Assembling iPads and Mobility in Two Classroom Settings

Abstract

iPads have become increasingly popular as tools for teaching in early education. With their multifaceted and interactive affordances as handheld and mobile devices, they have been ascribed great potential to change and expand on classroom practice. However, the iPad often becomes just another technology hype in education, and explanations often point to teachers’ and schools’ lack of technical know-how and ability to utilise the devices’ affordances. In this qualitative case study, we explore how teachers organise and practise iPads in two different classrooms. Classroom observations and interviews with the teachers were conducted to enrich our knowledge about the complexities of iPad use in teaching and to strengthen the knowledge of how different settings produce different iPad practices. Using an actor–network theory approach, the study suggests that iPads are not simply put into use, but enacted through fluid, heterogeneous assemblages of human and non-human actors in the classroom. The iPad’s affordances, such as mobility, are performed rather than inherent qualities of the devices themselves, and the classroom becomes a mishmash of fostering and hindering mobile practices.