Mobile devices of students in the school learning environment through lens of teacher assessment

Abstract

Problem and goal. The teacher is a key figure in ensuring the constructive use of mobile devices by students in the learning process. His competencies and attitude to the introduction of innovations play a significant role not only in the educational results of schoolchildren, but also in the formation of their digital competencies. However, the use of mobile devices (hereinafter – MD) as educational tools is perceived by teachers rather skeptically. In this regard, the study of the problem of the mediation of teachers' ideas about the use of MD students at school by their own installations in the field of mobile technologies acquires particular relevance. The purpose of this article was to identify the connection between teachers' attitudes towards mobile technologies and their ideas about the use of MD by students in school. Materials and methods. Based on the conceptual framework of the technology acceptance model, a questionnaire was developed that identifies positive and negative attitudes towards mobile technologies, the perceived ease of their use, as well as ideas about the forms of use of MD by schoolchildren. The study involved 357 teachers aged 21 to 75 working in schools in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. The study was implemented through an online survey based on the Google form. Results. The study showed that teachers are more likely to perceive MD as a distraction from learning activities. The factorial model of mediation of ideas about the use of MD by schoolchildren by teachers' attitudes towards mobile technologies was confirmed (SRMR=0.058; CFI=0.95; AGFI=0,91; RMSEA=0,044). Correlations were found between the teacher's experience of using MD and his attitudes towards mobile technologies in education. Conclusion. The study was found that teachers more often perceive MD as a tool for including schoolchildren in contexts external to the school. In addition, teachers who have positive attitudes towards mobile technologies in education are more likely to perceive MD as an educational tool. The experience of a teacher in using MD plays a significant role in the formation of positive attitudes of teachers in relation to mobile technologies and their ideas about the constructive forms of using MD by schoolchildren.