A study of effective and best practice usage and implementation of tablet PCs in engineering education

Peter Thomas, 'A study of effective and best practice usage and implementation of tablet PCs in engineering education', BLiP, September 2016There are certain limitations with traditional presentational-style (‘PowerPoint’) lectures that must be addressed in order to improve the quality of lecturing and meet students’ expectations on lecture quality and experience. Tablet PC devices can offer a suitable compromise between the progressive style of delivery of traditional blackboard/overhead projectors, and the ability to deliver multimedia material in an integrated session. In this paper the effectiveness of a tablet PC in an engineering education setting is examined from the point of view of both lecturer/instructor and student. This is done via a survey of previous work, focusing on three key usage models: i) a device for lecture delivery, ii) a device for student study, iii) a channel for instructor-student communication, and iv) a device for productivity. From this the key benefits and limitations are identified with regards to suitability, functionality, and implementation. A series of best practice approaches are then devised to best implement tablet PCs into engineering education courses. Tablet PCs are shown to be very effective in creating active learning environments (ALEs) which are are beneficial in catering to more learning styles, improving engagement, and, subsequently, cognition and attendance.Peer reviewe

Helping Teachers Create a Dynamic Learning Environment Using Pen-Based Technology

[EN] There is evidence that Pen-based Technologies (PBTs) can facilitate radical changes that would make it possible to address problems typically associated with lecture-based pedagogical models. In the context of universitylevel Computer Science studies, there is widespread consensus that PBTs—and tablet PCs, in particular—are tools that have great potential for encouraging interaction in the classroom and promoting a far more dynamic learning environment. In view off the complexity of these types of technology and their explosive evolution, it would be advisable to assist teachers who wish to utilize them by developing strategies based on a conceptualization of their educational capabilities. With this objective in mind, this article analyzes the use of concept maps as tools for modeling both the instructional domain and the PBTs domain. To validate the proposed approach, a number of workshops were conducted, in which professors of Engineering were given a presentation on the educational capabilities of these technologies and then had the opportunity to experiment with tablet PCs and other digital ink devices. Participants completed a prequestionnaire at the start of the workshop; its questions were generated from a generic concept map for the instructional domain, and its purpose was to list each professor’s instructional requirements. Next, recommendations for use were developed, based on the PBTs concept map, and converted to the questions on a post-questionnaire completed at the end of the workshop, on which the teachers indicated the degree to which they agreed with the recommendations. More than 70 professors from different departments participated in these workshops, and their overall evaluation was quite favorable.Benlloch-Dualde, JV.; Buendía García, F.; Cano Escribá, JC.; Blanc Clavero, S.; Lemus Zúñiga, LG. (2013). Helping Teachers Create a Dynamic Learning Environment Using Pen-Based Technology. International Journal of Technologies in Learning. 19(2):107-120. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/53173S10712019

Tablet use in schools: A critical review of the evidence for learning outcomes

The increased popularity of tablets in general has led to uptake in education. We critically review the literature reporting use of tablets by primary and secondary school children across the curriculum, with a particular emphasis on learning outcomes. The Systematic Review methodology was used and our literature search resulted in 33 relevant studies meeting the inclusion criteria. A total of 23 met the minimum quality criteria and were examined in detail (16 reporting positive learning outcomes, 5 no difference and 2 negative learning outcomes). Explanations underlying these observations were analysed, and factors contributing to successful uses of tablets are discussed. While we hypothesise how tablets can viably support children in completing a variety of learning tasks (across a range of contexts and academic subjects), the fragmented nature of the current knowledge base, and the scarcity of rigorous studies, make it difficult to draw firm conclusions. The generalisability of evidence is limited and detailed explanations as to how, or why, using tablets within certain activities can improve learning remain elusive. We recommend that future research moves beyond exploration towards systematic and in-depth investigations building on the existing findings documented here.We gratefully acknowledge a donation from ARM Holdings Ltd. that partially supported this literature review.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcal.1212

Education Workforce Initiative: Initial Research

The purpose of this initial research is to offer evidenced possibilities in the key areas of education workforce roles, recruitment, training, deployment and leadership, along with suggested areas for further research to inform innovation in the design and strengthening of the public sector education workforce. The examples described were identified through the process outlined in the methodology section of this report, whilst we recognise that separation of examples from their context is problematic – effective innovations are highly sensitive to context and uncritical transfer of initiatives is rarely successful. The research aims to support the Education Workforce Initiative (EWI) in moving forward with engaging education leaders and other key actors in radical thinking around the design and strengthening of the education workforce to meet the demands of the 21st century. EWI policy recommendations will be drawn from a number of country level workforce reform activities and research activity associated with the production of an Education Workforce Report (EWR). This research has informed the key questions, approach and structure of the EWR as outlined in the Education Workforce Report Proposal. Issues pertaining to teaching and learning in primary and secondary education are at the centre of the research reported here; the focus is on moving towards schools as safe places where all children/ young people are able to engage in meaningful activity. The majority of the evidence shared here relates to teachers and school leaders; evidence on learning support staff, district officials and the wider education workforce is scant. Many of the issues examined are also pertinent to the early childhood care and education sector but these are being examined in depth by the Early Childhood Workforce Initiative. Resourcing for the Education Workforce was out of scope of this initial research but the EC recognises, as outlined in the Learning Generation Report, that provision of additional finance is a critical factor in achieving a sustainable, strong and well-motivated education workforce, particularly but not exclusively, in low and middle income countries. The next stage of EWI work will consider the relative costs of current initiatives and modelling of the cost implications of proposed reforms. EWI aims to complement the work on teacher policy design and teacher career frameworks (including salary structures) being undertaken by other bodies and institutions such as Education International, the International Task Force on Teachers for 2030 and the Teachers’ Alliance, most particularly by bringing a focus on school and district leadership, the role of Education Support Professionals (ESPs) and inter-agency working

Toward mobile learning deployment in higher education

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Mobile Learning (M-learning) refers to any kind of learning which takes place within and beyond the traditional learning environment via wireless mobile devices. These devices are able to move with the learner to allow learning anytime, anywhere. M-learning is considered as the next step beyond electronic learning (E-learning) and distance learning (D-learning) by using mobile wireless devices with internet connectivity to facilitate formal and informal learning. Over the past decade M-learning has become gradually popular in university settings by providing mobile access to learning resources, collaborative learning and to exchange formative evaluation and feedback between students and instructors. Therefore, M-learning involves learning activities that are not restricted to a specific time or place. Despite the familiarity with M-learning as a new paradigm in modern education, there has been a shortage of research concerning how to deploy this technology in a successful way. The integration of M-learning in a university environment needs to involve some aspects in terms of the readiness of users and institutions, users‟ acceptance and engagement, and the sustainability of the system. There are some initial models that investigate the implementation of M-learning which provide some guidelines that work as starting point for the future of M-learning deployment. However, there is no theoretical model that provides guidelines for staged deployment of M-learning. In addition, there was no clear definition of sustainability factors that will assure continues evaluation and upgrade of M-learning systems after deployment. The aims of this research work are to study students‟ readiness for M-learning, investigate the factors that affect students‟ acceptance and analyse M-learning literature in order to propose and evaluate a model which can be used to foster the sustainable deployment of M-learning within teaching and learning strategies in higher education institutions. The research was conducted in Brunel University, West London. Data were collected from School of Information, Computing and Mathematical Science students using three surveys: the first studied students‟ readiness for M-learning, the second investigated factors that affect students‟ acceptance of M-learning and the last one developed and evaluated a sustainable M-learning deployment model. The outcome of this research lead to a conceptual model that gives a wide overview of all elements that need to be addressed in the M-learning environment and bridges the gap between the pre- and post-implementation phases in order to ensure sustainability. Furthermore, the model provides university educators with a planned approach to incorporate M-learning in higher education curriculums with the aim of improving teaching and learning

A Review on the Use and Perceived Effects of Mobile Blogs on Learning in Higher Educational Settings

Mobile technology is affecting the way we learn and teach in higher education. An interesting mobile tool for supporting learning and instruction is by using mobile blogs or “moblogs”. This review focuses on existing studies implementing moblogs for learning purposes in higher educational settings. A total of 16 studies were selected for the review. The constant-comparative method was used to analyze the studies. Results from the data analysis indicate that the findings fall into two overarching groups, which are: (i) usage of moblogs; and (ii) perceived effects of moblogs. Seven categories for moblog usage were identified, namely: (i) moblogs were used for context-sensitive learning; (ii) for collaboration in groups; (iii) as a tool for interaction and communication for learning; (iv) as personal learning diaries; (v) to facilitate learning at students ’ own time and pace; (vi) as a tool for feedback on instruction; and (vii) for reflections in learning. Meanwhile, three categories were discovered for perceived effects of moblogs, which are: (i) perceived affective effects in terms of satisfaction and attitude; (ii) perceived social effects on students; and (iii) negative perception of moblog in terms of personal and technical factors. These categories are discussed as factors that could promote the use of moblogs for learning in higher education. Directions for future research are also discussed according to these categories as a basis fo