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.
Both my parents (int their late 70s) use Kindle tablets. They really like them and find them easy to navigate, learn, and read from.
ReplyDeleteTablets are the best for learning. My daughter has an ipad that has this game and app called OSmo. It is great for kids, it teaches them art, counting, puzzles and more. There is this one game that allows her to run her own pizza shop and she has to count back the correct change to the customers after they eat the pizza she makes for them. It is really innovating and great for students to learn about money.
ReplyDeleteHi Kinney,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. It sounds like a very educational game for your daughter to learn from. The pizza shop game sounds really cute and fun!
Tablets seemed to have taken over. When the iPad first came out I thought it was a fluke. Just a big piece of glass. Developers have really turned it into something special. The screen size and low weight make the perfect mobile device in many respects. Students love them because they have the functionality of a computer, but the bulkiness is gone. It will be interesting to see how they are further developed.
ReplyDeleteWonderful article. Fascinating to read. I love to read such an excellent article. Thanks! It has made my task more and extra easy. Keep rocking. tablet for visually impaired
ReplyDelete