In the afternoon the librarians all headed over to the Union for a working lunch. It followed the same format as past ILA/ACRL lunches, but this time I actually had a hand in some of what was happening. The Membership Committee submitted our report early, as our chair knew she wasn't going to be able to attend the conference. I particularly enjoyed the awards portion. As a member of the Awards Committee I read all of the research submissions & scholarship applications a while back, but it was particularly nice to see the recipients and hear from them firsthand how excited they are about their work!
After lunch we jumped into the afternoon sessions. The first I attended was a session on iPads. Usually I have my conference game plan pretty well mapped out before I even arrive, but this time slot was one where I didn't decide where I would be heading until right before (and I'm not going to lie; a little part of my decision was based on the fact that I got to play with the iPad). Another reason I attended this session was because a former Dorian camper of mine, Charlie, who has been a student at Luther for a few years now (gah, I'm getting old), was the tech helper, which is just too adorable (I'm pretty proud of that kid!). But enough about how I chose this session; let's talk about content!
Bringing Information Literacy Skills to the Tablet was presented by Luther College's Rebecca Sullivan. As a Luther graduate I was aware of some of the space and technological constraints in the library's instruction areas, the largest issue being no computer equipped instruction lab. There are labs around campus, but not one within the library that is suitable for instruction. Bu using iPads, Sullivan was able to work around some of these issues, and allow more flexibility for students to directly apply the skills they learn while being able to move freely around the library (including the stacks...imagine how many post-its they might save!). Sullivan discussed some of the traditional uses for iPads (roving reference/chat, student/faculty petting zoo to help them feel more comfortable with technology, e-readers for books, OPAC stations for service spots, self-guided tours, conveniently located instruction videos, student worker use with shelf reading/weeding, and -- as they did at UD -- and easy way to keep in-house statistics for materials use & space use). Essentially, Luther uses the iPads as a classroom set, similar to a laptop cart. She highlighted a few apps for classroom use and noted the importance of syncing all of the iPads to one iTunes account (so they all have the same apps laid out in the same way, making instruction easier). Just as with laptop carts, this classroom set of iPads is stored and charged within a secured cart. The cart may be checked out as a whole, and then each iPad is individually barcoded & signed out to individual students (as to better prevent the iPads from disappearing). They also are able to track the devices on campus by looking at when & where the device last accessed wireless. They've only had one issue with an iPad not being returned, which, given the portable nature of the device, isn't too shabby! Sullivan mentioned a couple of particularly useful apps for reading and annotating PDFs: GoodReader and iAnnotate. Luther just began working with Mac AirServer (only $4 per computer for a bulk license), which allows you to project your iPad screen onto another computer (or in this case, through a computer and then onto the screen wirelessly). It made me think of a less sophisticated (less expensive) version of SynchronEYES. You can project your own screen, or have students access the Mac AirServer to project their screen, but you don't have the ability to take over the devices to project your screen onto each device (as you do with SynchronEYES) or to choose and display a student's screen on your own (without asking them to access the AirServer), which could potentially slow things down in class.
As with any technology, there are always some challenges to consider. First: distraction. A simple solution is to just ask students to close the covers when you need to deliver instructions or prepare them for an activity, and then have them open the cover back up when it is time for them to apply the skills that were introduced. Another challenge (and this is big with me and my uber-love for multiple windows with multiple tabs) is that it can be difficult to multitask using iPads because navigating multiple applications can be a little cumbersome. You must have cloud storage available, so students can later access their documents from any device. Another big thing to keep in mind is that printing from iPads (or any wireless device) to a networked printer can sometimes be tricky.
I asked about using this technology with students who may have special needs. Traditionally Apple products have been very user friendly & disability friendly, but I wondered about how that would work with a large classroom set of these devices. From the usability standpoint, the product itself is fantastic, but students with disabilities would have to bring in their own devices in order to be sure their accessibility settings were kept. This brings up two large concerns for me: 1) in my mind this creates an even greater rift between the "haves" and the "have-nots" -- particularly when you add a learning or physical disability into the equation on top of financial concerns. 2) From a logistical standpoint, there would be issues with the apps and other pages instructors may have pre-loaded or synced onto the classroom set of iPads that wouldn't be loaded or arranged on the student's personal iPad they brought in because they wanted to be sure their accessibility settings were available to them during the class...
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