Tensions Experienced by Rural Teachers in Adopting Tablet Teaching in Taiwan

Abstract

This study explored teachers’ tension to the integration of tablet teaching in rural schools in Taiwan. Rural teachers adopting mobile teaching were invited to respond to survey questionnaire items designed for the study. Teachers’ technology knowledge (TK) and their tensions to integrating mobile teaching were assessed. Factor analyses were employed to elicit five constructs from the tension factors. Among these constructs, the teachers were most concerned about “policy and support”. In a comparison of teachers’ adoption of different tools (tablets vs. portable computers), teachers adopting tablets for mobile teaching had a higher level of technology knowledge (TK) than those using portable computers (p < 0.01), and a higher tension level for “policy and support” (p < 0.01) and “pedagogy concerns” (p < 0.05).