| Since the introduction of computer technologies, teachers and students have been trying to computerize tasks in order to reduce effort spent while achieving greater output. As costs of acquiring these computer technologies have dropped, and as the necessity for technology preparation of students takes on increasing urgency, the number of mobile technologies in learning environments has exploded. After the 2010 release of the iPad, schools began to implement use of this mobile device in classrooms based on the potential impact on student learning. The problem this study addressed is that even though children generally prefer a technology-mediated method than a traditional method with paper and pencil for mathematics classroom activities, more research is needed on students' classroom experiences with specific iPad apps such as the Hands-On Equations app to better understand the iPad's value as a teaching tool within a mathematics curriculum. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine middle school mathematics teachers' stories of student learning experiences with mobile technology through use of the iPad Hands-On Equations app. This research study used a narrative inquiry research design. Six middle school mathematics teachers from Woodward Academy in College Park, Georgia were recruited for this study through purposeful sampling. The conclusions of this study support Hu and Samuels (2007) study on mobile technologies, which stated that the emergence of new technologies, specifically mobile technologies, introduces potential new ways of learning mathematics and new ways of motivating students to learn mathematics. Multiple studies (Cravens, 2011; Ehrke, 2011; Faux, McFarland, Roche, & Facer, 2006; Knezek, Lai, Khaddage, & Baker, 2011; Kukulaska-Hulme, 2007; Reid & Ostashewski, 2011) have cited the need for further research on how students' informal learning of mathematical concepts through mobile technology can be integrated into a middle school mathematics curriculum to support formal learning. |
