The Center for Instructional Technology maintains a pool of approximately 125 iPads and iPad2s dedicated to student/faculty use in semester-long courses. Interested Duke faculty whose instructional goals are compatible with CIT’s annual investigative goals as listed below may submit an application to use iPads in their class. First consideration will be given to applications received before June 8, 2012. Additional information and a link to the application can be found on the iPad Course Loan page.
During the 2012–13 academic year, CIT invites faculty to join us in investigating iPads and their impact on students’ educational experience in the following ways:
1. Using iPads to Engage Students In Class
This year, CIT will loan iPads to faculty (and students enrolled in their class) who agree to integrate apps designed specifically for use inside the classroom into their curricula and report their results regarding the experience back to CIT.
iPads and other mobile devices have great potential to increase engagement during face-to-face class meetings. A number of applications have been developed that facilitate this. LectureTools and Nearpod, among others, allow faculty to share presentation materials with students and engage in real-time assessment through quizzes and polling. Students can also make notes on presentation materials and refer back to these when studying outside of class.
Interested faculty members can learn more about iPad apps that engage students in class during an upcoming lunch workshop, Wednesday, May 9th at noon. More information and a link to register can be found on the CIT Events Page.
2. e-Textbooks – Producing and Consuming
CIT will loan iPads to faculty who agree to use iBooks Author, or a similar program, to build an e-textbook to use with future classes, or to faculty (and students enrolled in their class) who agree to use e-textbooks to replace traditional course materials. Faculty whose applications are accepted will be asked to share information about their experience using the iPads with CIT.
CIT is continuing to investigate the use of e-textbooks in place of more traditional course materials such as printed textbooks and course packs. E-textbook publishers are continually improving their delivery applications over time in response to a general feeling among students that current solutions are difficult to interact with (navigating, taking notes, bookmarking). Additionally, programs like Apple’s iBooks Author now allow instructors to quickly and easily create course materials that can be delivered to students via the iPad and other devices.