Educational and Curriculum Studies

I, Gift Cheva, declare that this research report is my own work. It is submitted for the degree of Master of Education (Curriculum Studies and Mathematics and Science Education) in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any other degree or examination in any other university.

I, Gift Cheva, declare that this research report is my own work. It is submitted for the degree of Master of Education (Curriculum Studies and Mathematics and Science Education) in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any other degree or examination in any other university.

Apple's iPad has attracted a lot of attention since its release in 2010 and one area in which it has been adopted is the education sector. The iPad's large multi-touch screen, sleek profile and the ability to easily download and purchase a huge variety of educational applications make it attractive to educators.

S ince its earliest days, critical care has been associated with advanced technology. Yet, as I (R.H.S.) round the intensive care unit (ICU) during my duties as medical codirector, I see that now some of the most important new high-tech tools in view are not installed by the hospital, but are being carried around by the physician assistants, residents, fellows, nurses, and, of course, me. What I refer to is the omnipresence of powerful handheld communications devices, such as smartphones and tablet personal computers (PCs), that are fundamentally changing the quantity of information available to clinicians where they need it the most: at the point of care. These are far more than storage devices; they are sophisticated communication tools with beautiful full-color screens, and high-speed Internet access, and they offer users the ability to communicate, via voice or text, on a global level.

In 2003 Texas A&M University established an engineering campus in Qatar Foundation's Education City in Doha, Qatar. In addition to engineering, instruction is also provided in science, mathematics, liberal arts and humanities. From the beginning it was intended that the library at Qatar campus would have a small physical presence but have full access to all Texas A&M electronic resources. One of the by-products of this has been a concerted ongoing investigation into electronic alternatives to hard copy formats such as books. The library has been an "early adopter" of both eReaders and tablet computers. The library has also sought to make use of online video streaming services as an alternative to hard copy DVD collections. With the release of the iPad in April 2010, the library and the information technology departments bought and deployed three Apple iPads and made them available on a lending basis. Input was sought from faculty, researchers, students and staff and efforts made to understand the usage patterns of groups and to determine what, if any, benefit this particular device might bring to the learning environment. Devices were circulated for one week periods and input was requested via survey. Additional input from iPad owners was solicited and studied. This device added to the portfolio of digital readers (Sony, Kindle, iRex), streaming media services and flipcams deployed by the library in 2008, but also added a large diversity of applications in addition to reader and video capability. In the latest phase of this experiment the library is working with the I.T. department and two academic departments (Liberal Arts & Petroleum Engineering) to integrate the iPads in to the teaching programmes of two specific courses. The next phase is to seek feedback on the success of these initial trials whilst also beginning to look at alternatives to the iPad such as the Android-based Samsung Galaxy tablet. This paper seeks to provide a background to this experiment at Texas A&M at Qatar and discuss some of the issues involved.