iPads in the Classroom

Enhancing teaching and Learning with iPads

November 25, 2013
by mary.simone
0 comments

BYOD/MOBILE

          When students want to get information, they  grab their phones and turn to wikipedia for answers.  They do random word searches and whole sentence searches in Google. However, if students want to  search academic databases for information, they need to know  different search strategies  such as:(1) what databases would be most valuable to search for what content material, and (1) how to do Boolean searches.  Because the Healey Library has access to  digitized  academic and field specific journals and databases, students  today can use their smartphone, laptop and tablet to access information from a universe of reputable sources. Our Healey Librarians  can show them how.

          On November 20, the iPad in the Classroom event  co-sponsored by IT and the Healey Library  demonstrated to faculty  how,  through using mobile devices, students can get valuable research information.   Teresa Maceira and  Mary Moser explained  that reference librarians are available to visit  faculty classrooms to show students how to do this. During the media event, they explained their  collaboration with  Professor Victoria Kingsley’s English 101 courses.  Prof. Kingsley has been a participant in the iPad in the Classroom program for two years.  Reference librarians visited her  classrooms that use the  iPad cart   to provide   students with hands-on experience with   online searches.  Prof. Kingsley explained that her students have retained their knowledge about journal and database search techniques much more from these hands-on exercises with the iPads and other mobile devices.  Clearly, the interactivist model engages and empowers students by reinforcing new learning skills through experimentation.

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November 13, 2013
by mary.simone
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Bring Your Own Device” to the Library Research Classroom: November 20

Announcement

Bring Your Own Device” to the Library Research Classroom   with Victoria Kingsley, English Department, and Healey librarians

Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Time: 2:00-3:30pm
Location: Presentation Room 2 (Healey, Lower Level, 019)
 BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) to the mobile library research classroom (or borrow one of ours–devices will be provided!) and see how mobile devices transform teaching and learning when library resources are involved. Victoria Kingsley (English Department), and Healey Reference, Outreach, and Instruction librarians will recreate a recent partnership integrating iPads into library research instruction. In this session, YOU will be the students. We will explore the following questions together: Do mobile devices help or hinder student engagement and student learning? How accessible are library resources from these devices? Is this a model that all classes should follow? How are the instructor, librarian, and student experiences different with the BYOD approach than with a computer lab or a traditional lecture? Is classroom control an issue? What about the digital divide and students who may not have devices of their own? Explore the possibilities of these devices for your classroom, pedagogy, and teaching practice
 
RSVP to MaryMoser, Head of Reference, Outreach, Instruction, and Public Services at Healey Library. Light refreshments will be served


October 15, 2013
by mary.simone
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Return of the iPad: Developments

This Fall 2013, we added another cart to our iPad in the Classroom program: one cart is deployed from Wheatley, the other from McCormack Media Labs.  Each week as many as  700 students from 20 courses  use   a variety of  iPad apps to do classroom assignments.  Professors Tara Ashok from Biology, Megan Klein Hattori from Sociology, Mary Lu Love from Education and Tracy Brown from ESL have joined our program, as have two additional reference Librarians: Janet  DiPaolo and  Danitta Wong.  Some new apps which we  have purchased  this year include:

Book Creator for iPad
Turbo Scanner
Radiolab
iCatcher! podcast app
Quickoffice Pro HD – edit office documents & view PDF files
Inspiration Maps
OnScreen Retrovirus
OnScreen DNA Replication
OnScreen Gene Transcription
OnScreen DNA Model
Notability
Inspiration Maps
Quickoffice Pro HD – edit office documents & view PDF files
OnScreen Retrovirus
OnScreen Retrovirus
OnScreen Gene Transcription

There have been many recent innovations in classroom use of the iPad.   Elementary spanish 101 has adopted Pearson’s ebook   for  the Hoy Dia   text.   Professor Susan Mraz uses  iPads in her Spa 101, section 5 course so her students can access all the audio and video materials from the e-book through the Pearson eText app.   Head Reference Librarian Mary Moser  along with other  reference librarians Teresa Maceira, Danitta Wong, Tina Mullins and Janet DiPaolo  have visited classrooms  to demonstrate how students and faculty  are able to access Library  materials on their iPads and other mobile devices.

IT and the Healey Library  are showcasing  Professor Victoria Kingsley  and the reference librarians  who will demonstrate how to access Library e-materials for teaching and research with mobile devices. Their demonstration  will take place in the  ITC,  located on the Lower Level of the Healey Library in Presentation Room 2 from 2:00pm to 3:30 on November 20.

 Professor Rebecca Romanow’s  students  in  Freshman Honor’s English have subscribed to The Week Magazine US   in  digital form  in order to use the iPad app  in class  to read,  analyze and critique current issues  together  as well as annotate  articles for use in later writing assignments.   During this fall,  we hope to have blog contributions from the various professors in the iPad in the Classroom program to share with faculty how various apps have added value to teaching pedagogy and student learning.

 

March 1, 2013
by mary.simone
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iPad in the Classroom Luncheon

Demonstration by Professor Brian Rogan, iPad in the Classroom Discussion Group, Feb 25, 2013

Many participants  in the iPad in the Classroom program were able to attend a discussion group luncheon on  February 25 to share the creative ways they are using the iPad in their teaching and research through their presentations and comments. Check out their  presentations and comments!

Mary Simone, project manager of iPad in the Classroom moderated the discussion with participants, technical support team members, and Apurva Mehta, Director of  IT Educational Technology and University Librarian, Daniel Ortiz who emphasized the the potential of mobile technology to enhance faculty teaching and student learning at UMASS Boston.  During lunch, each participant  sat around a discussion table while each one in turn projected  the content of  their  iPad to a large  screen for all to see.  The iPads connected to   the Mobile2 wireless network through an App called Reflector installed on a laptop connected via a dongle to the overhead projector. Venu Garjjala, graduate student at the Digital Learning Studio, and technical lead for the iPad in the Classroom program provided technical support for the event.  John Mazzarella demonstrated how to connect the iPad to Mobile 2 network.

Participants who presented at the lunch recorded  their presentations through  Camtasia Relay software installed on the laptop connected to the projector.  Participants passed a wireless microphone among one another during the recording so we were able to capture both iPad screen content and presenters’ audio comments on the recording.

The next iPad Discussion group takes place on March 14 from  12:30pm-2:00pm

January 25, 2013
by mary.simone
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Spring 2013: New Developments

iPad in the Classroom Team: left to right are Venu Gajjala, Brian Butler, Mary Simone, John Mazzarella

The iPad in the Classroom  team is looking forward to a great spring semester! Our  program continues to support the deployment of the iPad cart to several new courses. Our Fall semester had plenty of challenges and many interesting discoveries about how iPads are being used by Professors in their classes.  Check out Professor Ellie Kutz’s article on   Professors Victoria Kingsley and Rebecca Romanow’s  classes.

iPad cart deployment schedule for Spring 2013

NEW DEVELOPMENTS FOR SPRING 2013

Additional  apps have been installed on the iPads as requested by Professors in the program . So far, our support team has expanded app content on iPads to include  two new free apps “Pocket” and “BlueFire Reader.”  Pocket connects to every device and is an easy way to mark a page or a link to look up later. Once configured for the iPad, “Pocket” works flawlessly within the Safari browser on any web page.  Blue Fire reader is an app that   can open texts in  Adobe Digital Editions and other  eBooks  available from elibrary and iBooks used in Professor Rebecca Romanow’s Honors English course.    Janet Stewart  of the Healey library has already purchased Katherine Boo’s  Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity which will be available to students on their iPads after they log in with a library barcode.  The library is looking into the purchase of one other book available from  iBooks for this course   Another new app installed on all the iPads on the cart is iaWriter which was voted the best text editor app for 2011.  Theresa Maceira of the Healey Library has been doing research on the interoperability of databases on the iPad.  You can review her  spreadsheet iPad_interoperability with databases

The iPad in the Classroom team will also be supporting Professor Steven Ackerman as he attempts to incorporate the iPad to mirror projected lecture content from his iPad to his laptop where he captures his lectures with Camtasia Relay in order for his students to be able to review his lectures online after class. Also, Professor Brian Rogan  will be using the new app “Reflector” in order for his PC to mirror the content on the ipad to his laptop.

We are planning  a coffee Klatch  focus group for February so that all iPad in the Classroom participants can share their great ideas and experiences with one another. Welcome back to all of you!

November 16, 2012
by Jessica
0 comments

iPads in Music Theory

As the liaison for David Patterson’s Music Theory class I have attended all of his Friday sessions and assisted with the use of the iPad in the classroom. Thinking ahead of how I would respond to the blog questions I decided the best way to show people what was happening in the class, was to make a video so I began setting up my iPhone 4S and shooting video of our activities. Enjoy!

 

November 9, 2012
by mary.simone
5 Comments

Week 9: Reflection and Feedback

Your comments ARE important!

Our  iPad in the Classroom Program needs feedback  from you.  Now that we have reached midsemester,  we need to  collect some information from  participants about how you have been using iPads.    We would like to know about  participants’ experience using the devices. We want  your  suggestions about how to improve the present model for deployment of the iPads to students in the library and in the classroom

We have asked IT liaisons to contact  participants to discuss with you  the kinds of iPad activities  you are using iPads for.    We hope that participants will welcome IT liaisons to visit your classrooms to observe firsthand  how students have been using the iPads in the classroom.  Meetings between participants and liaisons will also be a good time  for participants to discuss training needs, assess the apps you have used, whether you need different apps, sturdier iPad covers or peripherals like  VGA adpators. This is also a good time for you to let us know whether you plan to continue in the program next semester.

As a follow up to your meetings,   we would like you and your  IT liasion to post a brief comment  under the Week 9 post.  You are welcome, of course, to create a separate post on this blog  instead .  Please take a moment to share with all of us  your  perspective about use of the iPad and/or the mobile cart.

PLEASE POST  YOUR COMMENTS BY NOVEMBER 15.

We will using your posts to create a brief evaluation survey that will be sent out to participants at the end of the semester.

 

 

 

October 26, 2012
by mary.simone
0 comments

Week 7: Journey

Let us go on………

Journeymen and women,

A lot has happened over the last couple of weeks:  The iPad Cart is a fulltime job and has left little time to follow up with the iPad in the Classroom pioneers.  Beginning next week, we would like to visit our participants who are teaching in the classroom to (1) find out how you are using the iPad (2) what training and support you need and (3) whether you need any more apps.  I sent out an email a few minutes ago to participants and liaisons to meet together before November 15, and to post their findings on this blog.

Before you read the content of this email, I would like to let you know that the deployment of the iPads has required cooperation from many of our support staff in training and operation areas.  We are hoping that you will be open to contributing your observations and experiences so that we can evaluate our deployment model and adapt it.  Given our resources, we may have to scale back on this program and/or redefine its scope and budget. Please share your experience of the program with your IT liaison, and please take a moment to let us all know through this blog about the services and support you have received and would like to receive.

 

Greetings  Professors and Liaisons,

It has been 7 weeks since we began the iPad in the Classroom pilot.   The following email icontains a  brief update and Next Steps request.

 UPDATE

1.  The iPad Cart is being deployed to 10 courses.  Professor and Student iPads have had almost all apps installed.

2.  Beginning Monday,   October 29, the Healey Library Reserve will  only circulate iPads to students registered in courses that use the iPad Mobile Cart. Students must present a valid UMASS ID, and provide information about the course in which they are enrolled and the professor’s name.

3.  We have hired Brian Butler to assist us on Wednesdays and Thursdays with the iPad cart, and iPad installations.

4.  All the iPads on the cart have new covers.

 

NEXT STEPS:    Purchase of Apps, IT Liaison Classroom visits, Blog updates

1.  EDTECH Liaisons :  PLEASE READ AND RESPOND BY NOVEMBER 15

  • Please contact your professors to confer with your iPad in the Classroom Professor on their use  of the iPad  in their courses.
  • Please  ask  to  visit the classroom of your iPad in the Classroom Professor to offer   advice on the apps that we can purchase.
  • Please post information on the blog to inform all participants of  iPad use and needs and to give general feedback about the program to date.
  •  WE VALUE ALL COMMENTS

2. Professors in iPad in the Classroom Program: PLEASE READ AND RESPOND BY NOVEMBER 15

  • Please contact your IT liaison to discuss how you have been using the iPad in your classroom
  • Please let the liaison know if you would like any additional apps.  ( If you have already paid for apps, please  let the Liaison know what you have bought, and whether you have spent personal money , and if  more money is needed for apps .
  •  Please post information on the blog to inform all participants of  your iPad use,  and app and   training   needs and, please   give  general feedback about the program to date.
  •   WE VALUE ALL   COMMENTS

October 15, 2012
by Susan Mraz
4 Comments

Audio issue in class

I’m having a problem connecting the audio cable in the classrooms as the audio jack is on the other side of iPad from the dock and the cables in most classes are too short to reach.  if they reach, it disconnects the projector or I have to work with the cables covering the ipad surface.

Any luck with getting AirPlay to work?

 

S

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