iPad Faculty Pilot Announcement Choate Rosemary Hall, February 15, 2011 Description We would like to place iPads in the hands of 12 faculty members, selected by application process, and with preference given to a broad departmental distribution. There would be a requirement that those selected are committed to make considerable use of the iPad in the classroom. Recipients of these iPads would be trained to effectively use the iPad in the classroom, learning several non-‐discipline specific, projection capable applications such as a web browser, note taking or whiteboard software, a document reader, PDF annotator, and video player application. There would also be instruction regarding document creation, storage, and retrieval. Each iPad recipient would also receive monetary credit to permit the purchase of iPad apps specific to one's academic subject matter. A wiki will be created as a resource for iPad pilot participants, and each will be asked to keep a journal of his or her classroom experiences, detailing successes, challenges, and frustrations. Joel will manage and monitor this wiki, providing supplemental group or individual professional development where appropriate. If the textbooks/books for a given teacher's courses are available in eBook format, we will recommend that a digital copy of the book be loaded on the iPad, using one of the many eBook reader apps for access. This will permit the teacher to evaluate the use of electronic versions of books as well. At the end of the pilot project, each teacher will be expected to use their wiki notes to create a final report answering several key questions that will be developed as the pilot progresses, as well as the following: • Is the iPad an effective adjunct teaching and learning device that will easily supplement a laptop? Does it provide functionality that cannot be achieved or is difficult to achieve on a laptop? • Is the iPad an effective primary teaching and learning device that will ultimately replace a laptop? Does it provide sufficient functionality to be used in a classroom instead of a laptop? • What iPad apps, if any, did you use that you believe could positively impact the student learning experience? Explain. • Is the iPad an effective eBook platform for the reading of primary texts in your course? Did students find the iPad readers to provide a better, worse, or equivalent reading and note-‐taking experience when compared with conventional books? Thus, if the iPad pilot is successful, the school will have a better understanding of how the iPad or other second-‐generation tablets might fit as a teaching and learning tool at Choate. Upon conclusion of the pilot and submission of final reports, the pilot
program participants will suggest how the iPads might be used following completion of the program. Proposal Rationale 1. The iPad is the first instant on, tablet-‐computing device that has the potential to transform the classroom. a. Thousands of educational apps at no cost or very low cost. b. Cost per unit is lower than laptops. c. Form factor is smaller and lighter than laptops. The flat tablet means no physical barrier between teacher and student. d. Battery life is such that one can easily teach an entire day without recharging. e. "Instant on" eliminates unnecessary delays at the beginning of or during class. 2. With two apps, Print Central and WritePad, the iPad can do almost everything a Tablet PC can do except run some very specialized applications and render Flash web pages. a. If a teacher had course books in digital form, used the extensive note-‐ taking capabilities of the iPad, and used some of the core applications for other classroom activities, there would be no reason to carry anything else to class. The benefits of keeping all professional work in "the cloud" and having access from the iPad are extremely compelling. 3. The iPad is a device that was designed with children in mind (kinesthetic, visual, auditory, engaging). Some of the most popular applications are used at the K-‐5 level. Laptops were designed for adults. Background The iPad is a next generation tablet-‐computing device that was introduced by Apple Computer on April 3, 2010. The device was initially marketed as a platform for audio-‐visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. At about 1.5 pounds and 9.7 inches diagonally, its size and weight fall between those of smart phones and laptops. In 2010, between 8 and 14 million iPads were sold worldwide, with 36 million projected for 2011. Since Choate was a pioneer in the successful piloting of a Tablet PC program in 2005, the opportunities for success piloting an iPad program are many. First generation Tablet PCs were essentially Windows laptops designed to support handwriting, with rudimentary handwriting recognition capabilities. Because they were underpowered, rich media applications did not run well, and the primary applications used by teachers were in-‐class note taking and the creation of math and
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science problem solutions. The initial slow performance of the Tablet PCs discouraged third party software development. Most of the popular Tablet PC applications today are the same ones used five years ago. The iPad does much of what a Tablet PC did, with the addition of a touch screen and rich media capabilities. Because the iPad runs the same operating system as the highly successful iPhone (called IOS), over 200,000 applications have already been created, and while the iPad has a handful of "built-‐in limitations," any application developer has the ability to supersede those limitations. The only significant obstacle remaining is Apple's resistance to including Adobe Flash support in the operating system. Other second generation tablets running the Android and Windows operating systems are being introduced in 2011, but the iPad currently dominates the market for this type of device, and Apple will introduce a second generation product during the first half of 2011 that is thinner, lighter, has an even higher quality screen, and includes a camera. A number of students and faculty members have already purchased iPads for personal use, and several students have asked about purchasing eBooks and using the note-‐taking capabilities of the iPad in the classroom. There are literally hundreds of educational applications available for every academic discipline, and the challenge of the iPad experience is having the time to test each one of them. iPad applications range in price from zero to about $25.00, with most of the apps averaging less than $5.00. Information Sessions There will be two identical information sessions offered for those interested in applying for the iPad pilot. Each session will introduce participants to the iPad, explain its basic operation, and demonstrate a few of the apps that might be most useful to a teacher in a classroom environment. There will also be an opportunity to answer questions and a sample iPad to pass around for those who have never touched one before. Remember that the iPad was designed for the consumer market with an expectation that it will be useful to the buyer within minutes after purchase. There is a user guide, but most iPad users say it is not necessary. The information sessions will be held on the following dates in Room 123, Humanities Building: • Tuesday, February 22 – 5:00 pm • Monday, February 28 – 9:00 am
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