Tablet Computing
It is convenient
for students to carry a tablet computer with them for classes. It can go easily
from one class to another. Tablets can access textbooks, videos, movies,
YouTube, music, and many different apps for note taking, studying, and so on. It
is a personalized learning environment. Some schools are rethinking computer
labs, as it is so easy to bring a tablet to school. "With their growing number of features, tablets give
traction to other educational technologies - from facilitating the real-time
data mining needed to support learning analytics to offering a plethora of
game-based learning apps, " (J. Homes, 2014). The author shares with us
some ways that tablets are being incorporated into classrooms.
"Art: At Plymouth University in the UK, students working toward
their Illustration degree are using iPads with an illustration app called
Brushes to produce drawings that can be played back as video. This activity is
encouraging reflection and discussion on the drawing process and enabling
students to contrast techniques and highlight and correct any bad habits.
Science: Students at Redlands College in Australia are using tablets
to collect and share data on indigenous rocks; geology majors at the College of
Wooster in Ohio are using them to take and annotate photos of Icelandic
terrain; and instructors at Yale University are sharing images from their
digital microscopes with students’ iPads through mobile apps so that they can
annotate and capture images for future use.
Journalism: Professor Messner at Virginia Commonwealth University
secured iPads for his students so they could create multimedia news stories
from happenings on campus and in the surrounding community. The students
learned the importance of social media in journalism and found the iPad useful
for gathering news and sources.
Special Needs: Vanderbilt University graduate students are designing an
Android app that enables visually impaired students to learn math. Using haptic
technology integrated into new touchscreen devices, the vibrations and audio
feedback help students feel and hear shapes and diagrams," (J. Homes,
2014).
I see the many benefits of using
tablets in the classroom. I know that any type of technology can be distracting
if not used in a proper pedagogical manner. Educators will set the tone and
example for using this kind of technology in class.
