MCOM 356 Media in Society International - Grier

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About This Article

This article describes how mobile computing, specifically tablets, was piloted in Prof. Tom Grier's MCOM xxx to transform teaching and learning.

Intended Audience

WSU instructors interested in past faculty experience with tablet devices in the classroom.

Summer 2013 iPad Pilot

Students in this course had access to an iPad tablet to use throughout the spring semester along with several apps selected by Dr. Grier for use in class and in the field.

How the iPads are Used in MCOM 356

Funny story. Professor Grier took a group of students to the Southwest as part of a continuing project to interview and document the elders of the Navajo Nation. The trip includes a lot of technology: video cameras for recording the interviews, laptops for editing, creating, and publishing, still cameras, and more. Dr. Grier had no plans to take iPads, too, until one of his students asked if it would be possible.

Professor Grier asked for iPads for the group, not exactly sure how he was going to use them in the classwork. What happened was fascinating.

One of the students decided to video parts of the trip using the iPad. He captured highlights, edited with iMovie on the iPad, added some music, and posted the videos to a blog. The students loved what they saw and the parents begged for more. (Seems parents like to keep up with what their kids do when they are on trips. Who would've guessed?)

Before long, other students (and Professor Grier) were also recorded the daily activities and sharing with the blog author. In Dr. Grier's words, he knew he had arrived when some of his video made it into the daily video blog.

What developed was a brand new facet of the course, a collaborative piece that served as a learning experience in communication and a way to record and archive the entire journey.

Outcomes

Changes in the classroom

The iPads did not replace a single piece of technology taken on the trip. Instead, the iPads gave the students, Professor Grier, and the parents something very new and exciting. They had a daily journal of the activities as a means to document their work and reminisce after they were home.

Recommendations

Dr. Grier recommends using iPads during travel as a vehicle for documenting what happens on the trip. Between the still camera, the video camera, the editing capabilities, and the simple posting mechanism, iPads are a very powerful tool for recording, collaborating, journaling, and communicating.

iPad Applications Employed in MCOM 356

Professor Grier used the following applications in his MCOM 356 iPad pilot:

  • iMovie

Descriptions, pricing, and links to iTunes for each of these applications is available on the iPad Pilot Applications page.

More Information

Related Wiki Topics


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