It was quieter this past fall in Corey Angst’s project-management course at the University of Notre Dame, but it wasn’t because he and his students were talking less.
Every student was given an iPad to use during the seven-week course, which meant fewer of them brought laptops to class to take notes.
“There was no clicking,” said Mr. Angst, who is an assistant professor of management at the university. Even external keyboards that some students used for their iPads were silent.
Mr. Angst’s class was the first of several at the university to replace traditional textbooks with iPads as part of a yearlong study by the university’s e-publishing working group into the use of e-readers. Many colleges and universities are in the midst of similar experiments, but Notre Dame is one of the first to report results from its effort.
The professor said students were more connected in and out of the classroom because of their use of the tablet device.
Laptop screens can create barriers between professors and students during class, Mr. Angst said: “Students think they can hide behind a laptop.”
Students were surveyed several times throughout the course and said that the iPad made it easier to collaborate and manage group projects.
Mr. Angst said he asked students in the class to download the Dropbox app, which allows material to be saved and shared online, to post class assignments. Many students used it to share documents in their group projects, as well.
Mr. Angst said he often sends out additional videos or relevant articles just hours before class. And for the first time he could incorporate these last-minute additions into class discussions because students always had their iPads with them to access the materials.
There were some downsides to the iPad, though.
Students lamented not being able to write in the margins of their assigned readings, which Mr. Angst said he hopes will be improved in the future. And some had trouble taking notes without a keyboard.
And when it came time for their computer-based final exam, 39 of the 40 students in class put away their iPads in favor of a laptop.
Work is constantly saved within iPad’s writing programs, Mr. Angst said, but there’s no actual “save” button, which unnerved some students. “When they’re working on something important, it kind of freaks them out,” he said.
The group that conducted the experiment includes members of the business school, law school, college of arts and letters, and office of information technology, among others. It hopes to look at other tablet devices—particularly Android-based models—in the future.
20 Responses to U. of Notre Dame Reports on Experiment to Replace Textbooks With iPads
alechosterman - January 21, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Thanks for posting the follow up. This confirms some of the things I was thinking about using iPads in classrooms. One way to write on PDFs is to use iAnnotate. It’s a fairly good reader and writer.
garay - January 22, 2011 at 9:09 pm
Very interesting. I wonder how the experiment would have faired had all the students’ classes and everything in their classes would have been mobilized and carried out via a tablet/iPad and smartphone combo.
I mean everything mobilized :: all class materials, all class and student activities, all class and individual digital communication, all content authoring and student assignments, all assessments, learning management system interactions, all clicker activities, lecture capture on-demand playback, virtual office hours, everything. Having the interactive textbooks on tablets, like the iPad, is half the battle, however.
Quite understanding, on the other hand, that come crunch time, 39 of the 40 students put their iPads away and in favor of their laptops. Who wouldn’t use the best and most effective tool when time is of the essense. I do it all the time, and move away from my iPad+smartphone comfortable digital continuum and open my laptop when I’ve got to write, interact or multi-task substantively.
In any event, this all makes us wonder if the days of the (lightweight) college digital backpack are just around the corner…
sdnelson - January 23, 2011 at 12:57 am
So what’s wrong with a pen and notebook again?
digitaldan1 - January 23, 2011 at 5:54 pm
“So what’s wrong with a pen and notebook again?”
If all you had to carry was a pen and a notebook, it wouldn’t be a story, but that’s not the reality. It’s multiple notebooks, textbooks, research paper printouts and more. The pile gets awfully heavy.
You’re welcome to carry your analog library in your backpack, but I’m going to carry my digital library in mine. We’ll see who ends up with back problems.
bstrachan - January 24, 2011 at 1:14 am
Mr Angst? Really??
paievoli - January 24, 2011 at 7:49 am
Given the movement to digital and the need for funding how much longer before the two converge? Add to this the recent article about using Amazon to generate revenue and isn’t it time to see where this is all headed? Been trying to get someone to see this for years…
imtbone - January 24, 2011 at 9:36 am
As an aside to this conversation, check out this new effort by Apple to maintain complete control over all things Apple http://bit.ly/applesevilscrew
Seems Apple is replacing cover screws with a proprietary kind that will prevent anyone but Apple from servicing their product. Pretty much stinks if all you need is a screen replaced, don’t you think?
I personally LIKE the 9″ screen, which is why I am partial to the iPad. I wish other eReader/tablets would consider copying THAT aspect of the iPad.
dboyles - January 24, 2011 at 4:14 pm
“The professor said students were more connected in and out of the classroom because of their use of the tablet device.”
Who is trying to fool whom by use of plastic words such as “connected” which have multiple meanings, some of which apply and many of which don’t? No doubt students are indeed slaved to their devices and in that sense are connected to them–particularly since the devices have been mandated in order to even take the course in the first place). Whether prosthetic communication devices better “connect” people intellectually, communicatively, emotionally, subjectively, objectively, or by any other meaning of the word, however, lacks any quantifiable demonstration whatsoever. Wishy-washy words such as “connected” serve to address all kinds of unaddressed questions which aren’t even being asked. This is sheer deception and but a form of confirmational bias.
doctorthomas - January 24, 2011 at 4:53 pm
Do the e-textbooks have a screen reader for blind, low-vision, or dyslexic students? Arizona State University was sued for using Kindles because of their inaccessibility.
11276026 - January 25, 2011 at 4:02 pm
At the University of New Mexico we have been advised by University Counsel that we may not require the use of e-book readers for classes because of the present inaccesibility of them to visually impaired students. There is a joint letter from the Department of Justice and the Department of Education pointing out that requiring inaccessible technology (including i-clickers) is in violation of Title II and Title III of the ADA.
sages - January 26, 2011 at 9:44 am
If the project was to replace printed textbooks with electronic forms on accessible on _any_ computer I could applaud that. To _require_ ipads just stokes the fires in the evil locked-content empire Apple is trying to impose in HE. Beware…