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Students and iPads: ACU study shows positive results
The first time I mentioned Abilene Christian University, it was because it was handing out iPhones to students. The next time was a year later when I followed up with an interview about the school's methods and research findings. Its approach to incorporating technology into education was both unobtrusive and highly effective, and it almost made me want to go back to school again. This year, as Mike Rose mentioned a little while ago, the studies go on and the results continue to impress. Now that the iPad is available, students are being equipped with a rich set of tools that can be used for learning; they can also be used to spend time on social networks, blogging, chatting with friends... all with ACU's blessing. There are no mandates that either teachers or students have to use the iPads. The fact that the iPad is as much a social tool as anything else is something that ACU has embraced, modifying many of its curriculums to work more effectively with the new technology. Among the students, the approval rating for the program is in the upper 90%, with the highest numbers coming from the youngest classes (100% for the class of 2015). Test scores have been shown to improve markedly (+25%) when notes are taken and texts annotated using the iPad. The numbers are all great, but that's not what really catches my attention about this story. What's most interesting to me is how the professors at ACU have voluntarily adapted their teaching styles to work with new technologies. The administration has provided all of the tools for a highly social, highly connected environment, and teachers and students alike have taken impressive advantage of the opportunities. The curriculum, as well, has been shifting to include rich media creation as part of everyday learning. Obviously, the iPad isn't making the difference alone. It's a conduit, a tool for taking advantage of the Internet, a network of friends and a new way of looking at education. Well, not new, really. Thoreau's classroom is in full effect here. In many classes students are interactively building the syllabus, creating the questions and finding the answers. The professors are taking on a new role as "coaches," focusing more on helping students learn to solve problems and answer questions than on rote learning and testing. Some professors have stopped traditional lecturing entirely, and have seen improved comprehension and test results across the board. In one class at ACU, students spend their class-time in the surrounding communities, armed with iPads, doing service work and solving real-world problems. They are asked to blog their experiences as they happen. Images, thoughts, discoveries and more are all captured in blog form, and the blog ultimately becomes the test. As an Apple fan, I'm thrilled that the iPad--and the iPhone before it--were chosen to be the center of this program. The technology (including a media creation studio donated by AT&T) shines brightly in this scenario. Without the active support of students, their teachers and the administration, though, the technology would just be a hindrance while the status quo was maintained. It's inspiring to see education taking what is, in my opinion, a very positive leap forward at ACU.
Daily Update for Sept. 19, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes, which is perfect for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
iPad-enabled students get performance boost, says ACU study
From special-needs classrooms to textbook publishers to free lesson movements, anxious IT administrators to Irish principals to K-12 thought leaders: education loves the iPad. Apple has even taken up the learning banner in an iPad TV ad. For all the enthusiasm (and budget resources) focused on the "magical and revolutionary" tablet, however, there's not much rigorous research yet on how, or if, the iPad is helping students learn more effectively. One group that's trying to quantify these benefits is the ACU Connected mobile learning program at Abilene Christian University, which has been working for more than three years to identify the specific advantages of student mobility with a new generation of devices. This week, ACU will announce some of its study results for the iPad while welcoming seven new research fellows studying the impact of digital mobility on education. The research results, previewed exclusively for TUAW, are uniformly positive. In one study, students who annotated text on their iPads scored 25% higher on questions regarding information transfer than their paper-based peers. In a separate project covering iPad usage patterns, two researchers studying ACU's first all-digital class discovered that the iPad promotes "learning moments" and helps students make more efficient use of their time. Grad students working in an online program reported a 95% satisfaction rate for online iPad-based coursework. As far as the ACU studies are concerned, the iPad in education is a success story. Of course, no two learners are exactly alike, and the iPad isn't ideal for every education challenge; nevertheless, the ACU teams have found a lot of upside so far. We'll be checking in with them this week for a full interview about the research programs and the opportunities for educational transformation around mobile computing.
ACU Optimist first student newspaper on the iPad
A day after Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad, Dr. Cheryl Bacon, chair of Abilene Christian University's Department of Journalism and Mass Communication vowed that the student newspaper would be the first to make it to the iPad. This week, ACU has accomplished that goal. The Optimist is a nearly century-old student newspaper publication of the JMC Network, the student media operation at Abilene Christian University. The iPad edition of The Optimist is a dynamically updating version of the print edition with multi-touch photo slide shows, content selectors, updated ACU Wildcat sports scores, and coolest of all, access to five years worth of Optimist archives all right from the iPad. The Optimist for iPad is part of ACU's Mobile Learning Initiative which explores the ways people are using mobile devices to enhance learning. ACU Optimist for iPad is a free download on the App Store.
ACU's iPhone initiative: a year later
In February of last year I did a two-paragraph writeup on an interesting development in higher education, noting that Abilene Christian University was doling out iPhones and iPod touches to incoming first-year students. I didn't, at the time, have many details on the goals of the program or its implementation, I just gathered that there was a good deal of planning and thought behind the initiative. Little did I know that, over a year later, I'd be talking to the minds behind the program and finding out exactly how it went. I recently got a chance to follow up with George Saltsman (Faculty Development), Scott Perkins (Director of Research) and William (Bill) Rankin (Director of Educational Innovation), meeting up for a multiparty video chat which revealed the excitement these guys have for what they are seeing become the platform for education: the iPhone. We talked for well over an hour, and their intensity and enthusiasm never dwindled. I got a great look at what they planned, how they did it, and how it turned out after the first year. Read on to see how the iPhone (and the iPod touch) has played a role in creating a new model for higher education at ACU.
University handing out iPhones to freshmen
Abilene Christian University is announcing a pilot program to provide an iPhone or iPod touch to every new student. At first glance, I found myself wondering: if some colleges are providing MacBooks with tuition, doesn't an iPhone seem like a less-expensive attempt to lure new blood? Upon further consideration, I think there are some distinct advantages to a pocket-sized device in a learning environment. From constant connectivity to ultra-portability, it could provide a means for every student to access learning materials any time, from any place. ACU has obviously considered this, and then some. With apparently well-coordinated plans to take advantage of the devices – including podcasts, mobile-accessible class materials, active-learning strategies and a re-focusing of the campus media – they're preparing to take maximum advantage of the iPhone/iPod touch possibilities. If it's a gimmick, it sure seems like a useful, well-thought-out one. For more information, case studies and future plans, take a peek at the ACU Mobile Learning page.
ACU dishing out iPhone / iPod touch to all incoming freshmen
Never heard of Abilene Christian University? We're guessing a wide majority of the general public hasn't either, but the institution is definitely getting its name out there by promising each incoming freshman this fall an iPhone or iPod touch. Granted, these aren't being explicitly marked as "free," but similar to Duke's efforts in years past, ACU plans on using these devices for educational enrichment. Reportedly, the handhelds will enable students to "receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors' offices, and check their meal and account balances" -- and that's just for starters. Interestingly, we aren't told whether or not the folks already enrolled will be left out -- nor what determines which Apple you get -- but we do know that the entity is hoping to "expand the program in the future."[Thanks, Byzil]
