Advantages of using tablets to learn - Learners' point of view

It was not that long ago that smartphones begun taking over the consumer market and innovators in various fields tried to exploit the change in technology. Educators too tried to look for new ways students could learn from new technologies. It was in 2006 when the Horizon Report claimed that smartphones were the new way for students to learn. Yet before the theory fully matured, new technologies have evolved and educators are now looking into other ways of advancing, one of those new technologies is the tablet computer, in particular the iPad.

           

Since 2010, Stanford University School of Medicine has circulated Apple iPads to each of their new medical students at the start of new school year in September. Their goal was to explore ways of paperless course delivery and shifting classroom learning to mobile learning.

            

The first immediate impact was that the students received e-syllabus, rather than pages worth of course outline. The form factor of tablet meant pupils were able to bring their iPad class to class without worrying about running out of paper or pens. Notes could now be typed directly on the tablet; even images could be drawn via a stylus pen. The lightweight construction also meant they were taking the tablet to the gym to study while running on the treadmill.

           

Course materials were distributed electronically in PDF form and special apps were designed for specific courses to be learned and interacted on the tablet. On average, 3500 pages of paper per medical student were saved each year. Wi-Fi access covered the campus and this gave the students even more freedom on where they could access their course information and assignments.

           

The induction of tablets to the education field certainly adds a new dimension for the learner in his or her learning experience. For example, if the instructor is demonstrating a procedure or formula equation on the podium, the student could try to mimic or reproduce the result in real time. This in theory could then cover the auditory, visual and the kinaesthetic learners.

Tobin, Brian. Launching a University Tablet Initiative: Recommendations from Stanford University's iPad Implementation . The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, April. 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2012.