Mobile Devices in the Gymnasium and Weight-Room: Integrating Tablet Technology in a Physical Education Setting

Abstract

The research described here examines the introduction of class sets of tablet technology for two secondary school physical education specialists and the students in their physical education classes. The teachers' perceptions of student ease of use and issues encountered during the implementation are captured through guided discussions on an online platform. The research design is qualitative, capturing the teachers' descriptions of day-to-day issues and successes with the implementation. The study raises questions with respect to how implementation is theorized when teachers and students have out-of-school familiarity with the mobile technology and the learning curve is less steep. This study's findings confirm aspects of earlier research which identifies supports and barriers to technology implementation in education in general, and adds to understandings of potential uses and barriers for mobile technology in physical education classes.