Multidisciplinary Pedagogical Strategies

for the iPad 2 in Higher Education

Maureen Ebben, Ph.D. Department of Communication and Media Studies

Julien Murphy, Ph.D.

Department of Philosophy

Glenn Wilson, Ed.D. Department of Technology

Spring 2011

iPad 2/ Pedagogy

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Statement of Need/Problem. A significant roadblock to effective online learning is the relatively static nature of many online courses. In spite of the affordances of technologies like Blackboard, discussion boards, blogs, podcasts, PowerPoint, and Camtasia, most online classes lack interactivity. Even the most dynamic software, Elluminate, is not without its frustrations for students and faculty users. In other words, a barrier to effective online learning is real-time, visual, dynamic, interaction among participants. We believe such interactivity is critical to fostering student motivation, engagement and learning. Research has demonstrated that the more students are engaged in their course work, the more learning will occur. Further, most students with whom we work, are members of the net generation, a generation characterized by their strong preference for hands-on, engaged learning. Students may achieve more real-time virtual activity on their phones than in our online classes. To us, interactivity is the key to fostering engagement. This proposal, therefore, seeks to address the problem of communication stasis in online courses by developing and piloting ways of using the emerging technology of tablet computers in teaching and learning. While teaching and learning is not primarily technological, online teaching depends upon technology for delivery. It is not surprising then to look for technological solutions to common pedagogical limitations in online teaching. Such a solution may indeed be found in Apple’s iPAD. The first design of the iPAD appeared in 2010. Educators across the country immediately seized upon it as a teaching tool. Its features included its portability, its large, multi-touch display, access to apps including ITunes University, e-books, and web streaming. Critics pointed out limitations of the iPAD for college use including the lack of a USB port for printing, camera, video for Face Time interaction, and the difficulty of iWorks for document files. Recently, Apple has introduced the iPAD 2 with features more suitable for college adaptability. New features include front and back facing cameras, video, and geo-tagging.1 Educators are interested in road-testing the iPAD 2 for student learning. Already, such testing is being done in Maine at the K-12 level. CNET News reports (4/10/11) a superintendent initiative to give every elementary student in Auburn Maine an iPAD 2 (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20052512-71.html) It is important for other initiatives to occur within the University of Maine System as well. IPAD PILOT PROGRAM AT USM: Our purpose is to provide an interdisciplinary, multi-specialty team at USM to test the possibilities of the iPAD 2 in our face-to-face, blended, and online classes next year. There are many pilot iPAD groups across the country at the university level (e.g. Trinity College, Reed College, University of Maryland, Oberlin College, Lafayette College, University of Houston, 1 The cameras are of utmost importance to increasing the interactivity factor for improved teaching and learning. The Back camera (for outwardly facing) Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio and still camera with 5x digital zoom is a critical factor to the creation and generation of materials (multimedia/new media and social networking) for our students affording the learner opportunities that are more flexible and integrative than on regular laptop computers and allow instant integration in to and within visually intensive presentation and expository applications. The camera (for inwardly facing - the user side) provides for immediate video recording, VGA up to 30 frames per second with audio and VGA-quality still camera capabilities. The ability to Tap to control exposure for video or stills and the ability to set up Photo and video geo-tagging over Wi-Fi further enhances creative and documentary capabilities of the iPAD 2. With the advent of the two cameras, the outfacing for capturing and analyzing external activities and functions, and the in-facing, allowing the student to be seen or to interact on a personal level with other students or the instructor(s) or the expert who is "beamed-in" from the 'cybersphere' or the cloud, significantly enhances the power of the iPad2, making it even more of an interactive learning and teaching technology. The merits of GPS/GIS/Geotagging offer students the ability to study and establish place, presence, and continuity in real time and to be able to chronicle, describe, and document their study habits, their learning, and their learning environments.

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Monterey Law School, to cite just a few). We would like to investigate the findings of several of these pilot programs and assess them for what might be relevant here at USM. We also would meet with the Auburn faculty and discuss the benefits and limitations of the iPAD 2 in the K-12 system, particularly, since some of those students will soon be coming to USM. We believe that the size of our team (3 faculty) allows for easy communication, flexibility, and nimbleness to be creative in our experiments with new teaching techniques on the iPAD 2. Our approach has two dimensions: 1) Pilot Program research and evaluation. We recognize that we are not working in a vacuum and could easily benefit from assessing the findings of pilot programs at other universities and building upon them here at USM. To this end, we plan to communicate with 4 programs at public and private universities to learn about their results and advice. We would also like to work with pilot programs in Maine. To date, there is no solid published research on mobile learning using the iPAD. This is largely due to the fact that it was introduced only a year ago. We are hoping that the iPAD 2 will address the need for a common platform in online teaching and learning. So far, it is only the Auburn K-12 program we have identified and are eager to meet with their team leaders to assess their learning outcomes. We would also like to meet with the higher education team at Apple Inc. to explore leading edge efforts with the iPAD 2 in higher education. We believe our work developing pedagogical models on the iPAD 2 is best advanced working in coalition with university colleagues elsewhere, K-12 colleagues in Maine, and Apple higher education team members. 2) Classroom Experiments with the iPAD 2. We would like to road test the pedagogical potential of the iPAD 2 in our Spring and Fall classes. Specifically, we are interested in testing successful uses of it as a teaching tool that we learn from our research on pilot programs and a few ideas of our own. For instance, we have a hunch that emerging tablet technology may offer a considerable resource for our face-to-face classes by enabling us to have virtual visits from guest speakers for brief classroom interactions. Using the iPAD 2 for “beaming in” guest speakers we can circumvent the usual barriers of time, expense, even parking challenges that have led many of us to stop utilizing guest speakers in classes altogether. Classes would be enriched by using the IPAD for instantaneous video conversation between students and colleagues across campus and in the greater Southern Maine community. We envision brief video interactions (15 or 20 minutes) that present no dial-up, speaker phone, or ITV barriers to the guests or to our face-to-face classrooms. We are interested in exploring the potential of the ipad2 for student group work as well.

People, Activities, & Work Plan.

Our approach is interdisciplinary. The three of us are from both campuses (Portland and Gorham) and from two colleges, Science, Engineering and Health, (SEH) and Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (AHSS). Further, we represent three different divisions: Humanities (philosophy), Social Sciences (Communication and Media Studies), and Technology (Information Technology). Thus, we comprise a unique interdisciplinary, intercollegiate team. As we explore possible uses for the iPAD 2, we are able to work with three unique groups of students. Students may be Technology, Humanities, or Social Science majors or minors. Down the road, we hope to work with faculty to create a digital studies cluster to expand this work. With three unique student groups, we are able to assess, then, a range of technological ability and different types of student learners that tend to characterize these three academic divisions. Our group would build a bridge between campus efforts at USM and iPAD 2 pilot groups across the country. We believe it would be a positive for USM to have a faculty hub considering IPAD 2 uses for creating 1) increased interactivity, 2) increased interdisciplinarity, 3) connection to the wider community, and 4) student engagement with group work in both face-to-face and online contexts.

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Our plan has three phases: I. Planning: Summer, 2011

§ Conduct three virtual meetings on the iPAD2 in summer to coordinate iPAD 2 use in three designated face-to-face classes for fall 2011 (one class for each of us).

§ Fine-tune strategies and share experiences with pedagogical tactics. § Faculty demo iPAD 2 technology and capabilities. § Faculty plan interactive student group work and activities. § Faculty test learning activities over summer. § Pilot small group interactivity and communication capabilities of iPAD 2. § Identify apps suitable for teaching and learning and social networking for educational

purposes. § Identify university pilot groups with assessment tools. § Identify pilot groups within the state of Maine (K-12/ Auburn) and University Maine System.

II. Piloting: Fall, 2011

§ Pilot iPAD 2 in three, face-to-face classes across three divisions in the university, and across the two campuses, 25 students in each course, 75 students impacted.

§ Use iPAD 2 for three virtual visits into our each classes with colleagues at USM and/or outside USM. This will bring dynamic, real-time interactivity to courses.

§ Use iPAD 2 to connect university, students, and classroom with wider community. § Pilot iPAD 2 for synchronous, student group activity.

III. Assessment: Spring, 2012

§ Evaluation of iPAD 2 in student learning. § Assessment of iPAD 2 for group activities. § Assessment of interdisciplinary aspect afforded by iPAD 2, “beaming in” expertise and

connecting to community. § Assessment of real-time interactivity; does it add dynamic, student engagement to foster

learning? § Survey students about their experiences. § Consider implications and applications for online context of teaching and learning. § Assess the benefits of other iPAD pilot programs in higher education. § Write final report for CETL. § Write proposal for Sloan C Workshop.

Project Outcomes and Evaluation. Outcomes of the various assessments discussed above will be used to plan and design more effective online, blended, and face-to-face classes. § Evaluation of iPAD 2 in student learning in discipline specific as well as interdisciplinary courses. § Assessment of iPAD 2 for group activities. § Assessment of interdisciplinary aspect afforded by iPAD 2. § Assessment of real time interactivity. § Information and insights about students’ perceptions experiences using the iPAD 2.

Dissemination. § Final report will be shared with CTEL. § Outcome data will be presented at Sloan C conference (at USM or external). § Outcome data will be posted on I&I and CTEL websites.