The fast and extremely versatile use of iPads and their thousands of apps has opened educational opportunities for many. On some university campuses the iPad has also raised misunderstandings in how these devices might be used for teaching and learning, which in turn, may make it more difficult for faculty to get this type of technology. In his recent blog posting Yadav (2011) noted the top 12 misconceptions about the iPad. In his list, numbers 4, 7, 9 and 12, noted below, were the ones that were continually surfacing on my campus, particularly from a few administrators.
Should there be one or more misconceptions about iPad use that needs attention on your campus, faculty can work together to correct those misconceptions. Check the process for sharing and disseminating specific information that exists on your campus. Then find answers to the following questions. Is there a campus technology advisory committee? Who are the key campus people with whom this committee (or a subcommittee) should meet and discuss concerns? Do technology policies and documents exist for your campus and/or system-wide university that you can cite for support? Is this an opportunity to educate others along the way? Is it possible to put iPads in the hands of those who are perpetuating the misconceptions for them to actually use them?
For example, on my campus we know that iPad use by some students and faculty is has already begun. We need to have a campus-wide systematic approach for faculty to get iPads so they can use them in their instruction. We then need to inform and educate both administration and faculty about this process. We have a University Technology Advisory Committee (UTAC) that is made up of faculty, technology staff, and administrators. The chair of this committee is our university vice provost for information resources. He reports to our university provost. Our UTAC created a subcommittee that reviewed what was occurring not only our campus but on several of our sister campuses to get ideas and data. We then reviewed our university strategic goals that include technology use. We discovered campus policy addressing information technology governance. And our strategic plan for information technology connects the university strategic plan to the continuous development of technology to support high-quality learning environments and effective business processes.
We developed a position statement that our Provost could use to support acquiring and implementing iPads on our campus. The three main documents that we used in anchoring our position were: the current university strategic plan that has a clear statement about the “wise use of new technologies (CSUC Strategic Plan, 2006, p. 11), a university executive memorandum that clearly notes that UTAC is a standing committee that is involved in “the University’s governance structure for major decisions relating to Information Technology (para. 1)”, and the University’s current Instructional Technology Strategic Plan which seeks to align “the continuous development of technology to support high-quality learning environments and effective business processes (p. 2).”
The work of UTAC and its subcommittee, the clarity of the position statement supported by existing documents, and the meetings with appropriate administrators, have led to a better informed and more consistently technology-focused campus community. No more pondering. Let’s get those iPads in the hands of the faculty and students!
References
CSUC. (2006). Aligning with the future: IT strategic plan 2005-2010. Retrieved from CSU, Chico, Office of
the President website: http://www.csuchico.edu/ires/plans/strategicPlan.shtml
CSUC. (2006). Policy on information technology governance. (Executive Memorandum 06-084.) Retrieved
from CSU, Chico, Office of the President website:
http://www.csuchico.edu/prs/EMs/2006/06-084.shtml
CSUC. (2006). Updating CSU, Chico’s strategic plan for the future. Retrieved from CSU, Chico, Information
Resources website: http://www.csuchico.edu/prs/documents/strategicplan5_06.pdf
Yadav, A. (2011, July 29). Top 12 misconceptions about the iPad [web log post]. Retrieved from:
http://www.rightnowintech.com/2011/07/top-12-misconceptions-about-apple-ipad.html
