Coding

To code the identified ideas it was necessary to consider the context of the participants. This step involved deeper thinking to explore the ideas conveyed by their words and to evaluate their relation to the context. For example, although the idea that the project had been ongoing “for two years” (coded as ‘project age’) was related to the introduction of tablets and relevant for the speaker, Khawla, it was less important for the other participants, Safia and Ibtisam, as they were newly appointed teachers. However, the idea that tablets had been used last year with “older pupils” and that the teacher believed that “it suits them better”, coded as ‘age suitability’, was more relevant to all participants. Another example concerns the idea that teachers were “surprised” at the project’s “size” and the “class selection”, which relates to how the school administration worked on preparing teachers to work on the project. Being surprised indicates either that teachers were not informed of the school’s original plan or that a sudden or unplanned decision was made, which teachers were not prepared for, so I decided to code it as ‘preparing teachers’. On the other hand, when Khawla stated that “the school didn’t have these devices” and that she did not know “how arrangement were made”, this shows that she was missing updates and as result was unaware of what was happening in regard to the school project, so I coded this as ‘teacher awareness’.

The statement “pupils were very happy” reflects the perception that the pupils welcomed the introduction of tablets and indicates that the teacher had noticed that it had had a motivational influence on them. Nevertheless, I decided to code the statement as ‘pupils like tablets’, because this can carry both meanings.

The words “these devices need expertise and as a teacher I don’t have the expertise” conveys the idea that the interviewee had learned from her experience of using tablets in class that this required a level of technical expertise that she lacked. A lack of expertise can be corrected by providing training and for this reason I coded this phrase as ‘training needed’. However, Khawla’s description of herself in this context as being “slow” is rather vague

and can be interpreted in different ways, as meaning slow in teaching, in learning how to use technology, or simply lacking the requisite skill, I therefore decided to code it as ‘personal quality’.

The training idea was again emphasized when Khawla spoke about the training provided by the ICT teacher. By saying “Mariam always holds workshops on PowerPoint”, she conveyed the idea that training was provided by the school but that it was limited to one specific application, so I decided to code this as ‘training provided’. However, she added “and as teachers we need lots of training”, which indicates that too little training was provided and that the teachers wanted more; I coded this as ‘training is needed’.

“Not only us who are working on the project now, this is a school project and all school teachers need training.” I coded this as ‘all teachers need training’, because it refers to teachers at the school who were not currently involved in the project and whom Khawla identifies here as needing training. By speaking in their voice, she indicated that these teachers had talked to her about the project and were curious about getting involved, and that she understood from their discussion that they thought that the starting point should be the provision of training.

I continued this method of coding the transcripts of all of the individual interviews and focus group discussions, which generated a long list of codes, reproduced in Table 10.

Table 10: Codes emerging from interviews

Teacher motivation Teacher awareness Influence on teacher Alternative task prepared First time internet in

class

Challenges Teachers not taking initiative Change class

environment

Teacher’s patience Teachers not happy with

lesson outcomes

Insufficient programs Time saving Determined to continue Time consumption Pupils need change Teacher willing to learn Positive signs Organisation Teacher preparation Tablet features Life skills Pupils becoming independent Girls work together Pupils focus

Pupils pay more attention Suggested programs Boys grouping problem Seating arrangements Reduces discussion Checking pupils’ attention Technical support Pupils’ passion Network failure

Overcoming obstacles Teachers’ fear of technology

Age suitability Working on changing

teachers’ attitudes

Head teacher’s role Administration vision Books are indispensable Games Training teachers Pupils’ enthusiasm Low guidance Entertaining activities Extra work for ICT teacher Rules Undesired change Community awareness Unsure of community

response

Teachers’ cooperation Teachers’ time justification Tablets distract pupils Pupil are eager to hold

tablets Disappointment Reason for pupils’

failure

Quitter pupils Pupils referred to books Building ownership Enhance typing skill

Fast Teacher’s focus

diverted

Tablets getting stuck Preparing teachers Problem solving Multi-sources

Tablets are useful App selection Other teachers’ opinions

Practical use Pupils’ focus Apps

In school community Supporting bodies Supervisors’ roles Supervisors’ awareness Teachers’ plan Internet needed Teacher’s judgment Charging difficulty Internet is prerequisite Lesson plan Training needed Ability with technology Pupils like devices Gender differences Teaching strategy Pupils think about alternatives Weak internet

connection

Pupils’ curiosity Mishap Supporting teachers Administration neglect

Curriculum unchanged Cost Dangers of tablets

Teacher is a guide Self-learning Training week

Misuse Teachers’ technology

use expanded

Preparation at school not at home

The next step was to group together codes belonging to a similar category. However, before doing so, I decided to start by coding the other datasets, gathered from focus group discussions and observations, in order to be able to include codes emerging from these sets when grouping them.