iPads and Mobile Computing in Education

This presentation has gone through three incarnations, and each of the three has been a different experience.

There are two programs at Loyola University Chicago that involve iPads or other tablets being issued to students, specifically for course work. All told, Alma has prepared and delivered five such presentations and developed an in-depth online training and support resource for anyone interested in using a tablet or mobile device in their courses.

The training presentations featured custom decks.

Using Articulate Studio software, the training was interactive.

Each section included an assessment to ensure the comprehension of the key points illustrated.

Initially, three full time staff members presented to a combined group of forty students, the features of iPad 2s, how to operate them, find support, and configure them to work with the University email and wireless network.

In the second iteration, Alma presented alone to each of the two programs, showing even more content, such as how to best access university services like our LMS and Peoplesoft portal. In tandem with this presentation, Alma worked with the student workers she supervises and created a bevy of online training resources, coming to a total of 27 modules. Content was gathered during the summer of 2013, complete with tutorial videos, and compiled using Articulate Studio 8 and organized as a curriculum within Adobe Connect.

In the third instance of this presentation, Alma completely re-adapted the presentation as the programs opted to provide a Windows 8 tablet (decreasing the compatibility issues with online resources and office document editing). This new presentation included details specific to how the tablet is like a computer, but still like a phone or tablet. Specifically, it covered recommendations for power management, “printing” while mobile, and collaboration through the cloud.