students attention to the task on the I-Pad compromised due to
distractions such as cruising the internet or playing games?
3) To what extent did the access of information due to the I-Pad motivate students to
want to explore the subject matter further than the textbook?
4) To what extent did interactive reviews online such as Kahoot increase engagement?
5) To what extent did the availability of mobile devices impact studying?
Running Head-I-Pads and Engagement- 11
Running Head-I-Pads and Engagement- 12

References

Arnesen, K., Sivertsen Korps, G. S., Hennissen J. E. and Birger Stav, J. Experiences With use
of Various
Pedagogical Methods Utilizing a Student Response System Motivation and Learning
Outcome The Electronic Journal of e-Learning Volume 11 Issue 3 2013, (pp169-181),
available online at www.ejel.org
Franklin, T. (2011, October 1). Mobile Learning: At the Tipping Point. Retrieved February 15,
2015, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ946635.pdf
Heafner, T. (2004). Using technology to motivate students to learn social studies.
Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education [Online serial], 4(1).
Available: http://www.citejournal.org/vol4/iss1/socialstudies/article1.cfm
Rossing, J., Miller, W., Cecil, A., & Stemper, S. (2012, June 1). ILearning: The Future of higher
education?Student perceptions of learning with mobile devices. Retrieved January 8,
2015, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ978904.pdf