Evaluating the iPad in Higher Education. Last week’s Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) Annual Conference on Online Learning presented a number of interesting trends in the session topics, including the use of iPads in college courses.
The projects presented covered a wide range of perspectives and data collection. Student Use and Feedback: At Memorial University of Newfoundland iPads, pre-loaded with class texts and required applications, were loaned to students in a blended English Directing course. Interviews with students revealed their thoughts about using these devices in a structured learning environment. What are students saying? According to the event’s presenters, students are using their iPads (both owned and borrowed devices) for course-related activities as well as personal use. Students also found drawbacks in using iPads for course-related activities. Conference session attendees also offered their observations on student use of iPads at their institutions. Apps and More Apps Recording Reading Productivity Getting Started. iPads In Education – How’s It Going So Far? A growing number of schools have launched programs to provide iPads to students.
What returns is this investment yielding? There’s no doubt the iPad is a hot topic in education technology today. Just about every week, my preconfigured Google Alerts deliver stories about schools that have decided to provide iPads to their students. With this trend on the rise, the question arises as to how well this investment is paying off at schools that have taken the plunge. Picture from article about iPad adoption at Naselle High School This week I decided to do a little web research to learn more about this topic. Naselle High School – teachers and students motivated and engagedThe first article I came across was this one, about the rollout of iPads at Naselle High School in Washington state in the US. They put some solid effort into into implementation planning. Higher Education – a more balanced perspective?
The article contains a lengthy and informative section discussing “Pluses and Minuses”. Exploring the iPad for use in Higher Education. The iPad is often touted as a revolutionary new means of computing, but what exactly does that mean?
How does one explore the capabilities of a device which changes with the apps which may be loaded? Should we be exploring the iPad as a device? Or, should we explore the educational experiences which might be possible though the Apps which are available? How can we explore the device, if we do not have the funding to explore promising applications?
This is like learning to use a microwave/convection oven without having funding to by the elements required to cook a meal or develop a new recipe. Further, should we rely on the applications which are available or should we in fact be developing our own, and in the process, defining what the iPad or the "iPad experience" might be (possibly for our own or our students' needs). Consider an interview and behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the his ebook, The Elements: A Visual Exploration. What do you think? The iPad and the academy. Tara Brabazon identifies 10 scholarly uses for Apple’s latest gadget, and the new ways of reading, writing, watching and thinking that the platform supports Among his 10 rules for successful design, Dieter Rams, the German industrial designer, listed usefulness as a key attribute.
Other characteristics included consistency, simplicity, honesty, understandability, unobtrusiveness and innovation. In Gary Hustwit’s Objectified (2009), a feature-length documentary about society’s complex relationship with manufactured objects, Rams anointed Apple as the corporation that best perpetuated his legacy. Rams made these comments before the release of the iPad. This product has divided critics, raising questions about its purpose. However, below I explore some specific functions that academics may extract from the iPad.
Photographic-led research One feature that drew me to the iPad – and makes it distinctive from laptops, netbooks and the iPhone – is its presentation of photographs. iPad books.