Tablets everywhere

The NMC Horizon Report Higher Education Edition released earlier this month, identified six technologies most likely to go mainstream in Higher Education. The report divided the technologies into three adoption horizons; near term (12 months), mid-term (2-3 years) and far-term (4-5 years):

• Near-term horizon – mobile apps and tablet computing;
• Mid-term horizon – game based learning and learning analytics;
• Far-term horizon – gesture based computing and “The Internet of Things”  (smart objects in the physical world  ubiquitously connected to local networks and the internet).

Today we are going to look at tablets.

Tablets

It’s hard to believe that the iPad has only been commercially available since March 2010.

The late Steve Jobs introduced it to the world as a new category of device – a tablet – that is neither a mobile phone nor a laptop computer.

Two years later the tablet, and particularly the iPad, has seeped into public consciousness and is making inroads into mainstream adoption in higher education. As the report puts it:

“”Led by the category-defining phenomenon that is the Apple iPad, tablets have earned their own listing in the NMC Horizon report this year, completely distinct from mobiles.”

NMC Horizon Horizon Report, page 9.

Combined with the app ecosystem described in other parts of the report, tablets have a number of qualities that lend themselves to education: Consider the following:

• Portability – the 10.1 inch Samsung Galaxy, for example, weighs just 590g
• Instant bootup, long battery life and ubiquitous connectivity
• The tablet as an ebook reader for interactive electronic textbooks
• Video and audio playback allowing lecture catch-up and student generated content
• In-built cameras and microphones for instant communication at a distance
• Web and literature searches through the tablet’s browser
• Affordable subject-specific and interactive apps e.g. anatomy apps for medical students
• Social media apps such as Twitter and Facebook for collaboration
• Creativity apps e.g. Garageband for music students
• Note-taking apps e.g. Evernote
• Touch control for tactile learning
• An optimised screen size for learning

As a multi-purpose and convenient device, its potential for learning is impossible to ignore. This, however, poses a number of challenges:

What device to support?

The iPad has a huge market share and an extensive educational app ecosystem. The rest of the tablet market is split between five or six vendors, which do not yet have the same access to educational apps. Should universities be encouraging or subsidising the purchase of iPads to the detriment of other tablets? Some institutions, such as the University of Adelaide, are doing just that.

The alternative is to follow the “bring your own device” model. However, there are hidden costs potentially associated with this model, including security costs and the additional IT support required to service a number of different types of tablets all trying to access the university network at one time.

How should the tablet be embedded into course design?

The Horizon report showcases some innovative approaches. The cadavar laboratories at the University of California, Irvine for example, is utilising a suite of apps loaded onto an iPad to supplement traditional approaches to the teaching of medicine.

Human anatomy apps and drug and disease reference materials are instantly available to the student in the laboratory, giving the potential to provide a rich and sustained learning experience that could reduce costs – a virtual dissection using an anatomy app perhaps?

As aforementioned, the tablet has many qualities that facilitate student enquiry, creativity, collaboration and digital literacy, which are highly regarded skills  by employers in the modern workplace.

On the other hand, universities have invested large sums of money in their learning management systems that can be delivered to (currently) cheaper devices such as notebooks through a browser; so where do tablets fit in?

Some vendors, such as Blackboard, are fully focussed on providing a mobile tablet experience, but the question remains, to what extent tutors should be embedding or encouraging tablet use beyond the LMS.

In conclusion

The 2012 Horizon Report is confident that this is the year of the tablet in Higher Education.

As tablets continue to gain traction through some great initiatives and research pilots, universities will need to make some serious policy decisions around tablets and other mobile devices in the near future.

Neil Martin, Learning Technologist

Image Credit: clasesdeperiodismo, Boom de Tablets used under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial-Sharealike 2.0 Licence.