Has interesting chapter on Tablet Computing (page 15) with similar links to K12 report but does give an idea of where Higher Education is going. If we are trying to prepare students for the next stage of their education we should look at this.
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. Transitioning to tablets is relatively
painless for students as they already use them or very
similar devices outside of the classroom to download
apps, connect to their social networks, and surf the
web......."
Also some idea in the chapter of usage of tablets in universities.
It's really exciting to be able to announce our research into the use of iPads. After a successful implementation at Longfield Academy in Kent and two terms of embedded use, the research shows some incredibly positive impacts on teaching and learning. The report on the research, carried out on behalf of Naace and supported by 9ine Consulting is available below. It outlines the conclusions of one of the most extensive studies so far undertaken into the use of tablets for learning. As one teacher put it, "The iPads have revolutionised teaching", with appropriate use of iPads helping to enhance learning across the curriculum and encouraging collaborative learning. Whilst it's early days for evaluating the impact on achievement, there are significant gains in quality and standard of pupil work and progress and potential for extending use even further. As more schools across the country consider adopting the use of tablets in classrooms, the messages from this research will be incredibly helpful for those who are deciding on their next steps.
The critical task is not finding information or stimuli, but organizing, cataloging, archiving, and developing habits and practices to exercise control over our surfeit of opportunity.
How might efforts to curate benefit from the portability and ubiquity of mobile devices? What would a “relevance portfolio” look like, where students catalog their daily encounters with ideas or experiences?
the task of the teacher is no longer to collect and distribute, but to empower students to curate their own collections of intellectual resources.
Evernote is one of the best apps to start to bridge this gap between the digital and physical.
Students can collect, organize and annotate web sites on Diigo, books on GoodReads, photos of Flickr, scholarly references on Zotero, music on SoundCloud, and anything and everything on a Tumblr or WordPress blog.
Touch App Creator allows users to organize eBooks, text, images, and web-based content together into web apps hosted on Google Drive.
In the spirit of Gardner’s beauty journals, we should aim not just to help students get organized, but to closely and intentionally examine what they read, watch, see, hear, and collect.
Excellent article- "The critical task is not finding information or stimuli, but organizing, cataloging, archiving, and developing habits and practices to exercise control over our surfeit of opportunity." So we need to help students get organized (a few key tools highlighted here for this) and "closely and intentionally examine what they read, watch, see, hear, and collect."
parents
more than ever could be key partners in contributing to this new frontier in
learning.
Parent perceptions matter. Their support and influence can smooth the way
for educational technology in schools and help overcome the limitations of
school coffers, without which digital initiatives can stall.
Defining Terms
To ensure parents had a consistent basis for responding to questions
about different types of technology, the survey provided them with these
definitions and examples:
nMobile devices-wireless handheld devices that use Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G to
connect to the Internet, many of which use an operating system such as
iOS, Windows or Android, and can run various types of apps. Examples
include smartphones, tablets, e-readers, and the iPod Touch.
nPortable devices-laptops, notebooks, netbooks, ultrabooks
Many children are using many different devices-and using them often.
Even some pre-K children are using multiple devices. Smartphones are the
most commonly used mobile device; 43 percent of all children (pre-K-12),
and 60 percent of high school students, use a smartphone. One in three
children (34 percent) use tablets. Children use most devices daily or weekly,
with smartphones the most commonly and frequently used device.
This seems to be how a number of US school boards are heading... seems to be more concentrated on management to me but hey?
+ points
Some nice class management features
Simple to Use
Cheap (in comparison to Apple)
Would be much more academic focussed (takes away distraction in class possibly)
- points
Too US centric (curriculum etc)
How easy to tailor make to your curriculum etc.
Android v Apple apps, an issue