Exploring Tablet Computing in Teacher Education: The UT COE iPad Working Group

The College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin has formed a crossdisciplinary working group to explore the uses and learning implications of incorporating iPad tablet computers into classroom activities in higher education settings. At this roundtable, representatives from the working group and the instructional technology support team with whom they are working will discuss with their peers what they have learned about implementing a project of this kind in a teacher education program. Presenters will engage participants in an active discussion of their own experience, knowledge and ideas. Topics will include implications for teaching methods, student response and outcomes, and the logistics required to ensure the success of an initiative of this kind. Introduction Technological Context: the Rise of the iPad Apple Inc. first introduced the iPad to consumers in the spring of 2010, and within a year, introduced a second iteration of the device. Similar in look and feel to the wildly popular iPhone, the 9.7” iPad is a touch-screen tablet that reacts to a user’s finger or stylus (Apple.com 2011). While it has an onscreen keyboard, external keyboards can also be attached. The iPad 2 includes both a front and rear camera for taking still pictures, video, and for use as a webcam. Thousands of apps have been developed for the iPad. Some of these are versions of iPhone applications, but many are programmed specifically for iPad. The sheer number of available applications gives the iPad a clear advantage over Android and Windows-based tablets in the educational market. The sheer number of iPads in circulation also gives Apple an advantage. In fact, 3 million had sold within the first three months alone (Murphy 2011). Both K12 and higher education institutions took interest in the iPad’s potential ability to compliment instruction in the classroom. Before the official launch of the iPad, scholarly bloggers and researchers were already debating its possible affordances in teaching and learning. Larry Cuban is quoted in a NY Times (2011) article as saying, “iPads are marvelous tools to engage kids, but then the novelty wears off, and you get into hard-core issues of teaching and learning. ”(Hu 2011) On January 4, 2011, a mere 8 months after the original iPad was released, the NY Times reported that students in Roslyn Heights, New York were carrying iPads to school (Hu 2011). These were not gifts from their parents or Santa. Instead, the devices were given out like textbooks through the school. The schools argued that sending home iPads instead of textbooks, would allow students access to not only reading and practice materials, but the Internet for emailing teachers and finding teacher’s websites. Additionally, they felt the device could act as a digital portfolio for each student (Hu 2011). This is not an isolated event. Students in Millburn, New Jersey, the New York City public schools, Chicago public schools Virginia, California, and even kindergarteners in Arizona had received or gained access to iPads at the time of this NY Times publication in January, 2011. Textbook providers such as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are working with Apple to provide ebook versions, and offering to conduct comparison studies on student performance in paper vs. electronic format (Hu 2011).