I had a grand idea when first joined the mobile tablet group. I have been very interested in integrating technology in writing instructions and do wish to find a bridge to connect students' personal lives and academic lives and help them see that learning can be rather fun. However, I probably chose a wrong time because I was extremely busy this past spring semester and did not really have sufficient time to explore the ipad and its various applications. For me, the lesson learned is mobile tablets can probably used in classrooms (based on my observation of how ipads were used in some of our colleagues' nursing classes). However, instructors do need to spend much time getting familiar with the tablet and also applications. Using technology in teaching should not be an impulsive decision; rather it needs much research, trials, and experiment. I wish I had chosen a different time to join the group, maybe summer time to learn the tablet and play with its applications to seriously consider its pedagogical implications.

The interesting thing is I went to a conference Computers and Writing one week ago, and learned that some interesting applications used in classrooms in colleagues in other schools. Hopefully I can explore some of them in summer and get to apply them in my class.

Ruijie on May 29