Abstract:

The National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore's premier university with a large undergraduate population. NUS Centre for Instructional Technology (CIT) conducted small scale iPad loan schemes for teaching staff in July 2011 (39 staff) and January 2012 (25 staff). The staff were loaned the iPads for a year. In July 2012, the scheme was expanded to three classroom loans of less than 20 students per module. The students and staff in these classes loaned the iPad at the start of the semester and returned them after the examinations.

This paper explores the logistical preparations and administrative details of the loan schemes. It also highlights the issues staff and students faced with using the device as users, learners and educators. The paper goes on to discuss the outcomes of the loan schemes, surfacing positive and negative qualitative feedback from the teaching staff as well as results from students surveyed after the classroom loan. In particular, we will look at one of the classes, which was equipped with an Apple TV for wireless projection. Finally, these results are put in context of the growing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend in mobile learning.

Keywords:

Mobile learning, mobile devices, tablets, classroom, technology.