IPads are considered “post-PC” devices implying a “mobile complexity” (Murphy, 2011). As suggested by Cochrane, Narayan and Oldfield (2013), different reasons are recognized as key factors in pushing people towards the use of digital and mobile technologies in educational settings: the possibility to improve the access to the course materials; the capacity to align with broader institutional and business goals (Kukulska-Hulme, 2005); the role in fostering learning about complex topics (Jacobson & Archodidou, 2000); and the merit to provide learners with dynamic and nonlinear access to a wide range of information (text, graphic, audio, and video). In addition to the above-mentioned benefits, the introduction of iPads can be difficult and some challenges can emerge with respect to the traditional teaching and learning processes. For example, the distraction of students can improve; the classroom’s management can be more complex; difficulties in planning and managing the students’ work can emerge; and a lack of knowledge and available resources can impact the possibility to develop new systems of education. However, the introduction of the iPad as a learning tool has been treated with great emphasis by several authors that have questioned the added value that the iPad entails in education. In fact, like any other new technological innovation, the integration of iPads in classroom requires efforts in terms of adaptation, promotion of qualitative changes for students, teachers and the whole school community (Jones & Issroff, 2007).
The appropriation of the iPad, as well as of other technologies, has an impact to different steps in teaching and professional training processes (Lawless & Pellegrino, 2007). Different studies have documented forms of teachers’ rejection or low-level use of a new technology despite the availability of tools in classroom. The traditional training courses for pre-service or in-service teachers do not provide specific learning skills to manage an effective appropriation of new technologies (Llorens, Salanova, & Grau, 2002). Recently, Cochrane, Narayan and Oldfield (2013) have considered six critical factors in the appropriation of iPads in classroom: the pedagogical appropriation of a technology into the course; the possibility to have a model for a pedagogical use of the new tool; the presence of a supportive learning community; the appropriate choice of the necessary devices; the technological and pedagogical support that is needed during the appropriation process; the development of an ontological shift; and the promotion of new forms of students’ engagement. In this paper, we intend to take into account the teachers’ perspectives concerning their experiences of iPads’ appropriation in the classroom. We are convinced that a deep exploration of these processes can be relevant in the conception of more effective designs for the effective use of this technology in classroom.