Term of Award

Spring 2015

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development

Committee Chair

Devon Jensen

Committee Member 1

Jason LaFrance

Committee Member 2

Lucindia Chance

Abstract

This study examined a relatively new phenomenon that has not been fully investigated in educational research: Has the implementation and utilization of mobile technology in the classroom influenced the pedagogical practices and understanding of teachers in these classrooms? Few researchers have examined the perspectives of teachers in these unique learning environments to understand their lived experiences and how this new education landscape may be impacting the teaching paradigm. This research is framed in communication and social learning theory, pedagogical theory, and mobile learning theory. (Bandura, 1969; Friere, 1968; McMahan, 1997; Schunk, 2000; Sharples, 2006; Siemens, 2005; Vgotsky, 1978) to provide lenses for understanding the essence of meaning that exists among teachers experiencing the unique phenomenon of Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) learning environments. The participants were 12 secondary education teachers from a mid-sized suburban school system who have been implementing and utilizing BYOT for two or more years. A qualitative, phenomenological case study approach using Moustaka’s modified Van Kaam methodology was employed to collect, analyze, and report data in such a way as to honor the lived experiences of these teachers. The methodology included detailed transcription and analysis of small group interviews and journal responses. This study opened the door of 12 classrooms across a variety of content areas and shared the essence of the experiences of teaches as they lived in a mobile technology infused learning environment. This research found that allowing student use of mobile technology in the classroom had little impact on the core business of teaching in regards to the curriculum, assessment, and skills being taught. Rather, the BYOT phenomenon created a new sense of immediacy, flexibility, and relevancy that was influencing how teachers understand and practice pedagogy.

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