Teacher perceptions about the incorporation of mobile devices in a Costa Rican Secondary School: A double-edged sword

Abstract

The main purpose of this Phenomenological study was to explore select Costa Rican secondary teachers' perceptions about the use of mobile devices in the classrooms. Ten secondary teachers from a high school located at the North Pacific coast of Costa Rica were recruited through a snowball sampling. The instruments to collect data comprised semi-structured interviews. An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach was adopted to analyze in detail the participants' experiences. Findings from this Phenomenological study indicate that Costa Rican secondary teachers had mixed perceptions about using mobile devices for the teaching and learning process. They expressed that mobile devices are a "double edge sword;" if they are not used appropriately inside the classrooms, they can be detrimental to the students' learning process.