Effectiveness of Tablet PCs in the Classroom: A Turkish Case

Abstract

Due to their innovative features, tablet PCs have rapidly taken their places in the classrooms as the potential instructional tools that may address some problems associated with traditional lecture-based pedagogy. The purpose of this case study is to investigate to what extend the use of tablet PC facilitates instructional processes in the classroom and to what extend it affects students' performance expectancy, effort expectancy, attitude and behavioral intention. A qualitative approach was used to analyze the data. A total of 32 traditional-aged sophomore students at a teacher training program from a north-western Turkish university participated in the study. It was found that the students' performance expectancies, effort expectancies and attitudes toward the use of tablet PCs in education were not high. However, though the students had unpleasant experiences with tablet PCs in the instruction they were not pessimistic about using tablet PCs outside of the classroom.