Category Archives: The iPad in College

Schools in Australia Going iPad

Posted on by mkaufman

schools in Australia go iPadIt looks like school boards and departments of education in Australia are going for the iPad. In this article in the Delimiter, it says there are many schools testing out the iPad – some with formal policies and some on a trial basis.

Western Australia’s Department of Education and Training revealed this week that some schools in the state were displaying an increased interest in iPads and tablet devices, purchasing the handheld computers independently to trial in various education programs.

“The department does not have a policy on the use of iPads or Android-based technology at this stage, however some schools have bought tablet devices to trial in various settings,” said departmental chief information officer Bevan Doyle. “There appears to be a level of interest in this technology for educational use.”

The Queensland Government confirmed that a dozen “small” schools are involved in a trial where “handheld” computers – and other devices such as computers, data loggers, MP3 recorders and USB microscopes — are used as education tools to compliment and enhance science classes.

The Tasmanian Department of Education’s official stance on iPads or similar devices is that not enough time time has passed to give the technology serious consideration. “As the technology of iPads is so new, the Department of Education has not yet had a chance to consider their potential use in the department or in schools,” said a departmental spokesperson.

Since the school year in Australia is different from the US I imagine they will have some experience to speak of before many of the US schools. We’ll keep an eye out to see what they report.

Schools Using iPads Before Business

Posted on by mkaufman

ipad in school

I just came across a great resource documenting some significant school investments in iPads. The author makes a bold claim that since there is this much investment to buy iPads for school use it is likely schools will be using them ahead of businesses.

I don’t think this is a fad. Schools cite numerous reasons for investing in iPads including:

  • Instant and personalized access to information
  • Creating more interest
  • Making users more productive
  • Freeing users from wires (and letting them move around)
  • Saving money
  • Keeping users up to date with current technology

Here’s the top 13 schools and their investments from the list I found (see a link to his google doc below for more than 50 examples of schools making investments in iPads):

1) Florida State College at Jacksonville has deployed 350 iPads to executives, administrators, faculty, IT staff and students. “It’s the first phase of a project calling for a thousand iPads to be delivered throughout the college by the end of the year, including at libraries and labs where students can ‘check’ them out,” wrote Tom Kaneshige in CIO magazine.

2) As many as 736 students in the Chicago Public Schools will test iPads this year in 23 schools. One school, Burley Elementary, will use them to provide individual instruction and encourage critical thinking through multimedia apps and collaborative tools.

3) The California Department of Education, in conjunction with textbook vendor Houghton-Mifflin, are testing iPads with 400 eight-graders in four school districts (San Francisco, Long Beach, Riverside and Fresno).

4) Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop High School is investing 7,748 for 320 of the 16 GB Wi-Fi iPads with extended two-year warranties plus wireless infrastructure for the public high school near Mankato, Minnesota.

5) The University of Adelaide in Australia plans, starting next year, to give free iPads to “hundreds” of first-year science students. Lecture notes, audio, background docs and textbooks will be delivered through “tailored web-based apps” for iPads as well as regular notebook PCs.

6) In rural northern California, Avery Middle School is using 170 iPads with 6th-8th graders to help “displace expensive textbooks, promote active engaging and learning…and greater flexibility in accessing course materials, even in rural areas,” according to a news release.

7) Marymount School has given 150 iPads to its students and teachers. The private all-girls school in Manhattan hopes to have enough for all 550 students by early next year.

8) Cedars School of Excellence in Scotland has rolled out iPads to its 115 students, a project being documented as The iPad Project by teacher and blogger, Fraser Speirs.

9) Stanford University is trialing iPads with 91 first-year medical school students.

10) Alexander Dawson School, a private K-12 school near Boulder, Colorado, is leasing-to-own 90 iPads for 3 years for $36,000 total (normal retail price: about $45,000). The iPads are preloaded with about 30 textbooks for the 5th and 6th grade students using them.

11) Morristown-Beard, a private middle and high school in New Jersey, hasissued iPads to 60 students. If the trial is successful in encouraging teacher-student interaction (compared to the laptops used today), it will give iPads to all 500+ students next year.

12) Pikes Peak Prep in Colorado Springs, Colorado has bought 50 iPads for students to use in math, science, language arts and social studies. Students will send screen shots of work rather than turn in papers and also perform virtual frog dissections using the iPads, according to the principal.

13) Notre Dame University is testing iPads with 40 business students, according to a Forbes magazine article by Elizabeth Woyke.

Google Doc with more than 50 examples of buying iPads for school.

iPad on College Campuses?

Posted on by mkaufman

ipad on college campus

Well, it looks like this year the iPad isn’t the overwhelming winner on college campuses. Maybe surprising (or maybe not) is the fact that the iPod is the device showing up on college campuses. Sure there are some iPads in use as well – particularly in certain classes – but students themselves seem to be bringing and using iPods more this year.

What’s interesting about the reasoning given by professors is that the iPad makes them rethink their lectures. In my opinion, that’s a great thing and one of the reasons I created this blog. I want to see how the iPad impacts schools and schooling – and the teaching and learning process.

Professor Satti Khanna at Duke teaches Advanced Hindi; he told FoxNews.com that the “very exploring of iPad use in the classroom makes a teacher rethink the goals of his or her class. The iPad makes me break away from text-dominated lectures to more media-sensitive teaching.”

In the case of the Stanford University School of Medicine, they are experimenting with first year medical students by giving them iPads. But they are having challenges finding the right mix of ‘input’ and ‘production’ (my words). As I’ve mentioned the iPad is a great device for consuming but has some weaknesses in producing content.

The Stanford web site says,

The School of Medicine in August undertook a trial program for iPad use by distributing the device to 91 first-year medical and master’s of medicine students. Charles Prober, senior associate dean for medical education, noted growing challenges from the rapid flow of information, which the iPad’s mobility and graphics might manage better.

From another article about Stanford it talks about the challenges,

Stanford University School of Medicine’s aim to digitize its curriculum “as a way to lighten the load of textbook-toting students, and to learn how best to teach an extremely tech-savvy generation of students who’ve grown up in a wired world,” according to the school’s website, means the entire incoming class is equipped with 32GB Wi-Fi iPads. The challenging process has been somewhat hit or miss.

“It definitely facilitates studying and recall because you don’t get bogged down by all the paper,” noted first year medical student Ryan Flynn. But it’s still a work in progress. “The iPad isn’t the best input device. Some people have gone back to paper and pencil.”

In another case, the University of Leeds in the UK has students swapping out text books for iPods. I haven’t tried reading a complete book on my phone but I don’t think that’s the right way to go – so this experiment might just lead the way for the larger screen tablet in coming semesters.

The UK’s University of Leeds is issuing smartphones to all fourth and fifth year medical students. This will be the first time that a UK medical school has provided undergraduates with all the tools they need to study off-campus via mobile phone technology.

So, the verdict is out on whether the iPad specifically will be a winner on college campuses but my prediction is that we’ll see continued use and experimentation – and as new models of the iPad come out with cameras and the ability to both record video and video conference more and more college campuses will use them.

Sources:
iPads on College Campuses? Maybe Next Year
How the iPad is Changing Med School
Stanford News Briefs
Student Doctors Swap Textbooks for IPhones

Scientists Using iPad at Archeological Site

Posted on by mkaufman

Entering data about an excavated basin rim into FMTouch. Its lack of moving parts makes iPad preferable to laptops in the trenches, where dirt finds its way into keyboards, ports, and screen hinges.

As more and more iPads find their way into work environments – both in the office and out – it is likely their use will highlight some of the value teachers and school officials may find in adopting the iPad for school settings.

Apple has a number of great examples on their web site of iPad changing the way people do business. In this one example – Discovering Ancient Pompeii with iPad – they highlight how the iPad is revolutionizing how scientists work in the field. Rather than recording notes and sketches on paper, researchers at the site use iPad and apps to capture invaluable historical data faster, more easily, and with far better accuracy.

Imagine how this kind of application can be applied in school settings. Not only does this change the dynamic in the classroom but it also untethers the learning from inside the classroom and allows students and teachers the option of taking the learning outside – into the community. Doesn’t that make sense? Isn’t that the kind of learning we would imagine for our children?

I’m excited about this kind of possibility!

The applications mentioned in this article are:

Best Apps for Business

Posted on by mkaufman

ipad for business professionals

I have been following a blog by a guy who decided to run his business using just the iPad for one month (right from the release of the device in April). He’s had some interesting experiences and now after several months he has published his list of what he considers the best iPad applications for business. This list contains the apps on his iPad plus a list of apps that have been submitted by other readers of his blog.

I imagine that many of these applications would make a good addition to the list of applications that schools will use. These could be on both sides of the process – the administration and teaching side as well as the learning side.

Here’s his list.

It starts with Paul’s favorite (best) iPad Apps (in order of the amount of time he spends using them):

  • OmniFocus – The iPad specific version of this game changing productivity app is everything we hoped it would be.
  • SimpleNote– Making the notes that matter and making them available wherever you might be (this is an app that comes with iPhone version for easy syncing back and forth.
  • LogMeIn Ignition – Our remote access client of choice.  Easy to use, no monthly service and a Universal App.  Once you purchase this, you can run as many computers as you want from both your iPhone and iPad.
  • 1Password Pro – Universal app for 1Password (iPhone/iPad) version – now with Dropbox Sync.  Awesome password solution.
  • Reeder – Best RSS reader.  Integration with Google Reader.
  • Instapaper – Words can’t describe what a game changer this one is. Quick and easy parsing and selecting of the articles that you want to read – later – without the ads and annoying formatting.
  • Keynote – I haven’t done a presentation on a laptop since I bought this app.
  • OmniGraffle – Create a quick (and gorgeous looking) diagram or chart in seconds with this one. We use it at Colligan.com to map out all of our processes.
  • Dropbox – This is the files in the cloud solution for everyone.  Most app builders are building integration with DropBox and, well, we love it.  Also a Universal app with a great iPhone version.
  • Evernote – Don’t forget anything.  Hard to explain.  Universal app with iPhone and desktop versions (Mac and PC).  Free for the basic stuff.

Here are some of his reader’s favorites.  He polled them a few times and these keep coming up at the top.

And here’s the link to Paul’s blog Paul’s iPad dot com.