Dr. Nora Riley had a vision of a classroom where students did not use paper; instead, they would receive electronic handouts and take notes on electronic tablets. Notes would be stored in the cloud for easy access, and online learning tools and applications to enhance learning would be at their fingertips.
During the 2013-14 academic year, Dr. Riley saw her vision come to life when the Physical Therapy Department embarked on a study to see how tablets in the classroom affected learning.
In this study, half of the first year students received iPads to use in all their classes. At the end of the first semester, students returned their iPads to the department and were given to the other half of the class to use during the second semester.
Students with iPads didn't receive paper syllabi or handouts for at least the first two weeks of the semester; course materials only were kept in electronic form. Paper course materials were provided for the group without iPads unless they declined.
At the end of the semester, Dr. Riley surveyed students and faculty on their impression of tablets in the classroom and held focus groups to gather more detailed feedback.
The program was deemed a success and had an immediate pay off: beginning in Fall 2014, faculty eliminated paper handouts for all lectures and most laboratory experiences. Overall, it's been a good transition. The majority of students use iPads, but others use Android tablets, Microsoft Surface, and a few use their laptop.
And while the tablets haven't completely replaced student's desktops or laptops, they have allowed for considerable portability. Gone are the heavy, back-breaking texts or binders carried around town.
Students agree that this practice is beneficial and allows them to keep all their course notes immediately available for recall during other courses and in the clinic.
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