Tablets in Education

Tablets in Education
Brandy Diltz
Emerging Technologies
Kansas State University
Dr. Harris
April 28, 2014

Tablets in Education
Technology is becoming commonplace in the classroom. Many districts
are equipping students with devices in the classroom or even one to one
devices for students to use in the classroom and at home. The presence of
technology in the classroom has become more and more relevant as
students prepare for the 21st century job market.
One of the newest technologies available are personal tablets. There
are many types of tablets to choose from. Some run on Android based
systems, some on Windows, and others use Apple iOS. Tablets are typically
touch screen, they come in many sizes and price points. Most tables use
apps to function and most run on wireless internet or cellular systems.
Apple iPads and iPad minis are one of the tablet options available.
Depending on the size and capabilities iPads range in price from $299-$929.
Apple iPads run on apples iOS operating system. They come with either Wi-Fi
capabilities or Wi-Fi + Cellular capabilities. iPads use apps to function, there
are several apps included when you buy an iPad and more apps can be
purchased from the Apple App Store.
Google also offers its own brand of tablets, the Nexus series. These
tablets run on the Android operating system and depending on the type cost
$229-$499. The Nexus also has both a Wi-Fi and a Wi-Fi + Cellular option.
Nexus tables come with a variety of apps and more can be purchased from
the Google Play Store.
There are many other options and types of tablets as well. There are
tablets made by companies such as Samsung, Asus, Dell, Amazon and many

Tablets in Education
others. Smaller less known tablets can be purchased for as little as $70.
However the higher cost tablets have more options and features.

Tablets can be useful in many ways in education. They can be used for
communication, research capabilities, file sharing, gaming and many more
applications.
An article by Doug Johnson (2013) outlined several ways tablets can be
useful in the classroom. He categorized these used as the four Cs. The
first C is consumption. Consumption is reading, viewing or listening, which
can be easily done on many tablets (Johnson, 2013).

Competition is the

second C listed in the article. Competition is about gaming; many

educational games can be used on tablets (Johnson, 2013). Communication
is the third C. Tablets offer a variety of ways for teachers to communicate
with each other, with students and with parents. Many tablets have the
capability of emailing, texting, voice and video conferencing (Johnson, 2013).
The fourth C is Creation. Students can use tablets to create items to help
learn content. Students can use cameras for both still shots and videos to
make presentations. Students can also use the tablets microphone to record
their voice for a variety of assignments or projects (Johnson, 2013).
Technology can also be a useful tool in helping to motivate students. Students today are
surrounded by technology and they want to use technology in their everyday lives, mostly for
socializing and gaming. Educational gaming can be a great tool to get students interested in
learning. Tablets in the classroom can provide students access to a variety of learning games.

Tablets in Education
According to Petkov and Rogers (2011) K-12 students do not want to read books or do
homework assignments; they just want to play their video games. If classrooms had tablets
teachers would be able to find online games and app based games to match their content. When
choosing games to be integrated into lessons teachers should be careful to select games that are
appealing to students as to engage them in the content (Petkov, & Rogers, 2011).
Another way tablets can be used in education is for distance learning.
The University of Southern Queensland did a study on how they used tablets
in distance math courses. They were able to use tablets to send out
recorded lectures, hold one on one sessions and connect small groups for
problems solving (Galligan, Loch, McDonald, & Taylor, 2010). The same
university used tablets in a tutorial math classroom setting as well. They
used one tablet for a class; groups were assigned a problem then given a
tablet connect to a projector to work the problem for all the class to see
(Galligan, 2010). One of the advantages they found in this technique was
students did not have go up in front of the class and other students could
focus on the problem being worked not the student standing in front of them
(Galligan, 2010).

Students from this college were surveyed to see how they

felt about the experience, results were positive the students preferred this
method over class discussion and it made them feel more confident in helping their peers
(Galligan, 2010). Online classes are not just found in the college setting. Every year there are
more students enrolled in virtual schools k-12. Having a tablet could have a positive impact on
virtual learning at all levels.
Tablets are also being used to enhance learning during field trips. Some examples of this

Tablets in Education
would include students using technology at a zoo to look at internal systems of the animals they
are seeing (Sparks, 2013). Students could take pictures during field trips and record their voices
telling what they are seeing. Teachers could set up online questions for students to answer at
various places on the trip. Another example of technology enhancing field trips is a group of
sixth grade classes who used their phones to enhance their visit to a neighborhood pond. An
application on their phones allowed them to take and compare water samples at different parts of
the pond, sketch animals in the habitat, and answer quizzes on the role of different organisms in
the ecosystem. Pairs of students also took photos with their phones and compared notes (Sparks,
2013). This could easily be done on school provided tablets for a student who does not have a
phone.
Having tablets in the classroom can take student presentations to a whole new level.
There are many apps such as power point, keynote, google drive and interactive whiteboards
available on devices to enhance presentations, tabletshavefantasticappsthatcanbeusedtodo
realtimedrawing,writing,andanimationduringapresentation(DeNeen,2012).Students
tabletscanbeconnectedtowhateverprojectiondeviceisavailableintheclassroomandtheycan
presentdirectlyfromtheirowndevice.Theyarenolongertiedtostandingatthewhiteboard
withamarkerorhavingtobringinbulkytrifoldsoremailpresentationstoteachers.If
classroomshavedevicessuchasappleTVstoconnectremotelystudentswouldnotnecessarily
needtobeinthefrontoftheroom,minimizingonpresentationanxiety.Tabletscouldcreatea
morestudentfriendlyfeelforpresentations.
EBooksareanotherideaforusingtabletsintheclassroom.Withmanydistricts
strugglingtomakeendsmeetthecostofreplacingtextbookseverycoupleofyearscouldbe
easedwiththepurchaseofstudenttablets.Studentscanfeelfreetohighlight,circleandmarkup

Tablets in Education
theirebooksinwaysthatbesthelpthem(DeNeen,2012).Studentswouldhaveonedeviceto
carryaroundinsteadadifferentbookforeachsubject.Mosttabletshavetrackingsystemson
themaswellsolosingthempermanentlywouldbealowrisk,whenatextbookislostoftentimes
younevergetitback.Manytextbookpublishersofferonlineversionsoftheirhardcoverbooks
andsomecompaniesevenofferfullyonlinecurriculums.Studentscouldalsoventureinto
writingtheirownebooksandsharingthemwiththeirpeers.
Tabletscouldalsobeatooltoassessthemasteryofcontent.Thereareavarietyofapps
thatcanbeusedforbothinformalandformalassessment.Tabletscanbeusedinplaceof
clickersforimmediatefeedbackduringalessonaswellasshortquizzesandtests.Appssuchas
Socrativeallowteacherstowriteshortassessmentsinavarietyofmethods.Thereareoptions
formultiplechoice,truefalseandevenshortanswerquestions.Studentscanloginusingaroom
codeandanswerthequestions.Theteachercanthenseeimmediatefeedback.
Longerassessmentsandprojectscanalsobedoneontablets.Researchprojectscouldbe
completelydoneintheclassroom.Teacherswouldnothavetotaketheirstudentstoalibraryor
computerlabtoresearchtheirtopics.Studentswouldbeabletocompletetheirresearchand
createtheirproduct,whetheritisapaperorsomekindofpresentation,allononedevice.Many
statesarealsoallowingstatetestingtobedoneontablets.Therearesettingsonmanytablets
thatcanlockstudentsintooneareaontheirdevicetohelpwithtestsecurity.Accommodations
suchasreadaloudswouldbemadeveryeasywiththeuseoftablets.
Quickresponsecodes,QRcodesforshort,areanothergreatoptionintheclassroom
whentabletsareavailable.TeacherscancreateQRcodesonlineforfreeandpostthemfor
studentstoscan.QRcodescanbequestionsthatstudentsanswerortheycantakestudentsto

Tablets in Education
certainwebsiteswherethereisinformationaboutclasscontent.QRcodescanalsobeusedto
helpteacherswithtrackinghallpassesorevendiscipline.AnotherideaforQRcodeswouldbe
tocreateascavengerhuntforstudents(Hertz,2011).QRcodescouldbeplacedaroundthe
schoolascheckinsandcluestothenextlocation;studentsmayhavetoanswerquestionsateach
locationtogetaclueforthenextlocation(Hertz,2011).QRcodescanhelpengagestudentsin
thelessonthereforeincreasinglearning.
Tabletscannotonlyhelpwithstudentlearningbutcanprovidemanyadvantagesto
teachers.Teacherscanalsousetabletsasapresentationdeviceinplaceoflaptopsoreven
outdateddesktops(Price2013).Studentscanturnassignmentsinbyuploadingthemtoaserver
suchasGoogleDrivehelpingtoeliminatetheconstantstacksofpaperonateachersdesk.
ThereareappssuchasiAnnotateavailableforteacherstobeabletomarkonstudentsworkand
senditbacktothem(Price,2013).Teacherscanusetabletstorecordaudioorvideolessonsto
sharewithstudentsthatmaybemoreengagingtothemthantraditionallecture(Price,2013).
Manyonlinegradebooksalsoofferappsfortabletssoteacherscantakeattendanceandenter
gradesfromtheirmobiledevices.
Tabletscanbetailoredtofitanyclassroom,anycontent,andanygradelevel.For
exampleamiddleschoolmathclasscouldhaveappsspecificallyrelatedtomaththatappealto
studentsinsixththrougheighthgrades.Theclassroomcouldfunctioncompletelypaperlessif
eachstudenthadhisorherowndevice.Itmaytakemoreprepworkonthefrontendbythe
teacherbutitwillpayoffwhenstudentsareengagedandexcellingatthecontent.
Amiddleschoolclassroomwouldbeanidealplacetosetupaselffunctioning
classroom.Withthehelpofawiki,blogorwebpagestudentscouldknowexactlywhattheir

Tablets in Education
tasksforadayareassoonastheywalkintotheroom,orevenbefore.Theteachercouldpost
dailyagendas,expectations,andassignmentsonthepage.Studentscouldsetupabookmarkto
theteacherspageandwithsomepracticeknowtoimmediatelygotothesitewhentheycome
intotheroom.Theywouldknowexactlywhattogetstartedonwithoutbeingtold.
Theteachercouldhavethelessonpostedtothepageintheformofavideoorpodcast.
Theycouldeitherbepremadelessonstheteacherfindsoreventeachercreatedlessons.
Studentswouldbeabletovieworlistentothelessonasmanytimesastheyneedto.Another
optionwouldbefortheteachertomakeguidednotesorpresentationsavailableforstudentsto
followalongwithduringamoretraditionaltypelecture.Nearpod,Evernote,andGoodReader
aresomeappsthatcouldbeusedforguidednotesorpresentations.Manytextbooksalsooffer
premadepowerpointsthatcanbesenttostudentstofollowalongwith.Teacherscouldalsoflip
theirclassroomsandassignthelessontobedoneathome.Therearemanypossibilitiestablets
wouldallowforlessonsdeliveryinthemiddleschoolclassroom.
Oncethelessonhasbeentaughttherearemanyoptionsforassignmentsandassessments
ontablets.Theoptionsareassimpleasuploadingaworksheettobecompletedorascomplexas
aresearchproject.Studentscancompletetraditionalmathworksheetsusinganappsuchas
GoodReader.AppslikeGoodReaderallowstudentstoaddtextbytypingorevendrawingwith
theirfingerorastylusdirectlyontoaPDFfile.Teacherscanmakeworksheetsanddirections
availablerightontheirclasswebpage,theycansenditemsoutbyemailorhaveaserversuchas
GoogleDrivesetupforsharing.OneniceoptionGoogleDriveoffersisascriptcalledGClass
Folders.Teacherswouldneedtoinputtheirstudentsnames,classandperiodintoaspreadsheet
thenrunthescript.Thescriptcreatessetsoffoldersforeachclassandeachstudent.Teachers

Tablets in Education
canuploaditemsintotheclasssharedfolderforstudentstodownloadtotheirpersonaldevice.
Studentscanthencompletetheirassignmentsandthenuploadthemintothefolderthathasbeen
sharedbetweenjustthemandtheteachersoitisavailableforgrading.Anotherideaforan
assignmentwouldbeforstudentstocreateavideoonavideorecordingappteachingwhatthey
learnedfromthelesson.Studentcanthensharetheirvideowiththeirteacherortheycouldeven
presentittotheclass.Notonlyarestudentslearningthecontentbuttheyarealsolearningtouse
technology.
Oncetheunitiscompleteandthestudentshavedonetheassignedworktheteachercould
setupassessmentsforthestudentstotakeontheirtablets.Therearemanyappsavailablefor
teacherstocreateanddeliverassessmentstotheirstudents;assessmentscanbeanythingfrom
multiplechoicetoaprojectbasedassessment.Manyoftheavailableappswillalsograde
assessmentsandsendtheresultstoteachers,dependingonthetypeofassessment.
Teacherscanalsopostgradestoanonlinegradebookthatstudentscouldaccessfrom
theirtabletsandparentscouldviewaswell.Communicationaboutgradesandothertopics
wouldbecomeveryeasyifstudentshadtablets.Teacherscouldsetupcalendarswithimportant
duedatestosharewithstudents.Theycouldsendoutclassupdatesandremindersthrough
email.Studentswhoareabsentwouldalwaysbeintheloopastowhatishappeninginthe
classroom,providingtheyhaveinternetaccess.Manyexcusesofthetypicalmiddleschool
studentswillbecomeinvalidbytheinstantcommunicationatabletwouldprovide.
Schooldistrictsaroundtheworldshouldhighlyconsidertheimpactofgivingstudents
accesstosuchdevices.Technologyskillsareneededforstudentstobesuccessfulinmany
aspectsoftheworldtoday.AcorrdingtoPamuk, akir, Ergun, & Yilmaz(2013)duringtheir

Tablets in Education
pilotoftheFAITHprojectontechnologytechnology integration in educational settings is
considered as the one of the fundamental reforms . One to one tablets should be implemented
in middle schools because they are a beginning place for learning to use technology daily, for
more than socializing and gaming. At some point in their educational career students need to
learn to utilize digital tools for learning and producing products. Tablets are easy to learn and
provide so many opportunities not previously afforded to students in traditional classroom
settings. Students at the middle school age are starting to learn to be responsible for technology
items and should be trusted to utilize school owned devices for daily use.
These devices can provide students with so many more options for learning,
communicating, and creating then books, paper and pencil. They are mobile and allow students
to have access to lessons and assignments not only at school but anywhere they are. Tablets are
often touted as liberating devices that free students and teachers from the shackles of desktop
computing (Ribeiro, 2013). Teaching 21st century skills rely on students having access to
devices.

Tablets in Education

Tablets in Education
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DeNeen, J. (2012, December 13). iPads In The Classroom: 25 Ways To Use Tablets To Enhance
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2014, from http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/25-ways-to-use-tablets-toenhance-the-learning-experience/
Hertz, M. B. (2011, September 13). Using QR Codes in the Classroom. edutopia.org. Retrieved
April 27, 2014, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/qr-codes-education-mary-beth-hertz
Galligan,L.,Loch,B.,McDonald,C.,&Taylor,J.A.(2010).TheUseofTabletandRelated
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Tablets in Education
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