As mobile devices continue to proliferate throughout society, the question of how higher education might take advantage of these devices for use in teaching and learning remains unclear. While many institutions now have ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) policies, others have mandated access to mobile devices at the program or institutional level.
The purpose of this session is present the case of how our department of forestry went about implementing a tablet initiative. The tablet was a required device for both faculty and students entering the program in September 2014 with the intended goals of reducing textbook purchase costs for students, mirroring industry standard practices in mobile device usage and enabling collaborative and active learning in the classroom.
In the session we will share what we have learned thus far in supporting the initiative and reflect on feedback collected from faculty and students in interviews, focus groups and observations throughout the program. At the end of the session, participants should be able to identify the challenges, issues and best practices for implementing a tablet initiative at this level.
Presented at the Educational Technologies User Group Spring Workshop 2015.