Information Technology

iPad Pilot Project Overview

A summary of findings of Reed's iPad study, prepared February 14, 2011, is available here:  Download the summary report (.pdf).

A summary of reports from Reed's iPad program for faculty, prepared April 19, 2011, is available here: Download the summary report (.pdf).

Project Purpose and Scope

Reed is continuing its exploration of electronic book (e-book) technology. During fall semester 2010, students in an upper division course used the iPad to read the assigned books and articles.

The course, Political Science 422: Nuclear Politics -- The origins and effects of the spread of nuclear weapons, is one of the classes that took part in Reed's study of the Amazon Kindle DX during fall 2009. The goals of the project were to:

• assess the status of multi-purpose tablet technology for curricular use
• identify specific impacts (both positive and negative) of tablet technology on teaching and learning activities
• evaluate how well features of the iPad address concerns raised by students and faculty who participated in the Kindle DX study.

Potential features of e-book technology we explored included: (a) the ability for students to have immediate, searchable access to all their course materials in one, lightweight device; (b) a reduction in the total cost of course materials; (c) a reduction in the use of paper; (d) ability of students to navigate course materials quickly and easily; (e) ability of students to highlight and annotate texts; (f) impact of iPad-based course materials on comprehension and classroom discussion; and (g) integration of e-book technology with other curricular tools such as Moodle (Reed's open source learning management system).

Participation and Benefits

• Participation in the pilot project was entirely voluntary. Students who did not wish to participate in the project were able to obtain course materials from the College Bookstore as usual.
• Project participants each received an iPad. At the conclusion of the pilot project, participants who completed the course, provided required feedback, and abided by the terms of the project had the opportunity to purchase the iPad at a 50% discount off the retail price.

iPad Program for Faculty

In addition to the iPad pilot, from November 2010 through October 2012 Reed offered an iPad program to enable faculty members to explore the use of tablet computing for their teaching. Read more about the iPad program for faculty. The vast majority of the faculty members who participated in the program found the iPad to be a valuable addition to their teaching and research toolkits; consequently, faculty members are now able to request iPads as part of the standard yearly computer equipment request (CER) process.

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