Evaluating the use of iPads by first-year Medics

www.le.ac.uk

Evaluating the use of iPads withfirst-year Medics

EIF/LINQ 2014Crete

Mark Hamilton, Gráinne Conole, and Terese BirdSchool of Medicine andInstitute of Learning InnovationUniversity of Leicester

Mobile devices: For consumers, for education

PDA1998

Mobile phone 2000

Mp3 player 2001

Netbook

2007

E-reader2010

Tablet2011

Consumer mobile devices and the year they ‘caught on’ in public use:

Key dates for mobile learning:• 2004 – Duke University issues iPods to all incoming freshmen –

recorded lectures are the main use• 2007 – iTunes U is launched• 2010 – Cedars School of Excellence, Scotland, becomes world’s 1st

one iPad-per-student school

What is mobile learning?• “E-learning that uses mobile devices” (Pinkwart, et

al, 2003)

• “Learner freely moving in his physical (and virtual) environment” (Laouris and Eteokleous, 2005)

Courtesy of Battle Appshttp://www.civilwar.org/education/teachers/wshs---jim-percoco/battle-apps-in-action.html

iPads for Medical Students

• Began autumn 2013

• Full-size iPad given to every first year

• Will repeat next 2 years

• Workbooks no longer printed; instead, PDFs on LMS

• Told students to buy Notability (PDF annotation app)

• Told students to bring iPads to all class sessions

• 2 Surveys: beginning and end of autumn term

Survey beginning of term

It was easy to initially set up the iPad

Strongly agree 67.4%

Agree 28.9%

Neither agree nor disagree 3.6%

Column1

Strongly agree 55.4%Agree 37.3%Neither agree nor disagree 7.2%

It was easy to download material from Blackboard LMS to the iPad

Survey beginning of termOverall, I am satisfied with using the iPad to enhance my learning in this course.

Column1

Strongly agree 40%Agree 42.2%Neither agree nor disagree 7.2%Disagree 8.4%Strongly disagree 1.2%Unanswered 1.2%

Beginning of term comments

• “It’s quite difficult to manipulate several documents... Constantly having to close one thing to open another and then back again.”

• “Annotating on the iPad is less active than having to take down notes from lectures meaning I have to revise the content a little more as not much sticks in my head.”

• “Very good. I have a lot of textbooks as PDFs which I find easy to use and useful to have whenever I need them. I find that annotating lectures on the iPad is much quicker and neater than if I was trying to write notes.”

• “I find the iPad really benefits my learning.”

Comparison of survey 1 and survey 2I am satisfied with the learning experience of reading the assigned material on the iPad

0

20

40

60

Survey 1Survey 2

Comparison of survey 1 and survey 2

I am satisfied with Notability as a way to read and annotate the learning material

Stro

ngly a

gree

Agre

e

Neith

er a

gree

nor

disag

ree

Disag

ree

Stro

ngly d

isag

ree

Not a

pplic

able

0

15

30

45

Survey 1

Survey 2

End of term comments• “At first I was a little apprehensive as I was used to paper

format. However once I started using the iPad I had adjusted to the style of learning.... I now find it easy to use a combination of the iPad and written notes... The iPad is extremely useful when trying to access specific material. It also saves carrying lots of documents!”

• “I have found that I am more likely to do spontaneous revision by having all my work so readily accessible on the iPad.”

• “I think the iPads have been a good way to learn. It makes studying possible in more locations.”

Findings

• Introducing iPads has been generally successful– Replaced paper– Achieved with almost no IT support– High student satisfaction

• Student-led innovation– Mindmaps– Drawing– Airdrop

What’s next?• Interactive ebooks

– Video– Audio– Quizzes– Offline viewing– Annotate-able

• Catalyst for staff innovation– Webinar tutorials– Interactive lectures

Thank you!

References• Laouris, Y. and N. Eteokleous (2005). We need an

educationally relevant definition of mobile learning. mLearning, South Africa.

• Pinkwart, N., H. U. Hoppe, et al (2003). “Educational scenarios for the cooperative use of Personal Digital Assistants.” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 19(3): 383-391.