Learning Computer Hardware by Doing: Are Tablets Better Than Desktops?

Abstract

In this world of rapidly evolving technologies, educational institutions often struggle to keep up with change.  Change often requires a state of readiness at both the micro and macro levels. This paper looks at a tertiary institution that undertook a significant technology change initiative by introducing tablet based components for teaching a hardware course across nine campuses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using a Learning By Doing (LBD) philosophy. This paper adopts a readiness for change model (RFC) as a method of evaluating the results from a case study that captured the readiness perceptions of both students and faculty.   A survey revealed that, while faculty thought that introducing tablets was a good idea and that there was a high level of RFC, they also thought that the students would learn more about hardware from desktop kits. The students’ responses also indicates a high level of RFC with many describing tablets as easier to work on yet they were divided about which technology was better for learning hardware concepts. In this context a high level of readiness for change, while supported by LBD, did not necessarily equate to improved learning and effective change.