Spring Pilot Pre-Survey

Thanks to all who have completed the pre-survey so far. Here are some statistics from 11 participants:
6 Female
5 Male

45% are between 51-60
27% are between 41-50
27% are between 31-40

45.5% have 5 years teaching experience at Parkland
18% have 6-10 years teaching experience...
9% have 11-15 years teaching experience...
2% have 20-25 years...
1% has 25+ years...


9% rated their basic technology skills as "adequate"
36% rated their basic technology skills as "good"
54% rated their basic technology skills as "very good"


18% rated their feeling of using a new piece of technology in traditional classroom as "neutral"
45.5% excited
36% very excited


9% claimed they were "anxious" about using new technology in the online environment
18% are "neutral"
54% are "excited"
9% are "very excited"

45.5% of participants are "very comfortable" using a mobile tablet
36.4% "comfortable"
18.2% "neutral


5 people own a mobile tablet
6 people do not own a tablet


Of those who own a tablet:
40% use it 1-2 times a day
40% use it 5-10 times a day
20% use it more than 10 times a day


54% of participants think their basic computer skills will improve using a tablet
45% answered no to the question


The list of ways faculty anticipate using the tablet for teaching:
A link to the net
A way to draw on the screen
Mobility in the classroom
Using applications
Storing photographs to show students
Using key note and pages
Finding apps that student can use to learn course content better
Interactivity to reiterate ideas and concepts taught in class
Use tablet to review course materials
Grade and respond to course work electronically
Primarily as instructor demonstrating apps since not all students will have device
As a way to provide feedback and drafts with students
To show media files
To communicate with students more easily
Expose students to several apps that relate to design and specifically typography
Increase ways to connect to students
Advanced knowledge of training materials
Test new products
Introduce students to new products


Kim Pankau

WARNING: No wifi Ahead

When choosing apps, especially for the mobile classroom, apps that do not require wifi access 100% of the time are very valuable. Learning often happens outside the classroom. It happens in an outdoor lab, a class fieldtrip or just students reflecting on course material as they go about their day. Students may also want to digest some of the course material during some free time, but when they don’t have wifi access. The concept of apps started with smartphones, which are devices that are connected to the internet almost 100% of the time. However, 65% of tablets in general and 75% of iPads are wifi only. Apps specifically made for tablets seem to be aware of this and often provide “offline” content and functionality. The apple app store does a good job of separating iPad apps from iPhone apps so you can easily choose only apps designed for the tablet platform. However, the Android market does not make this distinction. This often makes it difficult to find apps that don’t require full time wifi access. We encountered this issue several times last semester, especially when using Google docs. However, a new update to the Android Google docs app now allows for offline editing. I’m sure this trend will continue as developers realize that users want to use their devices even when they don’t have wifi. Please respond to this post with any useful apps that you have found that don’t require wifi access.