Faculty Starter Application Set

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About This Article

WSU offers Tablets to all students that are part of the E-Warrior: Digital Life and Learning program. These tablet devices can be valuable educational tools when integrated fully into the curriculum. This article gives some examples of tablet applications that can be used as a vehicle to ease into using tablets in class. It is intended for WSU instructors interested in integrating tablet technology into their curricula.

Okay, so I have a tablet, now what?

Great question.

As described in the Integrating Tablets Into the Curriculum article, adding mobile computing to the curriculum can happen at many levels. In this article, we are going to take brief look at several applications and how they can be used to introduce mobile computing as part of the educational experience.

It is important to note that while mobile computing, especially tablets, can be a powerful educational tool, they do not need to be used every day to be effective. Having said that, tablets can be used whenever it is appropriate and whenever they allow for enhanced teaching and learning. Using Tablets regularly is just taking one step further into our increasingly technological world.

Selecting a good place to start

Here are some examples of low-impact ways tablets and mobile computing can be used in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning. These are all straightforward mechanisms that can be added with relative ease. If you are looking to try tablet technology and aren't sure where to start, take a look at the ideas below and pick the one that best fits your style and your class. You can give any of these a try and, if it isn't for you, go right back to the way you did it before with little or no impact.

Making the class more interactive and engaging

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Why?

  • Interactivity: Poll your students at any time and collect their responses immediately, either in class or as homework outside of class.
  • Engagement: Active learning is much more engaging to the students than passively listening to a lecture. Get the students thinking and contributing (even the shy ones) during the class session.
  • Ensuring comprehension: Check on comprehension at key points in your presentation. If the students do not demonstrate the knowledge, you can clear things up right away before they are lost.
  • Accountability: Student participation and comprehension can be collected and assessed by Top Hat and scored directly into the D2L gradebook.

How?

Because the university has paid for the license, there is no cost to the faculty or the students to use it. Also, because Top Hat uses technology the students already have through the eWarrior Digital Life and Learning program, there is no need for the students to purchase expensive clicker devices.

For more information

  • Read the Top Hat article in this Wiki.
  • Visit the Top Hat web site.
  • Learn more about the Top Hat application for iOS and Android.

Offering electronic textbooks

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Why?

  • Portability: eBooks take up no extra space in the backpack, so students will always have their textbooks as long as they carry their tablet. No more not having the book when it is needed.
  • Interactivity: Many eBooks include feature like posting questions to the professor through the book, creating flashcards for studying, comprehension quizzes, videos, note/annotation sharing and more.
  • Always the most up-to-date information: Unlike printed books, new information can be added to an eBook at any time and a new copy downloaded. No more having to wait for the next edition to correct typos or gain new knowledge.
  • Cost savings to the student: eBooks tend to cost less (often much less) than the equivalent printed version. This cost savings is very popular with the students (and their parents). eBooks can often be purchased or rented at the discretion of the student.

How?

  • Visit the WSU Bookstore, they have access to electronic versions of many of the popular textbooks used on campus.
  • Search your publisher's web site.
  • Search other sources, like Amazon, for eBooks. Google is also a great source.
  • Pass the information on the eBook and the required reader to your students. (Information on the required reader is available from the publisher or distributor.)

There are also many sources for Open Educational Resources (OERs) on the Internet. Organizations like the OER Commons are great places to find free materials.

For more information

  • Read the eBook and eReader article in this Wiki.
  • The WSU Bookstore is a great resource for finding and evaluating electronic textbooks.
  • Amazon sells Kindle versions of textbooks.
  • Apple iTunes sells iBooks versions of textbooks. These can be very interactive.
  • CourseLoad texts are sold through the WSU Bookstore. CourseLoad is very open to adding new texts to their offerings.
  • CourseSmart sells electronic textbooks that are highly collaborative.

Finding a substitute for the same old written paper

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Why?

  • Encourage creative and critical thought: Producing video essays, while it shares many crucial steps with writing, uses a whole new set of skills and problem-solving techniques. It will push your students up the Bloom's Taxonomy ladder.
  • See what your students see: See the actual footage of interviews, creative thought processes, supporting thoughts and data, and much more. It is often easier to convey thought and perspective through imagery than on paper.
  • Have something to assess other than a stack of essays: Variety is the spice of life for you and your students.

How?

  • Assign the essay. (Just like with a written paper.)
  • Have the students create an outline. (Check out storyboarding applications. Storyboards are a visual means to organizing the content, kind of like panels in a comic book.)
  • The students shoot, edit, and submit, all through their tablets.
  • Make some popcorn, kick back, and enjoy the show.

For more information

Using video instruction

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Why?

  • Save time: Why reinvent the wheel when there are a plethora of professionally-done videos out there that can be used in and out of the classroom?
  • Use only the newest information: Rather than having to re-record new videos every time new information comes available, let someone else do it for you. All you have to do is link to the newest, freshest content.
  • Flip your classroom: You can use prerecorded videos as outside-the-classroom asignments and then have time in class to work with students to grow knowledge and re-enforce concepts.
  • Encourage student self-investigation: Once students become accustomed to your chosen sources as reliable repositories for information, they will use the assigned videos to review assigned lessons and search for additional videos on the subject.

How?

  • Check out LinkedIn Learning. All content is free to you and your students.
  • Search for videos from other sources on the Net. Some great sources include Khan Academy, TED Talks, PBS, NASA, and the Library of Congress. Other sources, like YouTube, can also contain materials that can be used in class.
  • Add links to your selected videos to your class. These videos make great additions, bringing in multiple views and perspectives while eliminating the need to lecture on the topic.

For more information

  • Khan Academy offers free videos on many STEM, business, project management, and liberal-arts areas, all self-paced and ready to go. All free of charge.
  • Ted Talks is a great source for prerecorded professional presentations on many subjects. These are free to use.
  • iTunes U has recorded materials from many of the leading educational institutions in the country (including WSU) ready too use free of charge.

Checking your email and using your calendar

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Why?

  • All the power of Outlook: The Mail and Calendar applications sync directly to your WSU Outlook account (and any other personal accounts you might have) to let you stay in contact with the world.
  • None of the weight of the laptop: No need to carry that bulky laptop around for checking email and calendar appointments. Just grab the iPad and go.
  • Create an appointment here, get the reminder there: Because everything still goes through your Outlook account, you can create appointments or answer emails from any device and all your devices will reflect your hard work.

How?

Mail and Calendar were synched to your Outlook account when your iPad was configured. Just open the apps and go.

You will find the Calendar app on the first home page and the Mail app on the bar at the bottom of the display.

For more information

More Information

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