www.le.ac.uk

Sending iPads into War Zones:Would we do it again?

Terese BirdLearning Technologist & SCORE Research FellowInstitute of Learning InnovationDigital Education Conference 27-28 May 2014 Kuala Lumpur

Photo by The USO on Flickr

What will we talk about?

• Overview of mobile learning

• Why iPads into War Zones?

• Problems... solutions

• Would we do it again?

• What are we doing now?Photo by Aaron Hockley on Flickr

Why mobile learning?

• “…we have to recognise that mobile, personal, and wireless devices are now radically transforming societal notions of discourse and knowledge, and are responsible for new forms of art, employment, language, commerce, deprivation, and crime, as well as learning.” (Traxler, 2009)

• “Learner freely moving in his physical (and virtual) environment” (Laouris and Eteokleous, 2005)

Mobile devices: For consumers, for education

PDA1998

Mobile phone 2000

Mp3 player 2001

Netbook

2007

E-reader2010

Tablet2011

Consumer mobile devices and the year they ‘caught on’ in public use:

Key dates for mobile learning:• 2004 – Duke University issues iPods to all incoming

freshmen – recorded lectures are the main use• 2007 – iTunes U is launched• 2010 – Cedars School of Excellence, Scotland,

becomes world’s 1st one iPad-per-student school

OverviewMain tangible benefits of mobile learning

(JISC, 2011)

1. Personal, private, and familiar2. Pervasive and ubiquitous3. Portable – enabling learning anywhere,

anytime4. Immediate capture of data and

learning processes – camera, video, sound, text input

5. Promotes active learning

Terese explains DUCKLING e-readers http://www.le.ac.uk/duckling

Photo by Newandalice on Flickr

Why iPads in War Zones?

• Wanted a way to give rich multimedia and collabor-ative learning experience

• Device required for when students are travelling, working in areas without internet access

• In 2011: iPad? Kindle? Phone?

iPad in War Zones: Problems• How to make an app?

• How to guarantee access to app?

• What if iPad breaks or is stolen?

• Is the students’ data safe?

• How to pay for iPad?

Photo byOxfam

International on Flickr

iPad in War Zones: Solutions• How to make an app? Apple store recommended programmer

• How to guarantee access to app? Download via computer

• What if iPad breaks or is stolen? Apple customer service

• Is the students’ data safe? No marks stored in the cloud

• How to pay for iPad? Increase tuition fee

Photo byOxfam

International on Flickr

Student survey (Blackboard, Response Rate 40%)

For how long do you use the Course App each time?

Blue: More than 60 minutes

Red: 30-60 minutes

Given these three choices of having the course material in print, course app, and Blackboard, please rank your preferences.

Blue:Course App,Blackboard Site,Print

Red:Print,Course App,Blackboard 55%

45%

Paper: it’s complicated

Study on the move and offline

100% used iPad in various locations

• Home • Workplace• Public places (airport, café)• On the move (train, bus, plane)

“Often my internet is of a poor standard so the app makes it easier to

study without having to wait for the page to load.”

Time management

• “It has enabled me to read the material without carrying a bundle of books and is very good for studying at work during the free time.”

• “Having access to the information wherever I go has allowed for better time management particularly as a distance learning student and under full time employment.”

• “I have thus far enjoyed the experience using the iPad and Course App, it is a dynamic learning tool, which has done an excellent job in filling the gap for the working student who is unable to be on campus, by making the material available everywhere you go.”

Motivation and Engagement

• “Firstly I am more motivated, as it is structured and organised. I am getting through more than I would if I was solely given a recommended reading list.”

• “The Course App is easily accessed, it is pre-structured and organised. I find it a logical progression and a great guide to complete a unit by using the course app.”

• “It is more interactive than other conventional means of studying. You can use audio visual options, plus get to online links which can help maintaining focus while studying. Plus this is like mobile education as you don’t need to go a physical space, e.g. study room or library to study.”

Skills development (Digital literacy)

“I have found the course material, the iPad and [the] Blackboard all very useful. It is forcing me to maintain pace with technology, a point I needed to with having two boys both studying at the 6th form and university respectively. I am really enjoying using and blending all the teaching methods available.”

Student

Kindle app PDF

Readers

Twitter

Pages

Ever-noteiTunes

U

Skype

iBrain-storm

Drop-box

Blackboard Mobile Learn

War Zones: iPads - negatives

• Customs charges upon shipment to student - paid

• E-books on Amazon somewhat problematic – some countries cannot get Amazon – send books

• One or two countries (i.e. Sudan) could not get Apple store online – send books

• Flash on iPad requires special browser (Puffin)

http://www.le.ac.uk/places-mlearn

Would we do it again?We are doing it again, plus more courses

http://www.le.ac.uk/places-mlearn

University of Leicester School of Medicine: iPads for all undergraduate students

Apple Education website (Apple, 2011)

University of Leicester School of Education – MA International Education

• iPads to distance students

• Instructor creates ibook

• Apple iBooks Author

• Text with embedded video and audio

School of Education Kindles – Educational Leadership MA• Planning stages

• Distance learning

• Students want offline reading of core texts

• Publishers, Amazon have rigid rules

University of Leicester School of Management

• Very large distance learning programme

• Paper got too expensive

• BYOD

• InDesign – save as pdf, epub, mobi (Kindle)

Study by mobile – remote regions

• 7Cs learning design

• Consultancy to help create epub learning materials

• Facebook group & Dropbox as LMS

• Smartphones still too expensive (epub)

Study by mobile – remote regions

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM4N2uWAJhc

References and Thanks• Apple. (2011). Apple (United Kingdom) - Education - Profiles - Leeds School of Medicine changes learning culture with work-based

iPhones. Apple Education Case studies. Retrieved January 6, 2013, from http://www.apple.com/uk/education/profiles/leeds-uni/

• JISC. (2011). Mobile Learning infokit / Home. Retrieved August 22, 2012, from https://mobilelearninginfokit.pbworks.com/w/page/41122430/Home

• Joly, K. (2005). Duke University iPod first-year experience: So, was it worth it? | collegewebeditor.com. College Web Editor website. Retrieved August 19, 2011, from http://collegewebeditor.com/blog/index.php/archives/2005/06/16/duke-university-ipod-first-year-experience-so-was-it-worth-it/

• Laouris, Y. and N. Eteokleous (2005). We need an educationally relevant definition of mobile learning. mLearning, South Africa.

• McFayden, S. (2010). Scottish school becomes first in world where all lessons take place using computers - The Daily Record. Daily Record. Retrieved January 5, 2012, from http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/science-and-technology/2010/08/31/scottish-school-becomes-first-in-world-where-all-lessons-take-place-using-computers-86908-22525988/

• Nie, M., Armellini, A., Witthaus, G., & Barkland, K. (2010). Delivering University Curricula: Knowledge, Learning and INnovation Gains — University of Leicester. Leicester. Retrieved from http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/beyond-distance-research-alliance/projects/duckling

• Payne, K. F., Wharrad, H., & Watts, K. (2012). Smartphone and medical related App use among medical students and junior doctors in the United Kingdom (UK): a regional survey. BMC medical informatics and decision making, 12(1), 121. doi:10.1186/1472-6947-12-121

• The Paypers. Insights in payments. (2012). Retrieved January 3, 2013, from http://www.thepaypers.com/news/mobile-payments/smartphone-adoption-in-uk-reaches-51-students-lead-the-way/747745-16

• Traxler, J. (2009). Current State of Mobile Learning. (M. Ally, Ed.)Mobile Learning Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training, 5(2), 9–24. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120155/ebook/01_Mohamed_Ally_2009-Article1.pdf

• Wiley, C. (2012). Twitter in the University Classroom: Live-Tweeting During Lectures | Educational Vignettes on WordPress.com. Educational Vignettes. Retrieved January 10, 2013, from http://educationalvignettes.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/twitter-in-the-university-classroom-live-tweeting-during-lectures/

Email me with questions - t.bird@le.ac.uk