The Impact of Tablet Computers on
Students’ with Disabilities in a Higher
Education Setting
Study Introduction
0 Motivation – collaborative pilot study, iPads,
practical research for the disability service.
0 The key themes of the study include:
functionality, academic support, and access
to university services.
Research Objectives
0 To investigate the way tablet computers impact upon disabled
students’ educational experience.
Functionality: How the students interacted with the
physicality and functionality of the tablet computer.
Academic Support: How the students used the table computer
for reading, writing and communication in a variety of
situations.
Access to University Services: How the tablet computers
affects the students’ usage of library and VLE resources.
Research Methodologies
0 Research Paradigm – Interpretivist Research
0 A mixed methods approach, employing both qualitative and
quantitative research methods.
0 Online survey, task exercises and finally interviews
0 All 3 research methods gave the study research triangulation
Study Sample and Provision
0 974 disabled students at Strathclyde University contacted.
0 A total of 194 students responded to the invitation.
0 A quota sampling method was adopted – 2 students for each
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(modified) UCAS disability category
12 participants for the study
Participants were from a mix of disciplines and both
undergraduates and postgraduates participated
Training participants – orientation session with students
Participants were given an iPad for 3 weeks
Guidance was given on best practice regarding privacy and
confidentiality
Tablets were cleaned – removal of any information that had
been stored purposefully or inadvertently by a previous user
Online Survey
The surveys were piloted at the Disability Service.
Survey Investigated:
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Time spent using the iPad
General purpose of usage
Use for academic-specific activities
Who the students used the iPad to communicate with
Which methods of communication the students used
Applications used during the loan period
Any additional downloads of applications
Any problems or benefits experienced when using the iPad
Task Exercises
0 Compare a tablet computer to a laptop for carrying out
simple information searches on university web pages
0 The research was concerned with comparing environments,
not testing students' ability
0 Tasks were randomised to avoid learning effects
0 Tasks could not therefore be identical but needed to be
similar
Interviews
0 Interviews were semi-structured and each researcher
used the same interview schedule
0 Interview Themes:
- Student engagement with the physical
characteristics and functionality of the iPad
- Using the iPad in academic life
- Communication with peers and university staff
- Using the iPad to access university services
Survey Results: Activities
Activities
10
9
Participants
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7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Internet
browsing
University
Social
Watching
website networking
video
Myplace /
Spider
Other
University Listening to
library
music
website
Gaming I did not use
the iPad
Survey Results: Academic Usage
Academic usage
10
9
Participants
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Reading course
material
Accessing
library
Accessing
Note taking at a
Virtual Learning lecture / tutorial
Enviroment
(Myplace)
Word
processing
Recording a
lecture / tutorial
Nothing
Other
Survey Results: Communication
Forms of communication
10
9
Participants
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Email
Social network / Instant messaging
twitter
Forum posting
Skype
Other
Nothing
Survey Results: Communication
Who did you communicate with?
10
9
Participants
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Tutors or lecturers
Students on your
course
Other members of
university staff (eg. IT
or Admin staff)
Students on other
courses
None of the above
Other
Survey Results: Apps
Which apps did you use?
10
9
Participants
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Notes
Pages
Maps
PDF
Reader
Calendar
Speak it!
iBooks
Chambers Dragon MindNode AudioNote Reminders
Dictionary Dictation
Interview Results –
Functionality: Pros and Cons
0 Respondent C: “ ... it’s just the fact that it’s like all on
one screen and you can scroll along to the apps where
as you know you have to sort of search online for
something…”
0 Respondent F: “No. The fact it doesn’t have a USB drive
… I think it’s so stupid though without one.”
Interview Results –
Functionality: Pros and Cons
0 Respondent E: “You want to use it because the size of it
because of the weight of it … it can fit in your bag quite
easily and there is no kind of restrictions you don’t ever feel
like … huh ... this is a pain.”
0 Respondent A: “I found the iPad heavy to hold and
because of my physical disability I had to lean it on my
forearm to support it. Using it on the desk was just too
difficult, you get a sore back and neck … but holding it in
one hand and using the another as it is suppose to be held
was just not possible for me.”
Academic Support – Reading:
Pros and Cons
0 Respondent B: “More flexibility, I can read whenever I
want, I’ve got these funny glasses with thick glass on one
side and I feel self-conscious using them on the train, since
having the iPad I feel better on the train and don’t care if
people are looking, its handy in that way.”
0 Respondent E: “…because I am visually impaired.. to see it
tipped back, it has to be quiet close.. I have to kind of lean
over it”
Academic Support –
Writing: Pros and Cons
0 Respondent I: “I wouldn’t write my dissertation on it, I
found it good for taking notes and looking at notes you
already had.”
0 Respondent J: “I didn’t do any real writing, I think I will still
go back to a laptop, I don’t think you can word process for
any time without a keyboard...”
Academic Support –
Communication: Pros and Cons
0 Respondent A: “I was definitely communicating more, the
same way ... emailing ... but much more with the iPad.”
0 Respondent F: “No the iPad did not change my method of
communication. I did send emails … a few emails to a few
people …”
0 Respondent A: “Yes, I have a Facebook profile but I never
really used it before but then with the iPad I was using it all
the time.”
Access to University Services:
Pros and Cons
0 Respondent D: “I used MyPlace to access lectures notes in
the lectures, I downloaded PDFs from MyPlace and flicked
through it there...”
0 Respondent G:“I used MyPlace more in the last 3 weeks
than ever before at uni.”
0 Respondent H: “It is difficult navigating round MyPlace on
the iPad”
Summary of Findings
0 Portability - the weight and size of the iPad when
carrying it around the university
0 Fast boot time, especially for writing emails
0 Good for note taking & audio recording lectures
0 Zoom function a positive for all users, especially VI
users
0 Intuitive – user friendly and therefore easy to learn how
to use
0 Good Apps – Speak it! and Notes
0 Allows good use of time for academic related tasks on
campus and on the move
Summary of Findings
0 Useful for reading journal articles, online browsing, and
using online library and learning resources
0 Increased usage of facebook and emailing as a means of
building social and academic networks
0 Students accessed the university VLE’s more and utilised
these sites to organise and communicate with their social
and academic networks
0 The weight of the iPad when holding it and the difficulty
of finding an appropriate place to use it
0 Lack of specialist software or apps
Summary of Findings
0 Difficulties using university WiFi
0 Problems navigating VLE (Myplace website) when
text is enlarged for VI students
0 Difficult to write longer pieces of work like
dissertations
0 Lack of certain features, especially USB port and a
physical keyboard
0 Some functions provided by smartphones which
student may already have
0 No Microsoft packages available
0 Instant access to sites such as facebook could be a
distraction!
Limitations &
Future Research
Limitations:
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Small number of participants
Short lending period of tablet computers
Students taking part during busy term time
No control group
Limited resources
Future Research:
0 Longer time period with more participants
0 Focus on 1 or 2 disability categories: VIP or Hearing Impaired
0 Variety of tablet computers