iPad - iCommunicate, iCreate, iShare and iLearn?

 

Context:

Students in the Civil Engineering course have to buy a calculate worth some where around $400NZ. The calculator has very limited use in class, basically calculations and programming only. The course itself is very hands-on. Students meet once in a week for a 4 hour lecture followed up by a practical session using the equipments for surveying and many calculations that follow later.  In the practical session the students record data they would have taken using these equipments and is later used for calculating 'things' (sorry I have no knowledge of surveying hence wouldn't pretend to know what they calculate from the data collected) needed from it. Data is recorded on a sheet of paper and is later (when the students have returned back to the classroom) checked by the teacher. The reason why it couldn't be checked out in the field is, students are not at the same location they could be few hundred meters apart doing their own bit in groups. This creates a few problems for the students and teacher alike:

1. teacher is unable to give feedback or check for accuracy. This is only possible after the students are back in classroom. The students miss out on being able to correct their mistake and take readings and data again.
2. Because data is recorded on a sheet of paper it limits what calculations could be done out in the field.
3. other problems not relation to practical sessions:

• the 4 hour lecture. I did a quick survey in class with the students and they admitted that they find the 4 hour lecture overwhelming and boring. The staff teaching the course reflecting on his 4 hour session stated standing in-front of the class talking and going through PowerPoint presentations and pdf's to deliver the required knowledge to the students.
• 'Learning' and 'assessment' are seen as two distinctively separate process. Learning is where the teacher is in-charge - talking and explaining and lecturing most of the time (Teacher - active, students - passive participants). Assessment, students are expected to recall and regurgitate the knowledge 'learnt'.

The iPad .....

iPad was designed primarily as a 'consumption' device- watching videos, pictures, reading book, browsing the net and as a portable gaming unit. The apps designed for it available on the App store however take this even further. It potentially turns it into a portable computer that not only allows content to be received but can engage the user into creating it too. Some key elements not available on the iPad however make it a bit difficult, for example:

• lack of a camera (no photos or videos)
• iPad runs a mini or lite version of a browser Safari and now many other available on the App store. This creates a problem for using applications like Google Apps and other -  they need a full browser to function properly. We can however overcome these limitations by using Apps from the App store, like Documents on the go,  Documents 2, Connect - these apps allow you to connect to cloud platforms like Google, download the documents edit and sync it back. Some even allow you to create a document on the iPad itself and can later be uploaded to a cloud storage. Blogging that is a crucial tool we use in our course. However again because iPad doesn't have a full browser blogging is made difficult and the lack of a proper blogging app on the store compounds the issue. We can do email blogging but this means we'll be restricted to text only. Other digital artifacts like pictures and videos are critical elements when blogging to engage students in cognitive processes.

Vox has been the best blogging platform for use in class, well at least for me, Blogger is close but not as good. However Blogger is flexible when it comes to blogging on the iPad unlike Vox. It gives you a HTML compose window and throws an error message when you try to change to WYSIWYG saying "the browser you are using is not supported."

What we are doing with it?

16 Civil Engineering students and 2 staff teaching the course received an iPad (Wifi version 16 Gig) each for use this semester.

The concept map on the left outlines few tools we'll be using in the course. Others tools will be added as needed. m48 is an App that can be downloaded for free from the App store. This is the same calculator students buy for around $400NZ.

Documents 2 is a free App again from the App store that allows the user to create/download documents from Google docs to edit, this can be sync'ed back to Google Docs. Students setup a Blogger account for use in the course. My experience with Blogger has been: it's hard to create or get the student community going hence Google Buzz will be use to and an auto-feed will be activated meaning every time the student make a post on their blog a message will be posted on Buzz hence all the students can see and participate*. The teacher can also use it to initiate discussions and to engage the students. To make things simple Google Mobile App for iPad will be used, this adds a short cut on the iPad making access easier. Buzz Buzz is another app that can be used to access and post to Google Buzz only.

So what do these Apps do?

Let's call it Web Surfing 2.0  - the old way was browsing the net using a web browser, FireFox, Internet explorer, Opera, Safari etc. The browser was the portable to accessing information. Apps on the App store for the iPhone do the same but each service have there own version and with customisable options. You select the services you want delivered when you open the application on your iOS device. It has a more personal touch to what a browser can deliver. NZ Herald have an app for the iPad, TVNZ also have an app for portable Apple products. Will this change the way we have browsed the web since its invention, only time will tell. Portable devices have replaced desktop and laptops as the leader when it comes to accessing the web according to recent research done in USA.

Given the limitation of the browse on the iPad and other portable Apple products these apps allow the user more capabilities, for example Google Docs doesn't function properly using iOS version of Safari but other Apps like Documents on the Go, Connect etc allow you to edit and create documents. Similarly blogging has always been seen as a primarily web based event because of browser capabilities on the iPad, blogging using the browse is not possible hence Apps like iBlog, Blogit, TypePad etc enables the user to perform these actions. Moblogging (Mobile blogging) is also gaining momentum, you compose a message and flick it to your unique Moblogging email address and your blogging platform does the rest. Portable Mobile devices are changing the way we have done things, enhancing the experience and delivering a more personalised experience.

In the project above we have selected Douments 2 for accessing Documents hosted on Google so enables the user to upload to Google from iPad. Documents 2 delivers functions like font formating (bold, italics, underline etc) and basic calculations while using Spreadsheet.


Buzz Buzz is an app for buzzing - service similar to Twitter - Google version of it. It takes Twitter a step further by allowing users to share pictures, videos, links etc and it is treated as a conversation unlike Twitter which treats every post as an individual blurb. Connecting Blogger to Buzz will automatically posts updates on Buzz hence people following you can quickly see what you been up to, for students it makes a huge difference - collaborative learning.

The aim of this project is:

1. Does the iPad provide any additional value to students in Civil engineering course?
2. To explore its affordance for use in a student-centred learning environment.

More updates from the project to follow.


Reflections from the Lecturer

Models for Reflection - ePortfolios

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle (Read the original post)


Stages:

1. Description - What happened?
   
2. Feelings - What were you thinking and feeling?
   
3. Evaluate - What were the positives and negative of the experience?
   
4. Analysis - What did you understand/learn from the experience?
   
5. Conclusion - What else could you have done?
   
6. Action Plan - if it happens again, what would you do differently?

(Picture source: http://distributedresearch.net/blog/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/gibbsmodelreflection.jpg)

Peter Pappas' Taxonomy of Reflection (Read the original post)

Very closely aligned with Bloom's Taxonomy.

Stages:

1. Remembering
2. Understanding
3. Applying
4. Analysing
5. Evaluating
6. Creating

(Picture source: http://peterpappas.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341d880253ef0120a7a4dd53970b-pi)

The iPad ..... Finally

Blogging from the iPad Wifi: 

Now that I have an iPad, I can finally have a play. Here is my initial reaction, typing on the notebook app:

"First play with the iPad ..... Testing the keyboard ..... Awesome love it love it" ..... just a suggestion please don't try to use your thumb to type .... turn the iPad around to landscape mode this will give you a bigger and better virtual keyboard to type.

Ok now to some serious stuff:

It is good to know that the iPad has thousands of apps already on the store and I am sure many are on the way but surely you wouldn't have an app for every possible case, at some point you'll have to use the web and for that you'll need a browser. It's not that the iPad doesn't have a browse, the problem is it's not the full version. Safari for the iPad and iPhone has limited capability to that you use on your computer, this causes a few problems.

I tried to format some topics in this blog post on the iPad, I wasn't able to this because of limited java support. I tried running Google documents ... again Google popped up a message saying the browser you are using doesn't not support full capability.

The lack of a camera combined with the limitations discussed above, iPad will be a nightmare to use with students for learning. For students to blog they'll need to download a blogger app, this may cost money, no camera means they'll have to use something else ...... just makes a simple process for students so much harder and painful. Ubiquitous learning yes but could be limited to transmission only ...... careful planning and choice of tools is recommended if you were thinking of using an iPad with your students.

Gaming front:

Enjoyed a short game .... loved the experience. I think I'll now sell my Xbox ....don't have time to play it and when I do, I don't have the Xbox anywhere near me .... I guess an iPhone and having an iPad makes total sense.

One month later ......

I bought an iPad 3G in Singapore and have been using it for sometime now. Most of the free apps I was using on my iPhone cost money to use on the iPad :-(. This may change when iPads are available globally ....... my frustration still reminds with the limited browser capability on the iPad. I downloaded some paid apps that allows me to work around the limitations mainly being able to create/edit Google docs on the iPad. This however is a concern if we required students to use it. The 3G model gives me ability to run navigation apps. I found some apps I installed in Singapore really useful for moving around the city.

Here is a list of some apps I have on my iPad at the moment:

1. Mobile Maps by Sygic (New Zealand and Australia) (Paid) - Turn-by-turn Navigation app that I paid for for use on my iPhone, works fine on the iPad.Having a bigger screen is really cool.
2. Tumblr (Free) - blogging/note taking app
3. Evernote (Free) - blogging, note taking and more
4. IM+ Lite (Free) - messaging
5. Tweetdeck (Free) - Keep in touch with your Tweeps.
6. Quickoffice (Paid) - gives you ability to create/edit documents and sync it with Google and others.
7. FeeddlerRSS (Free) - access your RSS feeds from Google Reader
8. GoodReader (Paid) - file management with VGA out
9. Expedition (Paid) - Web browsing with VGA out
10. HelloTXT (Free) -  aggregate your social sites in one place, you can update your status or post to your blog from one place. It supports upto 52 social networking sites this includes Blogger, Twitter, Buzz, Tumblr, Flickr, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Facebook and others
11. RunKeeper (Free) - trace where you are going. I downloaded this app for my iPhone but my use has been different. This app keeps a record for how far you have ran, speed and traces your route in real-time. I have used this app to walk around new places ..... being able to see whether you are heading in the right direction makes a difference.
12. Acrossair (Free) - augmented reality app designed for use on iPhone. The iPad has now camera but this app still functions minus the camera view ofcourse ..... found it useful on my recent trip to Singapore and Malaysia. I used it multiple times to find restaurants, and other POI.
13. N.O.V.A (Paid) - You gotta have fun!!! I downloaded this for play on my iPhone and found the graphics to not too bad on the iPad.
14. AccuWeather (Free) -  best free weather app for the iPad.
15. Google (Free)
16. QuickVoice (Free) - Pro version allows longer record time.
17. Facebook (Free) -  using the iPhone version since there is none available for the iPad.
18. AudioLite (Free) - write (free hand or type) record and sync with the text, you can also share via email, Pro version allows other options! Lite version allows upto 20 minutes of record time.
19. Kindle (Free)
20. Wikipanion (Free) - wiki search made easy.
21. Google Earth (Free)
22. Remote (Free) - control your iTunes music from your iPad, iPhone or iPod.
23. Tunes Remote (Paid) - control the music on your iPad, iPhone or iPod. So your are playing music from your iPhone now you need an app to control the music from another portable device like the iPad or iPod, this is the app.
24. Documents 2 (Free) - access your docs on Google, create or edit.
25. Quick Graph (Free) - graphs for mathematical equations.
26. Atomic Lite (Free) - multi-tabbed browsing.

Motivators in Learning - Great Youtube Video

Curatr Review

Curatr - Review




I have had sometime (maybe 1 hour) to play with much talked about Curatr ..... first impressions:

1. The so called Gaming Aspect of Curatr. 

It works by collating scores whenever you view a resource and either you like or dislike it (Yes, it's mandatory, you can't move to the next lesson unless you have done this!). I was quite disappointed to find out how scoring worked (I could be wrong).

2. No place for feed on an activity

I have been through a few resources on the account I was given and I couldn't see any place to leave a feedback or to comment on existing content.

3. Content driven - driven both by the teacher and students

Curatr is unfortunately content driven and is limited to Websites, Youtube, Text box (it didn't work for me), Pictures and Audio. This of course assumes that you have created the content before hand and uploaded it to appropriate platform for use. Curatr however allows peers to create or lets say collate contents to help others in class.

4. Difficult user interface

I initially found the user interface difficult to use. I couldn't make out where I was going and what I was meant to be doing or looking at first.

Where's the Pedagogy?

The burning question, what was the pedagogical underpinning for Curatr? You couldn't really say social constructivist .... maybe a beginnings of something bigger to come? The only bit I would say that would very least be called social was creating or collating resources that you found useful for others in class to use. Curatr allows you to create a profile but again it is very basic and you can't see the profiles of others in class. There is very little opportunity to network with other learners in class to discuss collectively and create new meaning and knowledge.

I was left asking .... it is a portal? Is it a basic social bookmarking tool .... I am still a bit confused. It seems the only thing you can do is create a portable (works on iPhone) collection of different digital artifacts that may help you in your learning or peers in some way.

Mobile Front - Comparing to Evernote

Yes Curatr has an iPhone app, so does Evernote. If I was to compare these two applications and it's suitability in learning and teaching, I'd say Evernote would be my choice. The difference I am talking about is huge.

1. Teacher vs Student content (Curatr allows students to collect content not necessarily their own)
2. Networking opportunities between the two apps is again a problem. Curatr - hardly any evidence. Evernote - and online profile viewable by others.
3. mLearning - even though Curatr has an iPhone app, it hardly uses the powerful features the iPhone is equipped with. Evernote on the other hand allows - on spot - audio capture, picture, video and text. Evernote empowers the students, enables them to create content and hence their own meaning from it. It enables students to share with each other what they have done and build collective understanding at the same time supporting each other.

I was expecting more from Curatr. The promotion video and hype that surrounded Curatr before launch of beta painted a totally different picture in my head to what was delivered. The claims around game based learning and the inclusion of what makes games so appealing didn't really work for me. It is not still about scores when playing a game but the challenge that comes your way, constant feedback and helpful hints that pop-up every now and then, creating that safe competitive environment where you can do a single player or a team play, having the ability to choose the level of difficulty to begin playing, the audio, visuals and constant connectedness with your team members (audio and chat if playing multiplayer online game), strategising, immersive environment and finally clever scoring.

CAME Project kicks off

Last week I took the first lot of students from the Certificate in Automotive and Mechanical Engineering course through Google Apps and Blogger. We had about 20 students in class and they all had their own laptops. I wasn't at all ready for this. David Clarke (lecturer in the course) gave me a call early Monday morning asking if I could do something with the students the same day. I was anticipating this but later in the week. I am happy to report the 2 hour session however went smoothly and I managed to achieve what was very quickly planned.

I have since put together a wikispaces resource centre for students. This will make the next session later this week easier for me. Here is the link to the wikispaces website.

Yesterday we gave out Dell Mini 9 Netbooks to a select group of students. It was very interesting to observe how excited and quick the students were to to jump on the net. The Netbooks which were given out were pre-configured hence it made it easy for the students to be connected. I have to say the first site they all opened (most of them did) was Youtube. It is suprising to see how Youtube is replacing Google as preferred search or reference website in the younger generation. The Dell Minis come with a built-in camweb, bluebooth, and Wifi, the only problem with it is limited storage space (it has a 8 gig main drive storage).

The storage space shouldn't be a big issue since students are making extensive use of Google. However we have supplied the students with a 8gig SD card so they can use this to store any video and pictures they may take during to course. Students are to use Picasa to storage pictures and Youtube for videos.

The aim of this project is to embed technology on the learning process hence enabling students to create their own content. Students use this content to create an eportfolio which they submit at the end of the course for assessment. We are also hoping the students will continue working on their portfolio in the courses that follow.

In all we have more than 80 students in this course. They are divided into 4 groups and each group will be looked after by one of the four teaching staff. The students however go through a rotation, all four teachers teach different topics in the course.

Last week I attended a session where students were to present their findings on safety (personal safety in a work environment). Almost all groups had drawn very neat pictures to relay the message, unfortunately the students did not have any equipment to digitally capture this. They could have used the webcame on their netbooks but the problem is, the webcams on these netbooks are facing the user every time, it is fixed.

I sent out a request to the head of department, asking for fund so that we can buy 8 of the compact digital video cameras that doubles up as a camera. I was so delighted to see the support, the head of department approved the purchase in a few hours. So this is what we bought for the students to use to capture what happens in and outside of the classroom.

I'll be shortly adding another page in the wikispaces site: Using the JVC HD Video Camera. I bit about the compact vidcam, Full HD, easy upload to Youtube, 8 Mega Pixel still capture, 90 minute battery life. 3X digital zoom. Only problem with this model is it doesn't not have much built in storage. We now need to buy SD cards, it can take up to 32 gig. This in-fact could play to our benefit since the Dell Mini 9's have a SD slot, hence it will make it easy for the students to transfer files from the camera.


It is an exciting project and a first in the trade school. The four staff involved in this project so far have enjoyed the journey and appreciate the change from the old way to new way of teaching. Early indication from students has been good so far. Most of them have bought the laptop and the use in class has been good.