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Tech Trends: Tablet Computing in Higher Education
How might this technology be relevant to your own educational area of expertise?
The use of tablets in college and university classrooms is a relatively new trend (Johnson et al., 2013, pg. 15). Their adoption in my area of expertise, L2 or foreign language instruction, is slowly growing as evidenced by the increasing number of language learning apps available. A good starting point for understanding how a tablet may factor in to the world of foreign language instruction would be to discuss how approaches to language instruction have changed over the years. Dan Nickolai, Director of the Language Learning Center at St. Louis University, succinctly summarizes the pedagogical evolution in L2 instruction:Recent trends in language pedagogy have called into question the efficacy of repetitive grammatical drills that focus on the linguistic accuracy of any given utterance. Instead, educators have embraced communicative teaching methods that emphasize the importance of conveying information, even if this is done so imperfectly. Linguistic precision has thus been eschewed for practical performance in many classrooms. This, in turn, has led to the development of what is now known as task-based instruction. Students are expected to be able to complete tasks in the target language, such as reserving a hotel room or train ticket, instead of demonstrating their ability for exact rote memorization (Nikolai, 2012).
As language instruction practice continues to emphasize results over correct usage, it makes sense that an instructor would utilize an interactive device like a tablet as a platform for task-based activities, such as games. A tablet with the right software installed would provide language learners with a tool that is well-equipped to analyze input, determine the percentage or level of correctness, and then provide or withhold the desired result. A practical example would be a game the prompts a user to utter a phrase into the microphone, say a question asking where to find the hospital, and if the program recognizes the words spoken with at least partially correct syntax, the learner would advance in the game.
In terms of vocabulary, arguably one of the most vital aspects of language development, a tablet could prove quite useful. Scholar I.S.P. Nation suggests true independent reading of a L2, or target, language would require somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 words, with the idea that “there should be one or two unknown words in every 100 words” (Nation, 2001, pg. 167). A tablet could help with vocabulary development by, again, analyzing input and measuring it for correct tone, pitch, and other indicators of correct pronunciation.
There appears to be strong potential for using a tablet in a language classroom for vocabulary and speaking development. Before researching the current app offering for language instruction, I envisioned what I would like to have available for students. I imagined, for example, a student attempting to develop their pronunciation of the letter 'R' in French. Using their tablet and the right app, they would record their voice as they pronounce a word, such as travail. Then, the program would repeat back to them the recording so they could hear their pronunciation and make adjustments as necessary. Finally, students could then choose to listen to the pronunciation of the same word by a native speaker. After a bit of research, I found that, fortunately, such apps exist and allow students to perform many of these tasks; a further discussion of this study is included below in Projects (Paolelli, 2012). I think this is an indication that app development companies are beginning to understand what is needed in the language classroom.
What do you see as the potential impact of this technology on teaching, learning, or creative inquiry?
To elaborate on the last point, let us revisit L2 education. Although many software companies have offered computer-based language courses for decades now - the heavily marketed Rosetta Stone software first hit the market in 1992 - tablets offer a standardized computing package that all but guarantees a user will have a video camera, microphone, and touch screen in a portable package. In the past, neither educators nor software engineers could be certain about the computer and peripheral setup their students or customers would be using, resulting in at best an uneven experience for the users and at worst a dive towards the lowest-common-denominator of computer configurations to maximize accessibility.
Tablets, especially Apple’s iPad series, offer a relatively standardized package that designers incrementally advance with “better” features for each yearly product launch. The hardware setup is determined by the design team and is not easily customizable. The variation in each configuration is overall slight compared to desktop computers, which are highly customizable and therefore unpredictable. Also, with basically only two operating systems in competition for market share (Andriod and iOS), there is little platform variation, as well. It comes as no surprise, then, that a plethora of language apps (DuoLingo, Busuu, Rosetta Stone TOTALe) take advantage of the predictable hardware/software setup and provide a user experience superior to those in the past.
To pull away from language instruction and out into general course usage, tablets make excellent e-text readers for class texts. Major print textbook players such as McGraw-Hill and Pearson are positioning themselves as pioneers and innovators in the digital textbook marketplace, and Apple’s iBook Author already offers free textbook authoring software for anyone to create interactive ebooks with multiple layers of embedded media and assessments. Some digital text companies, such as Kno, are pushing on the boundaries of what a textbook can do by creating software that that measures and reports on everything from how much time was spent reading to how many pages were read (Walsh, 2013). As more texts go digital, utilize media and online connectivity, and are designed to collect and report learning analytics to measure success, they will require increasingly sophisticated computing power. For their power and portability, tablets seem like the best option to fulfill this need.
Do you have or know of a project that addresses this trend?
As a Spanish teacher, I regularly sought ways my students could develop their speaking, reading, and writing skills inside and outside the classroom. With the right software, or apps, installed, students could use technology such as tablets to practice their language skills in various ways. For example, at Northwestern University, students in an introductory Chinese course used iPad apps to allow them to look up definitions, record and listen to their pronunciations of words, and then listen to the pronunciations of native speakers (Paolelli, 2012). One standout app they used in this course instructed proper writing by asking students to trace Chinese characters on the touch screen (none of the apps used in this course were listed by name in official Northwestern documentation). After teaching two sections of the course, one with iPads and one without, lecturer Hong Jiang found that “Since the dictionary app allowed students to tap on a word to see the definition and pronunciation...students with iPads were able to read faster and more efficiently (Paolelli, 2012). Therefore, if the language learning goal were to develop proper pronunciation and fluidity in reading, a tablet would make an adequate course companion.
Overall conclusion of this trend and what you think the future holds for it.
Even though a tablet offers a powerful, relatively-standardized mobile platform, it is only as useful as its software. It is vital that an instructor experiment with various apps to find those that help students meet developmental goals. The future for mobile computing looks bright, especially as many young entrepreneurs and software developers turn to the world of education for inspiration and more young adults enter higher education already familiar with and in possession of mobile technology. Because many disciplines take a task-based approach to instruction, and an ever increasing number of course texts are optimized for mobile platforms, tablets appear to be sufficient tools for helping learners reach their goals.
References
Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Estrada, V., Freeman, A., and Ludgate, H. (2013). NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.
Nation, P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Nikolai, D. (2012, JAN 18). How tablets accelerate the ease of learning a foreign language. Retrieved from http://tabtimes.com/analysis/education/2012/01/06/dan-nickolai-how-tablets-accelerate-ease-learning-foreign-language
Paolelli, M. (2012, April 16). Chinese language classes experiment with ipads. Retrieved from http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2012/04/ipad-chinese-language.html
Walsh, K. (2013, JAN 09). Kno introduces analytics tool for student use with electronic textbooks. Retrieved from http://www.emergingedtech.com/2013/01/kno-introduces-analytics-tool-for-student-use-with-electronic-textbooks/
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