Exploring iPad Integration in Primary Schools: The Interaction of Policy-Initiated Reforms, Availability Assemblages, and Non-Digital Materials

Abstract

This article looks at the introduction of a new learning app for iPads with first-grade pupils in two Norwegian primary schools. Both schools were engaged in digital literacy initiatives at the time of this study, which in one case included an 1:1 iPad initiative. While one school achieved almost seamless integration of iPad practices, the other encountered a range of challenges and tensions in this regard. The article explores how the two schools differed in their adoption of iPads, as well as the practices that emerged. Drawing on actor network theory (ANT), the analysis illustrates how the iPad is enacted through an amalgamation of policy, available technology, and the existing materials in a school’s local surroundings. (Keywords: iPad, technology integration, ICT policy, primary school, actor network theory)

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Notes on contributors

Oda Julie Hembre

Oda Julie Hembre is a PhD candidate at UiT, the Arctic University of Norway, Department of Education. Her current research project deals with iPad integration in primary schools. Hembre is particularly interested in how the introduction of technology affects, alters or disrupts work-related and everyday practices. Please address correspondence regarding this article to Oda Julie Hembre, UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, Department of Education, P.O. Box 6050 Langnes, 9037 Tromsø, Norway. E-mail: [email protected]