Bridging Volunteer Services and Mobile Teaching in the Tablet Reading Community

Abstract

AbstractEqual access has serious implications for the growing chasm in learning in remote areas and in economically disadvantaged communities. To help bridge the digital divide for children in remote areas, engaging communities to provide the needed resources in remote schools is essential. With an aim to promoting teachers’ adaptation of tablet reading and teaching among remote schools, a platform for sharing experiences and exchanging ideas among teachers was developed. College students also volunteered for follow-up mobile reading promotion in order to provide needed human resources for tablet reading integration among disadvantaged communities. Collaborative efforts by the university and teachers in remote schools provided a case for study. The main issues explored in this study were: (1) how teachers in remote areas adapted tablet reading in the classroom, and (2) what university students experienced from promoting tablet reading. This paper presents a qualitative analysis of integrating volunteer services and civic engagement in promoting tablet reading, and highlights the mutual benefits, challenges, and recommendations for future implementation. Various data resources were integrated into the inductive analysis, and different resources were used for triangulating the reported phenomena. The study concludes that the teachers obtained experience of tablet reading, and the college students experienced innovative volunteer-service opportunities. The collaboration among the society, the university, and learning sites were all essential for promoting tablet reading among children in remote areas.