Work Design: Rethinking How Technology Is Used In University Classrooms

Driven by perceived millennial student expectations, the in-class use of mobile technology is becoming increasingly popular in postsecondary institutions. Thus, it is important to gain insights into students’ self-competence and learning transferability when using these technologies within the learning environment. This study was undertaken to assess an iPad iLearn Program in a school of business after students had been provided with an on-loan tablet that would become their property after a pre-determined period of enrollment. In this study, comfort with technology, comfort with iPad, perceptions of iPad, and frequency of use were all significant predictors of learning transferability. The adjusted R2 explained 72% of the variance in the model. Moreover, this study found there were significant differences for these predictor variables depending on university support of the program and tablet ownership. This reinforces the point that when selectively targeting this generation by promoting in-class use of tablet technology, institutions must provide the needed resources.