The Parental Perspective over the Use of iPads in Primary and Middle Years of Schooling

2020 ◽  
pp. 773-786
Author(s):  
Abdullah Ismail ◽  
Anthony Cashin

Apple's iPad and other forms of tablet are reportedly gaining increasing popularity within the academic premises. Most of the published research on this topic has highly admired the positive role and impact of iPads on teaching and learning practices, as if an exogenous technological induction in any local context would essentially revolutionize and transform the whole educational paradigm; however, some recent publications also highlight the parental and policy-makers' concerns over the undesired consequences of technological obsession in educational development. The current study aims at bringing a balanced view on this crucially important topic. The study employs mixed methods research and it uses Ajman Academy, a renowned K-12 institution in the United Arab Emirates, as a case study. This research concludes that due to the relative immaturity of these young children, they cannot be left alone to make their own technological choices. Hence, adopting an over-ambitious approach in terms of technological adoption, without properly understanding the nuances and complexities of a local context; may possibly put these children in a vulnerable situation, and thus likely exposed to many unintended and undesired consequences.

Author(s):  
Abdullah Ismail ◽  
Anthony Cashin

Apple's iPad and other forms of tablet are reportedly gaining increasing popularity within the academic premises. Most of the published research on this topic has highly admired the positive role and impact of iPads on teaching and learning practices, as if an exogenous technological induction in any local context would essentially revolutionize and transform the whole educational paradigm; however, some recent publications also highlight the parental and policy-makers' concerns over the undesired consequences of technological obsession in educational development. The current study aims at bringing a balanced view on this crucially important topic. The study employs mixed methods research and it uses Ajman Academy, a renowned K-12 institution in the United Arab Emirates, as a case study. This research concludes that due to the relative immaturity of these young children, they cannot be left alone to make their own technological choices. Hence, adopting an over-ambitious approach in terms of technological adoption, without properly understanding the nuances and complexities of a local context; may possibly put these children in a vulnerable situation, and thus likely exposed to many unintended and undesired consequences.


2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Button ◽  
Chris Lewis ◽  
David Shepherd ◽  
Graham Brooks

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges of measuring fraud in overseas aid. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on 21 semi-structured interviews with key persons working in the delivery of aid in both the public and voluntary sectors. It uses the UK Department for International Development as a case study to applying more accurate measures of fraud. Findings – This paper shows there are significant challenges to using fraud loss measurement to gauge fraud in overseas aid. However, it argues that, along with other types of measures, it could be used in areas of expenditure in overseas governments and charities to measure aid. Given the high risk of such aid to fraud, it argues helping to develop capacity to reduce aid, of which measuring the size of the problem is an important part; this could be considered as aid in its own right. Research limitations/implications – The researchers were not able to visit high-risk countries for fraud to examine in the local context views on the challenges of measuring fraud. Practical implications – The paper offers insights on the challenges to accurately measuring fraud in an overseas context, which will be useful to policy-makers in this context. Social implications – Given the importance of as much aid as possible reaching recipients, it offers an important contribution to helping to reduce losses in this important area. Originality/value – There has been very little consideration of how to measure fraud in the overseas aid context, with most effort aimed at corruption, which poses some of the same challenges, as well as some very different challenges.


Author(s):  
Colin Baskin

This chapter begins with four very public examples of how K-12 education providers across Australia are attempting to assimilate new teaching and learning technologies into existing teaching and learning structures. The transition as predicted is not altogether smooth, and questions are raised as to where and how the discourses of literacy, education, and technology converge in the information and communication technology classroom. The discussion presents a layered case study that brings together the practical discourse of the teacher, the new discourses of literacy, teaching and learning confronting our students, and the challenge these provide to the management discourse of school administrators. In doing so, it points conclusively to the fact that new configurations of learning are at work in our online classrooms.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Seif

"As with many historical sites in the Gulf region, urban regeneration of the Old Town District of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), United Arab Emirates (UAE) presents a challenge in maintaining the balance between preservation and refurbishment. This policy paper aims to highlight and convey the significance of the Old Town District as a historical and cultural site to policy makers in the emirate. In doing so, it outlines the District’s potential for becoming an agent for the development of RAK through an urban regeneration project. The paper begins with a brief historical overview of RAK and the urban development of the Old Town District. It then goes on to discuss the opportunities offered by the area. A description of the District’s building materials and urban morphology is also discussed. The paper concludes with a list of recommendations for the urban regeneration of Old Town. The author conducted fieldwork and collected data for this paper between 2009 and 2011 as part of two courses for her bachelors and masters degrees at the American University of Sharjah."


Author(s):  
Kheder Mahmoud ◽  
◽  
Catherine Arden ◽  
Jennifer Donovan ◽  
◽  
...  

Heralded by the release of government policies such as Vision 2021, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has joined the worldwide impetus for the integration of Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) into its K-12 education system as a central plank of reforms to its economy and education system. This presents challenges for schools in both public and private sectors in the UAE as they strive to adhere to national government and local education authority guidelines and standards for educational innovation. Whilst the UAE Government has invested heavily to support technology integration in public schools, private schools must fund their own technology integration initiatives. In a context of strong growth in the private K-12 sector and reported high teacher turnover rates, private school leadership faces particular challenges related to decision-making about investment in suitable technologies and support systems, including teachers‖ professional development. This chapter reports some preliminary findings from a qualitative case study investigating the teacher, school and system-wide factors impacting on technology integration in selected private schools located in four Emirates. The study combines policy analysis with semi-structured interviews of a purposive sample of private school K-12 educators to yield a detailed understanding of the challenges faced by private sector UAE schools in implementing technology integration in response to national government policy directives. The findings will inform the development of an implementation framework providing guidance regarding critical success factors for effective technology integration in private schools with particular implications for school leadership and teachers‖ professional learning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 620
Author(s):  
Dian Mega Putri

This research aims to reveal the attitudes of the teacher in using code switching in the classroom from English (or shorten by L2) to the Indonesian language (or shorten by L1) or vice versa and also to find out the functions of teacher’s switching to the L1 in practice in Grade IX of SMK 10 Padang. The descriptive qualitative research method is used to analyze teachers’ code switching to Indonesian language through the observation and interview. The subject in this research is an English teacher who taught in grade IX of SMK 10 Padang. Based on the analysis of the data, it can be concluded that the code switching used by the teacher in the classroom plays a positive role in the process of teaching and learning. Moreover, the functions of code switching used by the teacher in the classroom are in order to explain vocabulary, give grammar instruction, emphasize some points, manage the class, index a stance of empathy or solidarity towards students.


Author(s):  
Qing Li

Increasingly, educators in a range of venues and institutions (e.g., K-12 schools, post secondary institutions, training facilities) are being called upon to teach online. Because it is relatively new, there appears to be no commonly held pedagogy specific to online teaching and learning. Further, these educators have little or no previous experiences to draw on, and they often feel there are no best practices to guide them in their work. This study proposes to investigate an innovative approach to online learning. It explores the impact this approach has on graduate student learning and their subsequent professional practice. This research is a qualitative case study of an instructional design model. Students enrolled in two graduate courses using this model were recruited to this study. They were given an open-ended survey and artifacts from their course work and online discussion forums were reviewed.


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