Date of Award
Fall 10-20-2021
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Instructional Technology
Department
Instructional Technology
Committee Chair
Anissa Vega
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Julie Moore
Second Committee Member
Jabari Cain
Abstract
This mixed-methods case study examined the impact of one-to-one technology on learners’ communication and collaboration skills, two of the critical 21st-century skills necessary for learners to succeed in the global world. The purpose of this case study was to examine middle school teachers’ perceptions of a one-to-one laptop computer implementation and its impacts on learners’ communication and collaboration skills. Mixed-methods research methodologies were adopted to collect the data that answered the research questions. Explanatory sequential design was used to design, collect, analyze, and report the study’s findings. Quantitative data as Likert scale survey was sent to all the eligible forty-one participants, which were middle school teachers. Thirty-three teachers responded to the surveys for an eighty percent respondent’s turnout. As for the qualitative data, eight individual interviews and two focus groups comprising four participants were conducted to answer the qualitative research questions. The study found that middle school teachers perceived increased learners' communication and collaboration skills during the adaptation of the one-to-one technology initiative. The results of this study could provide practitioners, policymakers, technology enthusiasts with a research-based finding that could support or inform their decisions on a one-to-one technology initiative in their given context. The findings in this study could also contribute to a better understanding of the connections between one-to-one classroom and their impacts on learners’ communication and collaboration skills. Finally, this research study could contribute to the limited literature on one-to-one laptop implementation in K-12 schools and its impacts on 21st-century skills, especially communication and collaboration skills.