A phenomenographic investigation on the use of iPads among undergraduate art and design students Nicos Souleles, Stefania Savva, Hilary Watters, Angela Annesley and Ben Bull Nicos Souleles is employed by Cyprus University of Technology in Limassol, where he co-ordinates the research lab “Networked Learning Technologies in Art and Design” (NLTAD). Stefania Savva is a doctoral student at University of Leicester and research assistant at NLTAD. HilaryWatters, Ben Bull and Angela Anneslay are members of the “Centre for Pedagogic Arts-based Research” (Pedare) at Falmouth University in England. Address for correspond- ence: Dr Nicos Souleles, Department of Multimedia and Graphic Arts, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Cyprus University of Technology, 94 Anexartisias Street, Iakovides Building, 2nd Floor, 3040 Limassol, Cyprus. Email: nicos.souleles@cut.ac.cy Abstract The increasingly widespread use of iPads in higher education (HE) brings to the forefront questions about the contribution of these computer tablets towards teaching and learn- ing. However, there is a noticeable gap of research on the instructional potential of iPads in HE. This paper describes the first stage of a research project on the use of iPads in undergraduate art and design disciplines, and is a collaboration between the research lab “Networked Learning Technologies in Art and Design” at Cyprus University of Technology, and the “Centre for Pedagogic Research” at Falmouth University in England. The participants from both institutions provided a student-centred perspective, and the qualitative analysis (phenomenography) revealed varied perceptions. Based on the find- ings of this project, the implication is that there are a number of challenges and obsta- cles in embedding the use of iPads in art and design education. Further research in the second stage of this collaborative research will investigate the views and motivations of art and design faculty. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =ZBXnuVJ8eBY Introduction The iPad is described as a “category-defining phenomenon” because it is claimed that it has considerable potential to enhance learning (Johnson, Adams & Cummins, 2012, p. 14). However, there is a noticeable shortage of studies on the use of this tablet in higher education (HE). This computer tablet is of interest to this investigation because in the majority of cases, undergraduate art and design students use Apple Macintosh products in educational settings, to the extent that the latter are synonymous with design education. This paper describes the first stage of a research project on the use of iPads in undergraduate studio-based art and design disciplines, and is a collaboration between the research lab “Networked Learning Technologies in Art and Design” at Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), and the “Centre for Pedagogic Research” at Falmouth University (FalU) in England. The objective was to investigate for a period of one semester the perceptions and experiences of undergraduate art and design students on the educational potential of the iPad. The phenomeno- graphic approach allows for a bottom-up investigation, ie, from the perspective of learners. Sharpe and Benfield (2005, p. 1) reminded us that the overwhelming research on e-learning is teacher British Journal of Educational Technology (2014) doi:10.1111/bjet.12132 © 2014 British Educational Research Association