1. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Investigating creative inquiries with tablet-cloud systems
in elementary science education
Nathalie Hack
Charles Max
Blog: http://dica-lab.org/scipads/
Contact: nathalie.hack@uni.lu

2. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Research focus
The study investigates the impact of tablet cloud systems on
inquiry based learning practices in elementary science
education.
How do digital devices enhance dynamic and creative inquiry
processes thanks to their potential to
a) gather own data,
b) facilitate multimodal and multimedia productions,
c) back interactive forms of collaborative learning.

3. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
“Inquiry-based learning is a process where students
- are involved in their learning,
- formulate questions,
- investigate widely
- and then build new understandings, meanings and knowledge.
That knowledge is new to the students and may be used to answer a
question, to develop a solution or to support a position or point of
view. The knowledge is usually presented to others and may result
in some sort of action.” (Alberta, 2004, p. 1)*
*Alberta. Alberta Learning. (2004). Focus on Inquiry. A Teacher’s Guide to Implementing Inquiry-based Learning.
Retrieved from http://education.alberta.ca/media/313361/focusoninquiry.pdf

4. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
“General inquiry abilities include:
• posing and refining research questions,
• planning and managing an investigation,
• analyzing and communicating results.
Inquiry activities provide the opportunity to develop and exercise
these general inquiry abilities.” (Edelson, Gordon & Pea, 1999, p. 393)*
*Edelson, D.C., Gordin, D.N., Pea, R.D. (1999). Addressing the Challenges of Inquiry-Based Learning through
Technology and Curriculum Design. Journal of the Learning Sciences 8, 391-450

5. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with technology
(Blumenfeld et al., 1991
& Wang et al., 2010 )
Technologies
support
science
learning by
enhancing
interest and
motivation
facilitating the
utilization of resources
& providing access to
information
structuring the
process with
tactical and
strategic
support
diagnosing and
correcting
errors
managing complexity
and supporting
multimodal
productions
supporting
metacognitive
processes and
self-regulation
enriching and structuring
problem contexts & allowing
active, manipulable
representations

6. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Data sets
6 data sets:
Data set 1 Students‘ multimodal science productions uploaded to the cloud
Data set 2 Students‘ multimodal comments on personal learning uploaded
to the cloud
Data set 3 Recordings of classrooms activities
Data set 4 Recordings of stimulated recall interviews with students
Data set 5 Recordings of teacher meetings and discussions
Data set 6 Online questionnaire for students (ICT skills, interests,…)

7. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with tablets
Technologies
support
science
learning by
enhancing
interest and
motivation
C: “For me it’s a discovery and I say to myself
ah it’s interesting, it’s awesome!”
A: “Me I love doing presentations and I love researching
things for doing the presentation”
J: “And why?”
A: “Because that amuses me, I think it’s cool!”
K: “With the iPad it’s more fun
to learn!”

8. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with tablets
Technologies
support
science
learning by
facilitating the
utilization of resources
& providing access to
information
 enabling access to resources of various
perspectives and qualities,
 helping students search multiple resources in
a timely manner by the use of search
engines,… (Wang et al., 2010)

9. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with tablets
Technologies
support
science
learning by
facilitating the
utilization of resources
& providing access to
information
 enabling access to resources of various
perspectives and qualities,
 helping students search multiple resources in
a timely manner by the use of search
engines,… (Wang et al., 2010)
B: “The iPads were very useful to search on the
Internet, we had a lot of information … to
search the information it’s faster, we don’t
have to get up each time to go ask (the
teacher)”
F: “One can learn a lot of things by
searching on the Internet”

10. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with tablets
 enhancing representation richness,
structuring complex tasks, supporting
multiple, clear and complex
presentations,… (Wang et al., 2010)
Technologies
support
science
learning by
enriching and structuring
problem contexts & allowing
active, manipulable
representations

11. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with tablets
 enhancing representation richness,
structuring complex tasks, supporting
multiple, clear and complex
presentations,… (Wang et al., 2010)
Technologies
support
science
learning by
enriching and structuring
problem contexts & allowing
active, manipulable
representations
Cl : “With the iPad I could show to everybody
what I had done … for doing presentations
it’s easier to show them to the class …
because if you would do them on paper for
example you couldn’t see anything and the
iPads project it on the wall and that’s bigger!”
S: “I love to show what I’ve done to the others
… with the iPad of course, it’s better because
you can better show all the special effects you
have done … I love to show interesting stuff”

12. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with tablets
Technologies
support
science
learning by
structuring the
process with
tactical and
strategic
support
 applications: Keynote,
Pages, book creator, iMovie,
…

13. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with tablets
Technologies
support
science
learning by
structuring the
process with
tactical and
strategic
support
 applications: Keynote,
Pages, book creator, iMovie,
…
E: “Above all I love doing Keynote presentations
because you can write plenty of things, put
them where you want, insert pictures…”

14. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with tablets
Technologies
support
science
learning by
diagnosing and
correcting
errors

15. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with tablets
Technologies
support
science
learning by
diagnosing and
correcting
errors
A: “Me actually, before, I was not very good
with orthography and it helped me with it …
we wrote a lot and when I made mistakes it
was marked in red and this helped me to
correct it”

16. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with tablets
Technologies
support
science
learning by
diagnosing and
correcting
errors
“To calculate the volume of
this cube, you have to multiply
length, width and height of the
cube, so for this cube the
volume is 3cm x 3cm x 3cm =
9cm3”
“In the video of yesterday I
said something wrong, the
volume of the cube is 3cm x
3cm x 3cm = 27cm3”

17. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with technology
Technologies
support
science
learning by
managing complexity
and supporting
multimodal
productions

18. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with technology
Technologies
support
science
learning by
managing complexity
and supporting
multimodal
productions
C: “One can do a lot, explain a lot …
one can for example make arrows to
show something, one can insert
pictures, even videos and I think that’s
very useful”
L: “Pictures and videos can make a
presentation more interesting …
I prefer doing a presentation with the
iPad instead of a poster because on a
poster you cannot insert videos”

19. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Inquiry-based science learning
with technology
Technologies
support
science
learning by
supporting
metacognitive
processes and
self-regulation
 individualizing learning
according to learning styles,
patterns, progress, etc.
 allowing students to take
own decisions and to
express themselves
C: “The iPad gives me more
freedom to explain myself …
when you do a presentation with
Keynote you can explain much
more and show much more”

20. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Conclusion
The tablet gives opportunities to:
- enhance inquiry-based science learning (by providing access to
information, allowing complex multimodal productions, structuring
creation processes, etc.)
- support metacognitive processes and self-regulation
- increase students motivation and engagement
But:
- Motivation and interest depend not only on the iPad but also on the
treated subject and the teaching style of the professor
- Technological problems appear regularly
- The success of using tablets in school strongly depends on the teacher’s
attitude, teaching style, motivation and technological background
- The teacher has to constantly find new challenges for students (new
apps, new tasks,…) to avoid boredom

21. SnT – Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
University of Luxembourg
Thank you for your attention!
Nathalie Hack
Charles Max
Blog: http://dica-lab.org/scipads/
Contact: nathalie.hack@uni.lu