Lisa Tighe

Publication Date

2016

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Shin, Eui-kyung

Degree Name

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

Legacy Department

Department of Literacy and Elementary Education

LCSH

Mobile communication systems in education; Science teachers--Attitudes; High school teachers--Attitudes; Science--Study and teaching (Secondary); Education; Rural

Abstract

The internet and easy accessibility to a wide range of digital content has created the necessity for teachers to embrace and integrate digitial media in their curriculums. Although there is a call for digital media integration in curriculum by current learning standards, rural schools continue to have access to fewer resources due to limited budgets, potentially preventing teachers from having access to the most current technology and science instructional materials. This dissertation identifies the perceptions rural secondary science teachers have on the usefulness of mobile learning devices in the science classroom. The successes and challenges in using mobile learning devices in the secondary classroom were also explored. Throughout this research, teachers generally supported the integration of mobile devices in the classroom, while harboring some concerns relating to student distractability and the time required for integrating mobile devices in exisiting curriculum. Quantitative and qualitative data collected through surveys, interviews, and classroom observations revealed that teachers perceive that mobile devices bring benefits such as ease of communication and easy access to digitial information. However, there are perceived challenges with the ability to effectively communicate complex scientific information via mobile devices, distractibility of students, and the time required to develop effective curriculum to integrate digital media into the secondary science classroom.

Comments

Advisors: Eui-Kyung Shin.||Committee members: Robert Carter; Hayley Mayall.||Includes bibliographical references.||Includes illustrations.

Extent

v, 127 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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