1:1 iPad Effects on a 6th Grade Math Classroom

This study documented the effects a 1:1 iPad setting had on a 6th grade math classroom. The documentation is divided into three areas: effects on the teacher, the students' point of view, and math chapter test results. This study is the result of questions asked after being assigned a 1:1 set of Apple's tablet computer, the iPad. A study of literature relating to 1:1 computing, iPads, and educational technology issues with a focus on elementary mathematics was done. The study was conducted in an urban Title I school in Utah. The qualitative aspect of this study focused on a single classroom of twenty-three students and their teacher. The quantitative aspect of this study involved two other 6th grade classrooms within the same school. The study found that there are significant teacher challenges when implementing a 1:1 program. The personal motivations of the students played a major role in academic outcomes. Transference of knowledge from iPad to student was not guaranteed. The teacher needed to play a significant role in the scaffolding of new information acquisition to supplement the software abilities of the iPad. In this classroom, no evidence of improved chapter test results was found as an outcome of 1:1 iPad integration. The author recommends that iPads no longer be purchased for 1:1 technology integration programs