Studiens syfte är att analysera hur förskolebarn och surfplattor interagerar med varandra för att beskriva det samspel som uppstår ur ett sociokulturellt perspektiv på lärande. Datainsamlingen är gjord på två olika förskolor och har bestått av observationer av barn 3-5 år, när de sitter tillsammans med en eller flera kamrater vid en surfplatta. Begrepp från en sociokulturell syn på lärande har använts för att analysera det insamlade materialet ur ett lärandeperspektiv. Resultatet visar att barnen interagerade med varandra och med surfplattan genom verbal kommunikation i form av tal, och icke-verbal kommunikation såsom blickar, gester, beröring, med mera. Interaktionerna visade sig vara vad som kan kallas för antingen lyckade eller misslyckade. Resultatet visar även att surfplattan påverkade barnens interaktioner genom att surfplattan skapade olika positioner bland barnen. Beroende på vilken position barnen intog eller fick interagerade de på olika sätt och olika mycket. De fick därmed olika möjligheter till lärande. De positioner som uppstod bland barnen vid surfplattan var ägar- deltagare- och åskådarposition. Ägarpositionen visade sig vara attraktiv för barnen och de förhandlade och argumenterade för att få denna position eller för att få behålla den. Resultatet visar också att det som påverkade barnens interaktioner var även deras fokus på surfplattan. Det visade sig genom att barnen hade blicken koncentrerat fäst på skärmen. Det kunde ibland orsaka att barnen inte såg på varandra när de pratade, inte uppmärksammade kamratens interaktion i tid eller missade den helt. I resultatet framkommer det även att barnen vägledde varandra och sig själva i användandet av surfplattan. Vägledningen av varandra skedde genom scaffolding och vägledningen av sig själva skedde genom att barnen använde språket för att stödja tänkandet.

The title of this thesis is "iPad and Computer devices in Preschool: A tool for literacy development among teachers and children in preschool." The study was an exploration of how teachers and their pupils put iPad and other computer devices into use in early childhood education. This study was a qualitative research study, based on the observation of the pupils and the interviews of the teachers. In this study, observation of the children and interviewing of the teachers over a period of five weeks produced significant results. The children participants in the observation were approximately 60 and they were between the ages of 3 to 6,5 years. Four preschool teachers and one preschool teaching assistant were interviewed in an attempt to substantiate the use of ICT in early childhood education. The overall result of the study was that the teachers’ positive attitude towards iPad helped to enhance and facilitate the development of literacy skills in the children. This study provided evidence of how children created their own learning environment by actively practising their reading, writing, and comprehension skills. It also showed how ICT enhanced social interaction and developed intra-action activities among the children, to a situation that eventually led to the development in their learning.

In this thesis, an LTE/WWAN planar loop antenna for tablet computer with a compact size of 75 ¡Ñ 12 mm2 is presented. The planar loop antenna comprises a printed loop strip and a patch monopole encircled therein. By embedding a printed distributed inductor in the loop strip, whose effect is similar to a chip inductor, a parallel resonant mode is generated owing to the contributed inductance of the distributed inductor and the contributed capacitance of the coupling between the loop strip and the patch monopole. The parallel resonant mode leads to increase input resistance of the 0.5-wavelength loop mode at the high-frequency tail and a zero reactance nearby the original resonance of the 0.5-wavelength loop mode, thereby resulting in a dual-resonance excitation to greatly enhance the bandwidth of the antenna¡¦s lower band for the LTE700/GSM850/900 operation. In addition, the patch monopole, which performs not only as a coupling feed but also an efficient radiator, provides a 0.25-wavelength resonant mode to combine with a higher-order resonant mode contributed by the printed loop strip to form the antenna¡¦s upper band to cover the GSM1800/1900/UMTS/LTE2300/2500 operation. Further, the required distance between the antenna and the testing flat phantom to meet the 1-g body SAR requirement of 1.6 W/kg is discussed. A comparison of the body SAR value of the planar loop antenna and the bent loop antenna is also discussed.

Context: Older adults’ everyday usages of tablet computers in a home environment are currently left out from today’s research. Current researches include many specialized focuses regarding tablet computer interfaces but a holistic view of how older adults experience usage of tablet computers in their everyday life is still to a large extent missing. Objectives: The aim of this study is to apply a use- and user-centred action research approach to explore how older adults experience the usage of tablet computers in their everyday life. Older adults are observed using tablet computers in their home environment in order to explore experienced issues and identify possible improvements for the older adults’ interaction and use of tablet computers. Methods: This study is a qualitative explorative case study using a grounded theory approach. The study consists a two week observation period beginning with an introduction and tutorial to tablet computers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted directly before and after as well as a long term follow up interview, few months after the observation period. The research body with the first two interviews and observation period was conducted using grounded theory iteration, allowing for analysis between each participant. The study involved 10 older adults and took place in the older adults’ natural everyday home environment and targeted older adults born 1960 or earlier. Results: The study used different ways to introduce tablet computers to the older adults, individually adjusted to their knowledge about information communication technology in general and tablet computers in particular as well as for them familiar subjects. Associations using their familiar subjects were used to help the older adults to remember the functionality of different icons. Some of the interaction issues encountered could be solved on the spot using accessibility options and accessories. The participants’ interest in tablet computers increased during the main body of the study, but later decreased again between the last two interviews. Conclusions: Many interaction issues were identified during the study where the main issues were related to accuracy, typing, gesture and terminology. Suggestions are made concerning how to solve some of the issues encountered, like a dynamic grid for icons and text on the tablet computer home screen and an ergonomic version of a touchscreen pen. Although there are interaction issues that are directly related to the interface, there are other important aspects too that affect the experienced interaction issues when interacting with and using a tablet computer in one’s everyday life home environment. Influencers affecting how older adults feel about tablet computers played a very important role. Having the observer functioning as a technical mentor, during the two week observation period, played a bigger role than expected, but the short time the older adults had with the mentor was not enough to keep them interested on a long term basis.

The idea of using modern media - like tablet computers - in classes is becoming more and more popular in Swedish schools. This study investigates how students with different habits of media usage perform regarding text understanding, vocabulary understanding and motivation to read a text in a foreign language (English and German) on different media. This was done by splitting the students into two groups: one group reading the given text on a tablet-computer, and one group reading the same text in a printed book. The tablet group was given an electronic dictionary, whereas the book group used a printed dictionary. The results on the one hand showed that the textunderstanding and motivation did not differ between the groups. The focus was on the content of the text, not on the media used. On the other hand, the tablet group used the electronic dictionary more frequently than the book group used the printed version. A comparison to a similar study performed by Wells (2012) was also done. This essay came to the conclusion that teachers should consider whether to make use of the easy and quick use of an electronic dictionary, and thereby neglect other skills like comprehension by context, or using the slower way of reflection and thereby improving these skills.

No description available.

Denna studie har haft som syfte att synliggöra i vilka situationer förskolepedagoger och barn på en förskolas småbarnsavdelning använder sig av surfplattor. Faktorer som undersökts har varit vilka kontexter som utgör dessa situationer, vilka beståndsdelar dessa kontexter består av samt vilka motiv och aktiviteter som ligger till grund för användning av surfplattor. Studien har varit av kvalitativ karaktär och har undersökt en småbarnsavdelning med barn upp till tre år på en förskola i Stockholm. För att åstadkomma detta har semi-deltagande observationer skett på förskolan under fyra dagar. Den insamlade datan har ställts mot och analyserats efter Nardi, Dourish och Benyons teorier om kontext samt Blomberg, Burrell & Guests teori om etnografi. Undersökningen har funnit att motivet är den kontextuella beståndsdel som väger tyngst då den ligger till grund för resterande beståndsdelar. De tre motiv som identifierats i denna studie är kommunikation, visualisering och underhållning. / This report has aimed to visualize in which situations tablet computers are being used by nursery school teachers and children at a baby and toddler unit of a nursery school. Factors that have been studied are which contexts that constitute these situations, which components that constitute these contexts and which underlying motives and activities that encourage using tablet computers. The study has been of a qualitative type and has studied a baby and toddler unit at a Stockholm nursery school that include children of three years and younger. Semi-participant observations have been done in a period of four days. The gathered data has been analyzed according to Nardi, Dourish and Benyon’s view on context as well as Blomberg, Burrell & Guest’s view on ethnography. The study has found that the contextual component of most significance is the motive, since it forms the basis of remaining components. In this study, the three motives that have been identified are communication, visualization and entertainment.

Les nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) pourraient contribuer à la prévention de l’isolement et au développement du sentiment de bien-être des adultes âgés, ainsi qu’à l’amélioration de la qualité de vie et de prise en charge des patients souffrant de maladie de type Alzheimer. La technologie tactile possiblement plus simple d’utilisation que l’ordinateur, y compris pour des personnes présentant des troubles neurocognitifs, constituerait une solution facilitatrice d’accès aux TIC. La formation reste toutefois l’un des déterminants majeurs de l’utilisation des technologies par des adultes âgés. Un accompagnement efficace nécessite la prise en compte des besoins des aînés et donc une évaluation fine de la nature des difficultés rencontrées et des aides à fournir. En conséquence, nous avons souhaité étudier les difficultés particulières des personnes âgées à utiliser ces technologies, mais aussi les conditions de l’aide dont ils peuvent bénéficier. Notre recherche s’est en particulier intéressée au téléphone (fixe et mobile) et à la tablette tactile, qui paraissent offrir l’avantage d’une plus grande simplicité d’utilisation que les ordinateurs et ainsi présenter un intérêt particulier pour les personnes âgées, y compris pour des personnes présentant des troubles neurocognitifs. L’objectif de ce travail était de déterminer s’il était possible d’expliquer des difficultés à utiliser les nouvelles TIC, propres aux personnes âgées, dans le but de leur proposer un accompagnement adapté. Une évaluation en situation et la comparaison des capacités d’utilisation des TIC d’adultes jeunes et âgés a montré que les adultes âgés se caractérisent par un plus grand nombre d’erreurs d’exécution et un besoin en aides plus précises et explicites, notamment pour l’utilisation des technologies mobiles. L’exploration du lien entre la nature des erreurs produites lors de l’utilisation des TIC et les compétences cognitives indiquait le caractère déterminent de la préservation des capacités d’inhibition ainsi que de la mémoire épisodique, en particulier du processus de récupération spontanée. Ces capacités étaient liées aux erreurs d’exécution et non aux omissions. La recherche d’une structuration de l’environnement informatif et d’une automatisation de certaines procédures de base indispensables à l’utilisation des TIC apparait donc comme une très probable orientation permettant de pallier les difficultés des personnes âgées. Enfin, la participation à un programme d’initiation à l’utilisation des tablettes tactiles, intégrant les principes de l’apprentissage sans erreur et de la récupération espacée, permettait d’améliorer les attitudes à l’égard des technologies ainsi que les performances lors de leur utilisation. / In modern society, use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is critical in order to avoid exclusion from many common modern day activities. Furthermore, longer life expectancy presents a major challenge to support dependent seniors, or those at risk of losing their independence but wish to continue living in their own home. ICTs seem particularly relevant in this context. Indeed, they promote social engagement, facilitate access to social networks, and provide a gateway to a wide range of information. Of particular interest in the present study are landline or mobile phones, and tablet computers, which are more readily portable, offer simpler functionality than most computers, and therefore are potentially very useful for aging people, included people with neurocognitive disorders. Broadly, such ICTs help to maintain and improve autonomy. Despite these potential benefits, seniors do not commonly use ICTs. Age-related physical and cognitive decline may affect the ability of older people to use ICTs. Therefore, it is essential to promote education and learning. However, an adapted and effective support could not exist without a fine evaluation of the nature of the difficulties and of the efficient cues. Consequently, we wanted to study the particular difficulties of older people in using these technologies, but also the conditions of the assistance they can benefit from. The objectif of this thesis project was to determine whether elderly encountered specific difficulties in using new ICT, in order to offert them an adapted support. A performance-based assessment and a comparison of the capacity of ICT ise of young and old adults has shown that older adults are characterized by a greater number of commission errors and a need for more precise and explicit cues, especially for the use of mobile technologies. Exploring the link between the nature of errors produced in the use of ICTs and cognitive skills indicated the determinent factor of inhibition abilities as well as episodic memory, in particular the spontaneous recovery process. These abilities were related to commission errors and not to omissions. Structuring the informative environment and automation of some basic procedures essential to the use of ICTs therefore appear as a very probable orientation to alleviate the difficulties of the elderly. Finally, participation in a tablet computer training program using the errorless learning and spaced-retrieval techniques, allowed to improve attitudes towards technologies as well as the performance when they are used.

Developments in information technology and tangible computing facilitate the human’s life by inventing Self Service Technologies SSTs where it changed the way we interact with the environment as well as new technologies did. Nowadays, a lot of new technologies have embodied computer inside such as smartphone and computer tablets. Previous studies in adoption of SSTs research treat customer behavior towards technology based services. However, recent studies recognize that participants have different attitude towards different technologies even if these technologies used to support the same service. Therefore, in our thesis we are going to study the effect of smartphone i.e. iPhone and computer tablets i.e. iPad on adoption of three services of SSTs Internet Banking, Online Shopping and Self Check In Machine at Airports. Is there any hesitation while people adopting with this technology? If yes, why does it happen? Our data were collected by conducting a pilot and empirical study via using quantitative and qualitative approaches. We conducted our study at Umeå, Sweden. The study findings present the effect of adoption through age, family, friends, money, knowledge, using technology in public and private places, mobile technology and computer tablets, and Interface design on adoption SSTs. We found that participants were influenced by new technology for adopting SSTs. Participants did not use Online Shopping as much as they use Internet Banking, especially in the private places. Concerning the Self Check in Machines, participants were differential in which some tend to use it and others did not.

A tablet computer antenna array for WWAN/LTE and LTE MIMO operations is proposed. The antenna array comprises a main antenna and an auxiliary antenna. The main antenna is an eight-band coupled-fed antenna, which can cover the GSM850/900/1800/1900/UMTS and LTE700/2300/2700 operations. The auxiliary antenna is a three-band antenna, which can cover the LTE700/2300/2500 operation and occupies a small size. Acceptable isolation between the main and auxiliary antennas has also been obtained, which makes it promising for the main and auxiliary antennas to perform LTE MIMO operation in the LTE700/2300/2500 bands. Effects of the internal tablet computer antenna on the user¡¦s body are also studied. The obtained results show that the antenna can meet the 1-g body SAR specification of less than 1.6 W/kg by selecting a proper distance between the antenna and the flat phantom. Also, since the user¡¦s body is a lossy material, a decrease in the antenna¡¦s radiation efficiency is observed when the user¡¦s body is in the vicinity of the internal antenna.