Research Question
During the last years, the sphere of education in the United Arab Emirates has undergone considerable changes. New reforms have been developed; still, the technological aspect undergoes various discussions (Hargis, Cavanaugh, Kamali, and Soto 2).
One of the latest innovations offered to the UAE students and teachers is to make use of iPad technologies and engage them with languages (Swan para. 1). As soon as iPads are introduced to students, it is necessary to understand the opportunities of this initiative like a positive attitude to learning (Khan para. 3) and identify the challenges that may bother UAE educators and attract students like the necessity to study technologies thoroughly.
The goal of the current project is to identify and evaluate the benefits and challenges of iPads as a new form of mobile learning. Is it possible that the benefits afforded by the iPad use outweigh the challenges iPads impose on the UAE learners and educators? It is the research question to be answered in the project.
Topic Outline
To give an answer to this question, the following plan should be developed thoroughly and implemented according to the investigating steps done and the material analyzed.
- Review an educational sector in the UAE;
- Describe and compare students’ and teachers’ attitudes to the educational process with and without iPads;
- Explain the process of the implementation of iPads in an educational process;
- Introduce female and male perspectives;
- Review the benefits the UAE students achieve using iPads;
- Analyze the challenges the UAE students and teachers face while using iPad technologies;
- Introduce how the governmental support of the initiative is offered;
- Identify the further outcomes of iPad usage for the UAE educators and students considering the opinions of the UAE students and teachers.
Articles’ Choice
Many researchers work on the chosen issue, describe, and analyze the peculiarities of the iPad initiative among the UAE students and teachers. Cavanaugh, Hargis, Munns, and Kamali underline that the iPad implementation is perfect for a heuristic teaching approach as both of them are flexible, student-centered, and personalized (3).
Through the case studies used by Gitsaki, Robby, Priest, Hamdan, and Ben-Chabane in their research, it becomes clear that not many facts are actually known about iPad learning to understand the benefits or identify the challenges (14). Ali is fascinated with the idea of mobile learning and proves that iPads provide students with an amazing opportunity to get access to different learning materials and move away from the classroom frames to discover the peculiarities of any place anytime (7).
All these articles address the idea of iPad technologies in an educational process from different perspectives. The works help to understand what is already known about mobile learning, what challenges people may be bothered with, and why so many students and educators still want this issue being developed in their institutions. The articles are found via the Internet on Google Scholar because such searching choice promotes a possibility to gather interesting material from different parts of the world and see how other people understand this initiative.
Works Cited
Ali, Mohamed. “Mobile Learning: From Research to Practice to Impact Education.” Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives. 10. 2 (2013): 1-10. Web.
Cavanaugh, Cathy, Hargis, Jace, Munns, Stephen, and Tayeb Kamali. “iCelebrate Teaching and Learning: Sharing the iPad Experience.” Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology. 1.2 (2012): 1-12. Print.
Gitsaki, Christina, Robby, Matthew, Priest, Troy, Hamdan, Khaled, and Yazid Ben-Chabane. “A Research Agenda for the UAE iPad Initiative.” Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives. 10.2 (2013): 1-15. Web.
Hargis, Jace, Cavanaugh, Cathy, Kamali, Tayeb, and Melissa Soto. “Measuring the Difficult to Measure: Teaching and Learning with an iPad.” International Journal of Mobile and Blended Learning 5.2 (2013): 60-77. Print.
Khan, Mohammed. “Technology Is Key in Modern Classroom, UAE Educators Say.” The National. 2014. Web.
Swan, Melanie. “HCT and UAE University Students to Learn Using iPads.” The National. 2014. Web.