1) Name(s) and Department(s) of investigators
Jeff Goodman: Curriculum and Instruction
Linda Pacifica: Curriculum and Instruction
Damiana Gibbons: Curriculum and Instruction
Theresa Redmond: Curriculum and Instruction
John Henson: Curriculum and Instruction
2) Uses of learning technology via the iPad for pre-service students
3) Signature of Responsible Faculty Member
4) External Funding: There is no external funding associated with this project.
5) Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the use of the the iPad in
pre-service teacher education can facilitate the development of a technological pedagogical
perspective.
6) Description of Subjects: Each of the investigators for this project teaches one or more
sections of CI2300: Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age in Spring, Summer, or Fall
2012 sessions. Typically, sections of this course have 20-25 preservice teachers from a mix
of education majors, including elementary education, middle grades education, music,
physical education, and secondary education. All of these students will be invited to
participate in the study. (Note: The sections to be investigated are not the only sections of
this course being taught during spring, summer, or fall; however, the investigation will be
limited to sections taught by the co-investigators.)
Description of Methodology, including a copy of any instruments used:
The data collected for this project will be a part of the regular requirements for CI 2300. This
semester, instructors will be piloting the use of iPads and several iPad Applications (Apps) to
support their teaching of concepts related to media and technology integration in the
classroom. We see the iPad as a technological tool, and we are interested if students’
exploration of this particular tool will become a lens through which they can reflect on
teaching with tools in general. Specifically, we are asking: How can critical analysis and
evaluation of the iPad and selected apps help develop a technological, pedagogical
perspective? The data collection will center primarily around a class activity in which the
students interact with the iPad and various apps. In this activity, students will generate a list
of questions to evaluate the iPad as a teaching tool. Asking evaluative questions about
technology is a skill that is fostered in this class, and this activity will follow along the same
lines as other class activities. Students will explore the apps, generate questions, and discuss
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the teaching and learning applications of the apps/questions in small groups. They will writeup their group’s questions and write up an individual evaluation to be turned in as homework
(see Appendix A). Follow-up activities will be done as needed. This iPad activity will be
audio-recorded and the recording transcribed. All student names will be made anonymous.
The activity will be led by the investigator who teaches his/her section, and the activity will
also be observed by another investigator who will be taking field notes on interactions with
the iPad. Written work will be collected in which the students evaluate the iPad apps and the
iPad as a tool. This written work will be given a grade as part of the daily work of the class.
Also, we will collect the major projects of the students to show the perspectives about media
and/or technology and how they were shaped, including the two major projects already
assigned in this class. The final project will be online as student-created websites and other
media projects. Students will not be asked to engage in any activities that are not already
required as part of regular course assignments.
Potential Benefits and Risks to Subjects
This project has the potential to improve the learning of pre-service teachers who participate
in this Core course about media and technology integration at ASU. The learning
opportunities of ASU students will be improved by having them reflect on their use of a new
technology in an educational setting in turn developing their technological pedagogical
content knowledge (TPACK).
There are no risks anticipated as a result of participating in this research project.
The project does not ask students to participate in any activities beyond the normal
requirements for the course. The discussions and written work about the iPads are not
anticipated to cause any psychological distress. Participants will clearly understand that they
are free to withdraw at any time.
Anticipated Beneficial Knowledge Resulting from Study
This study has the potential to provide benefits at many levels. The investigators for this
project will be able to use the information gained to inform and revise their own teaching
practice for subsequent semesters, particularly how to effectively integrate iPads into teacher
preparation. Additionally, results from the project will be shared at conferences with other
inservice elementary teachers who may want to use iPads with their own students. Given the
research focus on technological, pedagogical perspectives in teacher preparation, or on ways
of viewing technology integration, the results of this research may contribute to the growing
area of TPACK. Finally, the results will be shared with other teacher educators for purposes
of furthering their understanding about creative uses of technology in classroom settings.
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Qualifications of Investigators, e.g. a CV or experience in the specific research area
The CVs of all investigators are included in Appendix B.
Description of Any Deception:
There will be no deception involved in this project
Procedures for protecting the anonymity/confidentiality of subjects.
The investigators will transcribe the audio recordings, and the recordings will be destroyed
after transcription has been completed. The transcripts will only be seen by the five
investigators involved in the project. The written work will be stored in a locked cabinet. The
two major course projects will be housed on the ASULearn and Tk20 sites of the
investigators, and will be accessible only through a password protected portal. When the
results of the study are disseminated, pseudonyms will be assigned to all participants.
A copy of any recruiting materials or scripts
There will be no recruiting materials since the potential pool of participants are only those
students already involved in the CI 2300 classes.
Method of insuring informed consent, including a copy of the proposed informed consent
statement.
In order to obtain informed consent, a faculty member other than the instructor for the course
will attend CI 2300. This person will explain the requirements for the study and will
distribute 2 copies of the informed consent letter to each student. One will be for the student
to keep, and the other will be signed and returned. These signed consent forms will be
retained by the Department Chairperson and will be returned to the investigators once final
grades have been submitted. At that point, the investigators will determine which students’
data is usable for research purposes. The data will not be examined or analyzed until after all
final grades have been submitted. A copy of the informed consent statement can be found in
Appendix C.
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Appendix A: Generating Questions about the iPad as a Pedagogical Tool
Perhaps we should set this up in a pre-assessment, intervention, post-assessment format.
Pre Assessment: In your small groups, you will explore a set of preselected iPad Apps. In
your groups, generate a list of general questions you would ask in order to evaluate Apps in
terms of their uses for teaching and learning.
Intervention: Instructors will give students the opportunity to explore in groups iPad apps
related to the content they will teach. Students will try to answer the questions they
developed above and will develop more questions as they work with real Apps. As
appropriate, the instructor will help students develop a critical stance with regard to this
technology and its use in teaching.
Post-assessment: For homework, students will be given a new, non-iPad tool to explore (e.g.
Google Earth) and will be asked to evaluate its use with respect to teaching and learning.
Example:
Your school is trying to decide whether to make Google Earth available on a variety of
devices to students throughout your school. Please explore Google Earth and ask a series
of questions about this technology and how you would use it in your classroom and
school. For example, some questions could be:
1. How might you foresee Google Earth being used productively in a variety of
curricular areas? Give examples in several different curricular areas.
2. What problems might arise with the use of Google Earth in your school?
3. How did you make your determination of the above problems?
Answer all of the questions you create with strong, specific details.
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Appendix B: Curriculum Vita of Investigators
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Appendix C: Informed Consent Form
Informed Consent Form for Participation in the Study “The uses of learning technology
via the iPad for pre-service students”
Principal Investigators:
Jeff Goodman
Dept. of Curr. & Inst.
Phone: 262-2176
goodmanjm@appstate.edu
Linda Pacifici
Dept. of Curr. & Inst.
Phone: 262-3231
pacificilc@appstate.edu
Damiana Gibbons
Dept. of Curr. & Inst.
Phone: 262-2277
gibbonsdd@appstate.edu
Theresa Redmond
Dept. of Curr. & Inst.
Phone: 262-2239
redmondta@appstate.edu
John Henson
Dept. of Curr. & Inst.
Phone: 648-2258
hensonja@appstate.edu
You are invited to participate on a voluntary basis in a research study titled ”The uses of
learning technology via the iPad for pre-service students.” The purpose of this project is
to understand the perspectives you develop about teaching with technology, in particular
in terms of teaching and learning with iPads. As part of the regular activities of CI 2300:
Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age, we will be piloting the use of iPads and
several iPad Apps. We see the iPad as a technological tool, and we are interested if this
tool could be a lens on teaching with tools in general. You will do a class activity in
which you interact with the iPad and various Apps. In this activity, you will generate a
list of questions to evaluate the iPad as a teaching tool. You will explore the Apps,
generate questions, and discuss the Apps and questions in small groups. You will then
analyze another technological tool for homework. We will also look at your Media
Analysis and Evaluation and your Designing Media for Teaching and Learning Projects
to see the perspectives about teaching and learning that you develop throughout the
semester. Everyone in the class will engage in these activities. If you choose to
participate, you will not be required to do anything extra. Also, none of the work will be
analyzed until after final grades are turned in. The implication is that if you agree to
participate, we would be able to use your products as we report our findings to others in
the education community such as other teachers or teacher educators. No one would be
able to identify you in the reported results because we would use pseudonyms.
Our hope is that we will be able to use your experiences, as part of the first groups to use
this technology in this way, to inform and improve our own teaching. We will revise
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what we do as teachers based on your feedback. Additionally, we would like to share
your insights about technology use in classrooms with others so that they can get ideas
about how to use iPads in classroom settings.
We do not anticipate any risks to you if you choose to participate and you are free to
withdraw at any time with no penalty to you.
You can contact any of the investigators listed at the top of the page if you have any
questions about the project. Questions regarding the protection of human subjects may be
addressed to the IRB Administrator, Research and Sponsored Programs, Appalachian
State University, Boone, NC 28608, (828) 262-2130, irb@appstate.edu.
This research project has been approved, as required by the Institutional Review Board of
Appalachian State University.
_________________________
______________________
IRB Approval Date
Approval Expiration Date
Participant’s Permission
I have read and understand the Informed Consent and conditions of this project. I have had all of
my questions answered. I hereby acknowledge the above and give my voluntary consent:
Participant Signature
Date
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