Pedagogical affordances, challenges & limitations of the iPad as it was used in the foundation program of two federal educational institutions in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the integration of the iPad as a learning and teaching technology into the Foundations Program at the two Higher Colleges of Technology in Fujairah: Fujairah Men’s College (FMC) and Fujairah Women’s College (FWC) in the United Arab Emirates. The new technology was introduced to enable the Program’s teachers and students to support their teaching and learning of English as a foreign language.  Specifically, the study investigates how these teachers and students used the iPad’s technical affordances to create pedagogical affordances designed to construct and promote English language teaching and learning. The data for the research were drawn from class observations, interviews and surveys.  Six Foundations Program classes were observed, five teachers were interviewed, five more teachers were asked one written research question, and ten students were asked another written research question. In addition, two surveys – one for the teachers and one for the students – were conducted to obtain further data.  The study finds that the Foundations Program’s teachers and students used the iPad’s technical affordances effectively to construct activities that largely enhanced their teaching and learning by making it more interesting, and engaging.