Teachers generally back the government’s plan to introduce tablets in schools next year, saying it would help to motivate students, but many are not entirely convinced it would ultimately improve learning. They are also seeking assurances of efficient technical support and replacement of any faulty devices.
The views emerged from a survey by the Malta Union of Teachers aimed at gauging feedback from its members on a pilot project in which the devices were used in 22 state school classes during this scholastic year.
At a news conference yesterday, MUT president Kevin Bonello said the union was in favour of introducing tablets but warned the measure would be a failure if lessons were not learnt from the introduction of laptops some years ago.
Many teachers had been left with faulty machines for weeks on end, he said.
The survey was carried out last month among 422 educators, 49 of whom were involved directly in the pilot project.
The great majority of those involved – nine in 10 – said they looked forward, to varying degrees, to starting using tablets, with some suggesting improvements and others still concerned it might increase their workload. Two thirds of the involved teachers thought tablets had an overall positive effect in classrooms. Nearly three in four felt motivation had improved although only four in 10 thought it had contributed to improving class control and learning.
Nearly half of them said tablets helped to adapt learning to the students’ pace.
“Students seemed more motivated but I am not sure if lessons were learnt,” one teacher commented.
Other concerns were related with the teaching style, with a number of respondents arguing that use of the tablet should be at the teachers’ discretion. “If it does not bring changes in pedagogy they should not be introduced,” one teacher remarked.
Students who might feel more at ease learning through the traditional approach should not be forced to make use of this device, another said. Almost one in five of the involved teachers said tablets would bring major changes in pedagogy and teaching materials, whereas a quarter thought changes would be minor.
A major concern raised by teachers was that faulty devices might take long to be replaced, leaving affected students at a disadvantage. “A tablet reported broken in December has not yet been dealt with,” one respondent complained.
Teachers are also seeking assurances over the kind of material that would be available on the devices, and that the internet would be filtered.
Asked if students should take the device home, nine in 10 of participants in the pilot project were in favour, but support for such a measure dropped by half among all the teachers who took part in the survey.