Artifact 1

ETR 525 Qualitative Research in Education: Challenges of Utilizing iPad Instructional

applications as Assistive Technology Tool to Teach Students with Autism
Introduction and Reflection
The artifact presents above is the final research project for ETR 525 course. The course
aims to prepare students to understand the principles of qualitative research, and methods to
collect qualitative such as interviews, observations, group discussion and many others. This
course was taken at the beginning of my ERE Masters Program. Honestly, I found this course
fascinating because I had the chance to learn how to conduct a qualitative study based on the
qualitative principles.
In this course, I did a qualitative, which entitled Challenges of Utilizing iPad
Instructional applications as Assistive Technology Tool to Teach Student with Autism. The
study goal is to explore challenges of using iPad instructional applications with children with
autism for teaching purposes. The overarching theoretical framework utilized in the study is
grounded theory approach. The study posed the following research questions:
1. How special education teacher view the instructional application on iPad?
2. Does school administration flexible on app funding?
3. What are the challenges that special educators faced when integrating iPad instruction
applications into their instructions?
4. What are the challenges that that special educators faced regarding iPad deployment in
the classroom?
Regarding data collection, semi- structured interviews used to collect data from three high
school special education teachers and one elementary speech therapist. All interviews were

recorded, transcribed for analysis purpose. In data analysis phase, I applied coding strategy to
text data. All identified codes were organized and grouped into themes.
Major Findings
The findings indicted that special educators used iPad instructional applications as
reinforcement tool with students more than for teaching purposes. Also the results showed that
participants face difficulties concerning the selection of applications that match students
learning needs. Another challenge noted by the participants was the lake of applications funding.
Evidence of Mastery of Objectives 1, 3, and 8

Objective 1, design a study of an educational research problem or phenomenon using

appropriate methodologies: This objective is met because the artifact shown above
demonstrate my ability to design a qualitative study that address educational
phenomenon, which is the challenges that special educators face regarding the use of
instructional applications for teaching purposes.
Objective 3 distinguish between ethical and unethical behavior when conducting
educational research or evaluations: This objective is met because the study conducted in
an ethical and responsible manner. As mentioned in the paper, I sought permission from
two schools to conduct the study. In addition permission obtained from the participants to
allow the researcher to record the interviews for analysis purposes.
Objective 8 engage in research-related activities in diverse settings. This objective is met
because the artifact shows my ability to conduct research study in different settings. As
international student, I am pleased that I had the chance to gain access to American
schools and get exposed to special education teachers practices in term of using assistive
technology inside the classroom.