Case Study: Using the iPad in the Inquiry Based Learning

The iPad is a key factor in the Foundation in Professional Studies (FiPS) course as it allows the Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) model to function in a way that would be very difficult if not impossible and certainly very, very resource hungry with it.

The Hopkins (2013) IBL model - see http://www.mmiweb.org.uk/hull/site/ibl/ibl_process.html  

The FiPS course this year is running an IBL model using the Hopkins (2013) adaptation of the Justice model (2007) and the Kolb (1984) reflective cycle. This model relies on the students having access to significant resource both before the session and during. The iPad gives that access to the resource in a secure way - resource that includes video, graphics, e-books as well as text. The students then use the device during the sessions to do research and to present ideas to the rest of the group.

Would this be possible without the Pad - well maybe - but it would assume that all students had access to the internet at home (or we would have to provide the resources on a portable data system or in paper format - and this would reduce the resources possible to textual and possible graphic sources). Then during the session we would either again have to provide resource (and significant resource) in a paper format OR we would have to allows students to the library to undertake the tasks which would again be difficult in terms of resource as well as the difficult of managing the time needs for such an exercise.

This gives us both an efficiency and and effectiveness again (McCormack, 2001) and allows us to engage with this innovative pedagogy rather than the lecture and seminar format which has not been successful before - again the iPad is a gateway to more effective learning - and the initial feedback from the tutors is that the quality of dialogue from the students is significantly higher than last year (though of course these are different students).

Case Study: A great example of the iPad usage

The modern language students have been using their iPads to video small examples of practice (e.g. lesson starters) and then take these into school to share with their school mentors.

The ML tutors has done this in years past but the process had been:

Video a student using a video camera >> transfer this video (and edit it) onto a laptop / desktop PC (needing to access video editing software and the appropriate cables to do this) >> then transfer this video either into a piece of online space or onto a memory stick >> transport the memory stick into school >> find a computer in school where the clip could be played (and hope that there was some compatibility between the university video and the school computer (and that the school computer had a suitable video and sound card built in as well as speakers).

Now the process was:

Video using the iPad >> edit on the Pad >> Take the Pad to school >> Show to mentor.

So the basic methodology has not changed, the intention has not changed, the pedagogic purpose has not changed but the ability and opportunity has become considerably easier which means that it has now happened for all students in a simple and easy way and has convinced the students that this is a worthwhile and useful experience.

The first data from the students

Just a couple of weeks into the project ...

So, we are a couple of weeks into the project and we are starting to collect data on usage from the students. We could think about this in a number of ways but in this post I just want to discuss some of the ways that the students are self-reporting on usage - the comments below are taken from the student's reports of usage in the first couple of weeks of the course and after being in their placement schools for the first week. I have grouped these into a few categories which will become more refined as the research continues.

The Pad as a resource access device

This is probably the most significant aspect of the device and also the way in which the course has set up the device to be used. So in the FIPS (Foundation in Professional Studies) aspect of the course the students have been able to access materials in the classrooms without the need for large amounts of paper. This has meant a wider sense of flexibility and the options to personalise the access for the particular need:

"iPod mainly for... FiPS reading, subject method reading and research within subject method sessions"

"looking at Prezis, To do pre-reading without having to print it out/ carry documents around"

"keynote power points during method sessions, research during university based days"

"especially finding it handy for reading downloaded journals "

"I have used iBooks and Pages more than any other apps, these have helped with both reading and writing. Being able to save various documents in iBooks has proven very useful, and it has certainly saved on paper"

"... I do love is the podcasts, I have downloaded many to do with history and listen to them on my way into uni or school" (Hi student)

Taking notes - organising work - making resources

As well as access to resources students have been using the device for taking notes and organising their thinking and also for creating resources:

"taking notes, creating mind-maps" 

"It has helped my learning in that the resources are to hand without having to print them all out, making organisation much easier" 

"used it to make presentations using keynote and to make notes using pages"

"note taking and pre-reading for class" 

"to take pictures of the posters we made in FiPS, and to fill in the journal"

"use the IPad to take pictures for inspiration for future planning and resources"

"I find the iPad very handy to show documents quickly to other people and share information"

"The iPad as been useful when reading articles in class being able to highlight and annotate things on it"

"My favourite app so far though is Paper. I have been using this app to draw pictures that I will then be able to use as my own resources in PowerPoint or active inspire" (Gg student)

"I have also taken photos of some of the work that we have produced in method sessions, e.g. The production of a plant cell" (Sc student) 

Reflective Practice

Some student have been using the device to record themselves (and/or others) and then use this as part of their reflective practice - whilst this was possible previously it is much easier using the device.

"I have had the opportunity to record short starter activities and teaching tasks which have allowed me to critically evaluate the way I teach" (Hi student)

"I recorded my micro-teaching lesson today with my iPad so it will be helpful to have a look at it with my mentor in school and try to raise some aspects that I can improve" (MFL student) 

Classroom usage

The students are starting to go into classrooms and there are some opportunities for them to be able to use the devices in the classroom. Students are also investigating with mentors how these might be able to used wider in the school.

"I used the device to record students where there were not enough dictaphones available" (Gg student)

"Useful apps for the classroom I have downloaded are a name generator and a timer" (En student)

"The ability to draw on top of documents using Skitch is a great alternative for when a Smart board is not available" (En student)

Other applications

As well as the applications that we pre-installed on the devices students have been discovering and using a wide range of apps some of these are:

• QuakeFeed - an earthquake tracker used in Geography (Gg student)
• GraphPlotter - used for plotting 2D and 3D graphs in both cartesian and polar co-ordinates (Ma student)
• Voice Recorder - for recording students (Gg student) 
• Name Generator - to create a random name generator (En student)
• Buzzer - A noise generator to get the attention of the class (Ma student)
• SimpleMind - A mind mapping tool
• Mindmeister - A mind mapping tool
• Pinterest - A data collation and digital curation tool
• Paper - A drawing / writing app that allows you to create your own resources
• Skitch - A overwriting tool used to annotating other documents
• Funny Movie Maker - Animate any image or photo

Some initial issues that have arisen

Of course not everything is wonderful and there issues with formatting, with transference of items from the iPad to other devices and also with keeping track of resources and with access in school:

"I have been having some problems to manage all the information, personally I think that we have access to (so) many information what can make it confusing" (MFL student)

"I have also found that it is easy for me to forget to do things on it, such as the journal as I am not seeing it in my bag everyday like I would have it was in paper format" (MFL student)

"I can't use my I pad at my placement school because I don't have the wifi password yet" (En student)

"I have noticed that it is difficult to keep track of work at it is available in a range of places, and it is quite easy to skip past something when it isn't completed" (MFL student)

"I won't be able to use it in school because they have a no iPad policy" (MFL student)

"It is prohibited in my school" (En student)

"While my placement school has no problem with my use of the iPad within my teaching, they equally prefer working 'on paper' for administrative purposes .. this will therefore require me to copy up their handwritten observation notes onto the digital file" (En student) 

iPads out in schools

So, I must admit to being quite excited to talk to the trainees this week to find out how they have been using their iPads out in schools? Have they been able to access the school systems? Have they been able to use them in the classrooms? How many of them have bought the "dongle" that allows them to connect the iPad to the projector - are there any schools out there using AirPlay or AppleTV?  I feel that this is the first "hurdle" in the iPad race this year. Can't wait till the "children" get home from school!

In other news, as they say, Apple have launched a new section of the Apple Store specifically for teachers. Worth checking out for apps that may be of use ... even if just looking at the free apps.

Known unknowns and unknown unknowns!

This last month or so with the iPads has been a "Rumsfeld" time - we have done all the things we knew about, we have sorted (mostly) the things that we knew we did not know (how to use Configurator, how to use Meraki, how to set up and distribute Apps to 150 machines, how long it takes to unwrap and put covers on 150 machines!) and  now we are into the unknown unknowns time.

The first of these was that there was a conflict between Meraki and Configurator over paid apps (see previous post) then we found out that as we were using a shared Apple ID to distribute free apps some of the students had signed into the cloud using this AppleID and were then sharing other things! We've hopefully solved that one.

Meraki also seems to be doing some funny things - the tracking map showed one device in South Wales and one in London when the students (with their Pads) were in Hull! Still working on that one so if any Meraki wizzes are reading this then please do get in contact (p.hopkins@hull.ac.uk)

Next was the fun of trying to get AppleTV to talk to our university's enterprise wifi - they don't think it can be done as there is a subnet problem with the space we have available - we are working on a solution but it might be March next year before it is solved so no Apple TVs for us until this. So we now need to buy 30pin to VGA connectors in order for the staff to be able to show their Pads onto the projector screen.

However we now how devices out there to the significant majority of the students and to quote a tweet from one of the students "I walked down to the corridor through a sea of iPads" so they are being used. Students are starting to find apps and starting to share these so we are still excited and enthused (if also exhausted) after these weeks. Hopefully the little queues of bods with problems will die down - and there is no doubt that we now know more than we did.

Still looking for others out there in HE who are doing things to share the experiences if you have them.

All the boys and girls

We think we cracked the paid apps problem - thanks to a student ;-) And we are now using them in sessions

Using the iPads in a session

We are also starting to get some great suggestions from students to applications and also for ways to use the device. A couple of my favourites so far include:

1. Facetime conversations with mentors in the university if there is an issue in school that they want to talk about - negating the possible need for the mentor to travel to the placement school
2. Capturing lesson parts (e.g. starters) via video so that these can be shared with the mentor and rehearsed with fellow students

We also had about 120 students using the support website in a session yesterday and most people were pretty happy with the access speed so it looks like the new wireless might be holding up pretty well. Almost everybody is now able to access the system - teething troubles over? Or is that speaking too soon!

After the session we all went out to pose with our new devices ...

Me and my iPad x 125!

First "real test"

Today was the first day that we tried to use the devices in any volume and there were mixed feelings on this. We had about 120 students in a lecture hall and they were able to access the web support but with varying degrees of success. One to go back to IT services.

We are still having some issues with logins and access and getting the paid apps onto the machines via the Meraki / Configurator has not smooth but we are getting there. Hopefully by the end of this week we will have some of these issues sorted. We knew that there would be some teething troubles let's hope this does not become toothache!

Launch Day

Well at last after about 6 months of planning and getting funding and three frantic weeks of preparation after the devices arrive (see previous post) we are ready to go. It's FRIDAY 13TH of SEPTEMBER 2013 and there is a room full of iPads ready to be given out to students alongside stacks of ethical permission forms, Acceptable Use Policies, plugs, cables and other instructions and next door a room full of (hopefully) unaware students who are being given an introduction to the "evolution of learning".

We started the session by looking at the changing ways in which technology has been used in education - from the use of wax tablets to the laptop computer and how the adoption cycles for these had come into schools using Rogers Adaptation Cycle to consider this. We then has a colleague from a local school (Thomas Ferens Academy) to talk about how their 1-1 adoption policy was impacting on teaching and learning.

We then asked the students "How would you like to have an iPad" there was a susurration around the room which grew to an excited murmur and when we then explained that for this year they would all be getting the loan of a device then they were very excited.

Students waiting to get their iPads

Again the process has not been without some teething troubles - the cliché of a "steep learning curve"  was evident but the process went pretty smoothly as the students needed to:

1. Collect a device
2. Read and sign the Acceptable Use Policy
3. Read and sign the research ethics permission form
4. Log onto the Meraki MDM system
5. Collect their plugs, cables and instructions

There were lots of excited and enthusiastic students but my favourite quote of the day was one of the maths student teachers who said,  "When I heard we were getting an iPad I almost cried" - hopefully this was through excitement not because they has just bought one!

The students were then send off to "play" with the devices over the weekend and we will launch into the use of them next week as we begin the Inquiry based learning sessions in the university.

Leading up to the launch

150 iPads "cluttering" up my office

This post is retrospective after the exciting launch day - there has been huge amount to learn as well as huge amounts to do in the last few weeks since I was looking at the large pile of boxes containing iPads, cases and other paraphernalia in my university office a few weeks ago.

It did not help that the iPads arrived the day before I was off on summer vacation and the university closed down for the summer so it was nearly the end of August before we were able to get going with the configuration and setting up of the devices we only had about 3 weeks to get 150 devices ready for the students who would be arriving on the 13th - and we were also desperate to keep the whole thing quiet so it would be a surprise for the students.

The first thing it that it takes a long time just to get 150 devices out of the packing boxes and strip off the protective cellophane - then get the cover out of its own packing. Think of the exciting 10 mins it takes to do one of your own, and then multiply this by 150. The excitement starts to die off buy about number 10 ... and by number 100 you are almost sick of the sight of them; however, once all 150 were laid out on the table it is rather exciting again.

Then we had to label each device twice with an inventory code provided by the university - tagged to the serial number of the device - another whole day's work. Setting up Configurator© with some expert help was not too bad and loading the "free" apps onto the master machine was pretty easy getting the paid apps was more complicated as the university was pretty protective of its  credit card (not unreasonably). We finally managed to do this but then found that we has problems as our wireless network (protected) would not let us validate all the machines in order to install the apps - so we had to log onto each machine separately!

Finally we are using the Meraki© mobile device management system and we found that this did not work easily with the paid apps so we had to install these "by hand" from the MacBook we are using as the master machine - another pretty mammoth task.

Alongside all of this has been setting up the mechanisms for the research project - getting some baseline data and sorting out a core research question.

We are sure that we have not discovered easier ways to do this - but closed Wifi and university systems do not seem to be set up for this kind of deployment - things to think about if we were to look at bigger deployments in the future.

Still it all (more or less happened) and we were ready to hand out the devices to the students on the 13th ... maybe Friday the 13th wasn't the most auspicious of dates to choose!