Connie Malamed's posting First iPad University Course drew my attention to the mini MBA course being put together by Rutgers University and Apple’s higher education team. Connie describes how "Rather than placing all the course content online, the program will take place in the classroom, but will provide students with iPads loaded with all required reading material, videos and custom applications."
First thoughts are, at least for me, a sense of excitement at such a bold new use of new technology. Then I engaged my brain. Would this announcement have attracted any attention if Rutgers had provided their students with ready-loaded netbooks? What if they had stuffed the content onto a memory stick or a DVD? Would that have caused any great interest? And would it have provided students with any less of an experience? Of course not. There's nothing that I can think about an iPad which means that digital content is going to behave any differently compared with any other computer with a half-decent screen and a headphone socket. Unless, of course, the sheer excitement of using an iPad enhances the learning experience to such an extent that other devices couldn't possibly compete. Perhaps for some students, but are these the people you'd want to imbue with business skills.
The other aspect of this story which I find unsettling is the idea that it is a step forward to pre-load content rather than accessing it online. Surely the whole idea of online content is that it's current and up-to-date. Doesn't that apply to business studies? And how do you interact with offline content by leaving comments and forwarding to peers? Perhaps that's not part of the educational model in this case.
I know it's a story when the iPad is first used in an educational context. It's just that there is absolutely nothing I can detect in this application which exploits any unique iPad feature. Am I missing something?
I don't think you've missed anything, Clive, unless the content is designed to synch and be up-datable in real time, or near-real-time online. If not, Rutgers may see this as a step forward (which it may be compared to their other MBA offerings) but if it's just a matter of putting some of their 'static' content onto a shiny in-vogue device it's simply a step sideways. It may attract some candidates who are at the back of the waiting list for their iPad at the Apple store, but I can't see it providing any real value.
ReplyDeleteIn 1994-5 I was involved in launching an MBA at Southampton Business School in the UK that was delivered purely online, with the exception of two residentials.
I doubt the Rutgers initiative really encapsulates 15 years of development beyond that as described.
Of course the content should be online AND downloadable.
Charles
Hi Clive,
ReplyDeleteThanks for going deeper with this discussion regarding Rutger's use of the iPad. When I first contacted the program director, I thought they were further along in the development cycle and we'd be seeing novel and unique online learning experiences developed for the iPad. As it turned out, they weren't there yet, but I still found the story newsworthy, because they were first and because the potential is there to do something very unique.
I think one of the significant features of using the iPad for learning is how mobile the device is and yet the screen size is more usable than a mobile phone. It seems perfect for their audience, which I'm guessing is made up of working professionals. So it seemed like a nice fit. There is also the potential for use of gestural signals, which could open up interactive opportunities we haven't thought of yet. And from a visual design perspective, the few digital magazines I've seen for the iPad are beautiful. So the potential is there.
But I think you're right that one of the reasons this was newsworthy was because of all the buzz about the iPad. If it would have been a netbook, it wouldn't have been noticed. On the other hand, the buzz isn't ONLY marketing. I think people see potential in this technology that they haven't seen elsewhere.
I am highly disappointed that Apple chose to dismiss Flash, considering all the currently existing courses that are Flash-based. In my opinion, this is a real disservice to the learning community.
Personally, I feel somewhere in the middle about the whole thing. Very excited about the potential for new learning experiences and disappointed in some of the serious drawbacks. Anyway, thanks for the post. It's thoughtful and insightful.
A lot of people maybe disappointed with what apple did to this iPad. I wish it was more usable for eLearning online. This iPad is very handy and cool. It can be used by anyone and learning will be so much easier for most people. I wish the next version of iPad, they'll include lots of new feature to help us with our learning.
ReplyDeleteI too felt a bit underwhelmed by the Rutgers announcement, but I do feel it underscores that the iPad will be used in numerous ways as part of the learner experience and that none of them will necessarily be right or wrong. We are experimenting with educational media bundled right into the app and unlocked with in-app purchasing; a subscription model with video streamed to the device; and a full-blown e-course designed for the iPad from scratch. The investment in legacy elearning is considerable, but as you suggest - Flash and Java-based elearning can still be accessed from a laptop. I for one am excited by the idea of creating a totally new learning environment that uses all the intuitive bells and whistles of the iPad, not to mention its fabulous video performance.
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