Professor iPad: Improving Learning Outcomes with the iPad

Professor iPad: Improving Learning Outcomes with the iPad Mark M. Lennon, Ph.D. – Frostburg State University www.MarkPhD.com Tulay Girard, Ph.D. – Penn State Altoona www.tulaygirard.com 2013 HETL Conference – Orlando, FL, Jan 13-15

Introduction 

Advances in tablet technology created greater opportunities to enhance business education.

 Adopted

by companies (e.g., Wells Fargo, Mercedes-Benz, SAP) (King, 2010).

 Businesses

use iPads for: emailing, web surfing, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) & company specific applications (Auletta, 2010, Burrell, 2010).

Introduction (cont.)  Examples

of campuses include Oregon State University (Burrell, 2010), Florida State College (Aldrich, 2010; Kaneshige, 2010), NC State University library system (NCSU, 2010), even campus tours (Chronicle of Higher Ed).



Because of the newness of the device and the lead time to publication, formal academic literature about the iPad’s use in pedagogy is somewhat limited.



Paper explores and illustrates the use of the CNBC-RT (Real Time) App for iPad/iPhone and its efficacy as a pedagogical tool.

Literature Review  Mostly

conference papers on iPad Usage and its pedagogical impact (Muerant, 2010; Hall, 2011; Nooriafshar, 2010; Ostashewsk & Reid, 2010).

 Extensive

Journal Articles on the use of Mobile Phones as Pedagogical Tools (Biel, Grill, Gruhn, 2010; Chao & Chen, 2009; Johnson et al., 2010; Lennon, 2008; Kukulaska et al., 2005).

 Tech

Savvy Students readily adopt new technology (Warschauer, 1996; Cobb & Yackel, 1996); Stephan & Rasmussen, 2002; Vygotsky, 1978).

Literature Review  Benton

(2012) examined the implementation of the iPad as an instructional tool through the experiences of classroom teachers.

 Benton

concluded that teachers did not receive adequate support to integrate iPads in their respective content areas and relied on colleagues and students for support.

 Need

exists for pedagogical papers on the use of apps and tablet devices in classrooms.

“Killer Apps”  Over

one million Apps are available for download but not all are value-adding.

(2011) mentions and names “Killer Institutional Apps”.

 Tabb

 He

describes these apps as real-time operational dashboards, risk management platforms, news and positional alerts that portfolio managers, traders, and analysts utilize to keep abreast of the world.

CNBC-RT as one of “Killer Apps”  My

stocks  News  Videos  Market’s real-time data  Indexes (US, European, & Asian).  Pre-Markets (Futures trade values)  Market Movers (Gainers & Losers)  Commodities (Oil, NG, Gas, Gold, Silver)  Currencies  Bonds/Treasuries  Dow Impact (Dow gainers & Dow losers)  Stocks on CNBC

Dow Impact – Gainers/Losers Illustrates how each Stock in the Dow Jones Index is impacting the overall Index

Currencies Presents prices and graphs of fluctuations in US & foreign currency values

Futures Shows prices of major commodities like Oil, Gas, Gold, Silver, etc.

Breaking News Latest news reports with text alerts

Video News Stories Later iPad models can output directly to monitor display in the classroom

Conclusion  Engages

students in new and exciting ways. Makes learning fun.

 Faculty

can incorporate latest news and market changes as examples in class lectures.

 Shows

linkages between news and market and financial conditions.

Limitations of Study  Exploratory

in nature and provides a review of the use of a financial data app in classroom.

 Only

one App and tablet type (Apple) are explored.

 Hard

to implement if not all students have an iPad/iPhone or Android tablet.

 Future

Research: Longitudinal empirical studies, and comparison of competing Apps.

 Actual

class exercises and examples of exams to assess knowledge can be developed.

Thank You! For copies of paper, or additional questions, please see www.MarkPhD.com