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In February, the State Government put 900 iPads in the hands of primary school children at 17 local schools. UWA researchers are currently exploring how they can best be used to teach literacy across the curriculum.

The New York Times recently described a classroom in a techno-centric school district of Arizona where millions have been invested in technology and enthusiasm runs high: "The digital push here aims to go far beyond gadgets to transform the very nature of the classroom, turning the teacher into a guide instead of a lecturer, wandering among students who learn at their own pace on internet-connected devices."

However, the paper went on to report that scores in reading and maths had so far remained stagnant.

While critics claim that an overemphasis on technology and digital skills is coming at the expense of maths, reading and writing fundamentals, others report a high level of enthusiasm for mobile technology and more positive results.

When the State Government put 900 iPads into the hands of Year 1 and 2 classes at 17 primary schools in a bid to improve literacy and numeracy, a UWA research team was already exploring how iPod Touches, iPads and other mobile handheld devices can be used to teach literacy across the curriculum.

The UWA research team is working in collaboration with the Association of Independent Schools of WA and teachers involved will also gain skills in the use of mobile technologies in classrooms.

Both the Australian English Curriculum and the Early Years Learning Framework stipulate that children must use digital as well as printed texts.

"Mobile learning is the fastest growth area in the field of educational technology and it is predicted that internet-capable mobile devices will soon outnumber computers," says A/Professor Mark Pegrum, who is conducting the research with A/Professor Grace Oakley of the Graduate School of Education. "iPads are quickly emerging as the tool of choice in many schools."

"The problem is that these technologies haven't been in classrooms long enough for researchers to build knowledge of how best to use them to support teaching and learning. However, early research suggests that handheld devices like iPads can help children learn in a variety of curriculum areas such as maths, reading and science."

Perhaps the strongest research finding to date is that the use of technology can increase motivation among students. Students clearly enjoy engaging with devices that give them a sense of ownership and control over their learning goals. Moreover, technology can blur the divide between in-school and out-of-school learning, helping give rise to what is known as ‘seamless learning'.

The UWA research involves 10 metro schools and the aim is to find out what has worked - but also what hasn't worked - in the classrooms where mobile technologies are already being used. An article reporting on initial findings has recently been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

A/Professor Pegrum, who is the author of From Blogs to Bombs: The Future of Digital Technologies in Education and has won a national Australian Teaching & Learning Council Excellence in Teaching award, believes that when they are used appropriately, new technologies can sit very well with student-centred, interactive forms of teaching. In the Graduate School of Education he helps students, including both pre-service teachers and in-service teachers, to feel at ease weaving blogs, podcasts and animations into their teaching practice.

"In early sessions, teachers sometimes look a bit like frightened rabbits but it's interesting to watch them discover that these technologies aren't difficult to use - it's just a matter of bringing them in to support what they're already trying to achieve in their teaching. "

We've got quite a few students in Hong Kong and Singapore teaching at kindergarten and primary levels and from the very beginning they were able to find applications for blogs and wikis and animations in their teaching.

"Now that we've rolled out iPads for primary pre-service teachers at UWA, they're finding many uses for them. Although a lot of apps are pedagogically old-fashioned, there are some very creative educational apps, which teachers can use with children to help them produce digital stories and other group projects.

"On the whole, pre-service teachers are more familiar with digital technologies than in-service teachers, but the issue is sometimes convincing them that the technologies they use in everyday life also have applications in education. There are echoes of the early days of television, when we saw it purely as an entertainment before realising its potential role in teaching and learning."

Published in Uniview Vol. 31 No. 2 Winter 2012