The experiment consisted of 7 phases and it used mixed methods. It included quantitative and qualitative techniques as to ensure a maximum insight on how the devices will be integrated. Below are the experiment phases accompanied with the data collection method used:
- In the first phase, a meeting with the school principal took place explaining the drivers behind trying this technology and the challenges expected
- In the second phase, a proposal was submitted to the school. This included the experiment‟s suggested work plan and timeline, taking into account the needs and considerations of the principal. The final proposal was approved. At the end of this phase, the participants were chosen: Grade 3 section composed of 23 students and their English language teacher.
- In the third phase, a primary questionnaire (found in appendix A) was distributed to the participants‟ parents announcing the coming project and asking them about their willingness to participate in the experiment. The questionnaire asked them about
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their current tablet devices (if they have any), their concerns and comments regarding the issue, and their kids‟ perceived technological knowledge in using tablets.
During this phase, an interview took place with the participating teacher. The questions raised targeted her age, teaching experience, level of technological confidence, drivers to accept being a part of this experiment and the expected challenges.
- In the fourth phase, the experiment preparation was taking place; technically and educationally. Weekly meetings were scheduled with the English class coordinator to ensure the project material progress. Academic decisions about the tablets‟ usage in class were finalized. The tablets were scheduled to be used in the following English subjects: Reading, Grammar, Spelling, Listening and Speaking. Appendix B includes the finalized work plan of the experiment done.
At the end of this phase, the twenty-three students‟ parents were invited to attend a meeting held at the school explaining the experiment in details. Twelve parents attended the meeting, two apologized for not attending due to personal reasons but asked about the experiment on the phone, three parents came to school after the meeting day and asked about the experiment, and six parents didn‟t reply or come. All parents approved the experiment but one. She didn‟t like the device and banned her kids from using it at home. But after a discussion took place, she accepted and she decided to buy her kid a tablet. During the meeting, the parents were given a detailed paper showing the applications required for installation and some policies written by the school on the usage of the tablets. The students were given a date to bring the tablets to school in order to check their readiness. Meanwhile, the school prepared a wireless internet network in the class.
- In the fifth phase, the experiment started and lasted for 6 weeks. During the experiment, two non-participant observers were assigned to attend the English classes and remain silent while they record their observations about the students‟
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behavior in class, the teacher‟s class management and the technical environment. One observer attended almost all English sessions while the other attended about four times during the six weeks.
- In the sixth phase, data collection of the experiment was finalized. First, students‟ grades of the tablets‟ classroom were compared with the students‟ grades of the non- tablets classroom. Also, students‟ grades of the tablets‟ classroom were compared with their previous grades of the pervious semester.
Second, surveys were distributed for students to collect quantitative and qualitative data about their experience. The students‟ survey first asked about the student‟s gender and favorite activity on the tablet as a multiple choice question. The remaining questions held different measures including fun and engagement, device and applications usefulness and satisfaction towards using tablets in the classroom presented using a three-point Likert scale measure. Because the survey targeted kids, the three-point Likert scale measure were replaced by emoticon faces (sad face represented the disagree option, a neutral face represented the neutral option, and a smiley face represented the agree option). At the end of the survey, two open ended questions were stated asking the student about what he liked and disliked the most about studying with tablets. In this survey, statements assessing the device
usefulness were adapted from a measure developed by Eden, Ganzach, Flumin- Granat, & Zigman (2008). New items were added to incorporate certain aspects related to the school and the class under study. In order to ensure that students really understood the survey, we managed to distribute them into three groups where each group had a facilitator that explained each statement of the survey to the students and answered questions asked by them.
Third, a survey was distributed for parents to collect quantitative and qualitative data about their kid‟s experience. The survey had two types of questions; a five- point Likert Scale table and two open ended questions that asked about the benefits realized and any points needed to be improved. Questions were adapted from Ağır
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(2015) and others were added and customized by the researcher to suit the experiment.
Fourth, a meeting was conducted with the teacher to collect her insights about the experience in all. The meeting held included several questions: the experiment initiation, benefits realized including class and academic performance, challenges faced, and recommendations.
- In the seventh phase, analysis of data collected took place.
Method When?
Meetings with the school principal Pre-Experiment
Meeting with the participating teacher Pre & Post Experiment Meeting with parents to explain the experiment details Pre-Experiment
Class Observation During Experiment
Survey for parents to ask about their kid‟s experience Post-Experiment Survey for students to ask about their experience Post-Experiment
Table 4 Methods of data collection for the quasi experiment