Examining the Potential for Tablet Use in a Higher Education Context

Examining the Potential for Tablet Use in a Higher

Education Context

Nikolaus Fischer, Stefan Smolnik, Dennis Galletta

Leipzig, 27.02.2013

WI 2013 - 27.02.-01.03.2013, Universität Leipzig

Tablets in Higher Education

1

Agenda

Introduction1

Research Questions & Goals2

Theoretical Foundations3

Results5

Research Methodology4

Discussion & Conclusion6

Feedback7



2

Our Study Evaluates the Potential for Tablet Use in Higher Education

• Research Question: Can students’ learning

processes be effectively supported by tablet devices?

• Motivation: More and more individuals are adopting

tablets for entertainment purposes. But are tablets

also useful in schools and universities? Are they

“ready” for curricular use?



3

The Paper is Embedded in Existing Mobile Computing and

E-Learning Theory

• Mobile Computing = ”Capability to physically

move computing services with us” (Lyytinen,

2002)

• Apple’s iPad has heralded in a new generation

of computing devices (Difference Tablet PC ↔

Tablets; Atkinson, 2008)

Mobile ComputingTechnological background

• Here: Defined as technology-enabled learning

(rather than restricted to “distance learning”) as

tablets can be used in class, at home, and in

physical team meetings (Behar, 2011)

• Virtual classrooms, automatic machine

transcription of lectures, and computerized

delivery of exams are revolutionizing traditional

classroom teaching Such possibilities could

potentially be further disseminated and gain

greater acceptance through student tablet use

(Krakovsky, 2010; Lin & Zhang, 2008; Alltizer &

Clausen, 2008)

• Technological advances in universities (esp. in

terms of infrastructure) should make the adoption

of tablets more feasible

Computer-Mediated LearningEducational framework



4

The Data Collection Consisted of two Complementary

Phases

• 5 test users (1 instructor, 1

doctoral student, 2 MBA students,

1 undergraduate student)

• Bi-weekly feedback sessions to

evaluate progress and experience

Longitudinal Test User Group1

• 5 Focus groups with ~5

participants each (1 doctoral

students group, 2 MBA groups, 2

undergraduate student groups)

Focus Group Study2

Two-Part Empirical Study

Why Focus Groups?

Rich, detailed discussions

Collaborative brainstorming

Possibility to evaluate prototype device

(Powell & Single, 1996)



5

Results (1/3)

• Short battery life, heat, dependence on wires

• Bulky form-factor, heavy, fragile

• Long boot time

• Interoperability issues between OS X and Windows

Issues with current laptop devices

• Good alternative for taking notes, scheduling

meetings, improved communication

• No physical text input method Good for

consumption of media, not production of it

• E-Reader (e.g. Kindle) may be the cheaper

alternative for reading e-textbooks

• Lacks applications for analysis of data (e.g.

Excel, SPSS) and typical student tasks

(PowerPoint for presentation slides)

Would a tablet help? Advantages &

DisadvantagesThree Main Use-Cases

Media Consumption1

Media Creation2

Collaboration3



6

Results (2/3)

• “Always-on”-mentality (emails from professors & teammates

can be checked on the go)

• Expected availability increases (Fewer “excuses”, as being

away from a stationary PC doesn’t count anymore for being

absent from virtual meetings)

• Tasks can be worked on in a more streamlined fashion (The

same document can be initially created on a laptop, edited

on the tablet, reviewed on a smartphone, and submitted to

the professor using a library PC)

Changes in processes and working practices due to tablet use (Yoo, 2010)



7

Results (3/3)

Use Case Evidence from Focus Groups Evidence from Test User GroupBottom

Line

Media

Consumption Convenient form

factor

Some file formats

cannot be

opened yet

Long battery life Not enough

textbooks are

available in digital

format yet

Media

Creation Always-present,

useful for quick

notes

Screen too small

for some usage

scenarios

n/a No tactile

keyboard for

longer text-entry

available

Not enough apps

available (e.g. for

data analysis)

Collaboration

and Social

Interaction Increased ease of

access to web

services (to e.g.

organize

meetings)

n/a Easy initiation of

video meetings

Simple sharing

and collaborative

editing of

documents

n/a



8

Discussion

Contribution to Theory: The three presented „use cases“ are helpful to delimit results, esp.

in situations where usage spans multiple contexts („soft“ border between what is curricular

and private use)

Contribution to Practice: Practical recommendations regarding the potential of student and

instructor tablet use in higher education institutions

• Convenient form factor, long

battery life

• Some file formats can’t be

opened (yet)

• Not enough textbooks are

digitized yet

…Media Consumption

• Simple initiation of video

conferences

• Sharing and collaborative

editing of documents possible

• Faster, easier access to web

services (e.g. scheduling of

group meetings)

…Collaboration

Feasibility of Tablets in Higher Education for…

Beneficial with caveats Beneficial

…Media Production

• No physical keyboard for text

input (but available as

accessory)

• Screen too small for some uses

• Not enough apps available

(data analysis, slide production,

document formatting)

Not beneficial



9

Conclusion

• Tablets in educational institutions are a theoretically promising approach (environmental

responsibility, leveraging technology skills of incoming students, alleviating the frustration with

laptop devices)

• In practice: Not yet ready, as media production is a central curricular use case

• Limitations: The study was conducted at a very early stage in the lifecycle of modern tablet

devices and students were likely not yet familiar with this class of devices; Only one specific device

was examined, which we judged – however – as being representative of the entire device class

With the growing

adoption rate of tablets

among consumers, a

larger number of apps

will come naturally

Textbook publishers

are likely to release

forthcoming editions

as e-books

Future

Additional form factors

(larger screens, built-in

hardware keyboards) are

becoming available



10

Where do we go from here?In

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Diverging Theory Base(what exactly is subsumed by

„mobile computing“? How do

ubiquitous and pervasive

computing fit in?)

Do our results also apply

to different contexts?(e.g., organizational and

societal use)

Literature review on the impact of

mobile, ubiquitous, and pervasive

computing on individuals,

organizations, and society



11

The mobile computing context framework by Scheepers and Scheepers

(2004) served as a reference framework for the analysis

Source: Scheepers and Scheepers (2004)

A person may use the same mobile device while acting as an individual, as a

member of an organization, or as a member of society. Each context

warrants different research questions and approaches.



12

Our review reveals a number of research streams dealing with the

concepts of mobile, ubiquitous, and pervasive computing

Organizational Context Societal Context

Individual Context

Adoption of mobile information systems

Behavior changes3

15

Collaboration opportunities in society changes7New challenges

introduced by mobile

information systems

10

Determinants of mobile computing use2

Impact of the digitization of

previously non-technical artifacts9

Ethical consequences of mobile computing3

Individual value creation2

Context as a moderating factor18

Process improvements13

Usability optimization4

Value creation (Productivity,

effectiveness, and efficiency)9

N=95



13

Thank you for your

attention!



14

Kontakt

EBS – Business School

Institute of Research on Information Systems

Juniorprofessor für Informations- und Wissensmanagement

Research Director, Projektmanager und Dozent

[email protected]

Prof. Dr. Stefan Smolnik

Nikolaus Fischer

EBS – Business School

Institute of Research on Information Systems

Doktorand

[email protected]



15

Literature Sources

• Alltizer, R. L.; Clausen, T. S.: Computer-mediated exams: Student perceptions and performance. In Advances in

Accounting, Finance & Economics, 2008, 1(1); S. 1–9.

• Atkinson, P.: A bitter pill to swallow: The rise and fall of the tablet computer. In Design Issues, 2008, 24; S. 3–25.

• Behar, P. A.: Constructing pedagogical models for E-Learning. In International Journal of Advanced Corporate Learning,

2011, 4(3); S. 16–22.

• Krakovsky, M.: Degrees, distance, and dollars. In Communications of the ACM, 2010, 53(9); S. 18–19.

• Lin, M.; Zhang, Z.: Question-driven segmentation of lecture speech text: Towards intelligent e-learning systems. In

Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 2008, 59(2); S. 186–200.

• Lyytinen, K., and Yoo, Y. : Issues and challenges in ubiquitous computing. In Communications of the ACM, 2002, 45. S.

62–65.

• Powell, R. A.; Single, H. M.: Focus Groups. In International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 1996, 8; S. 499–504.

• Yoo, Y.: Computing in everyday life: A call for research on experiential computing. In MIS Quarterly, 2011, 34(2); S. 213–

231.

Documents

Examining the Potential for Tablet Use in a Higher Education Context