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Flagship Programs
iPads in the Classroom

iPads in the Classroom

Trinity College Foundation Studies at the University of Melbourne began an iPad pilot in August 2010. We launched the pilot with roughly 50 students and 20 staff exploring the use of technology in the classroom.

The academic pilot program aims to realise the potential of students and teachers by liberating creativity and promoting exploration and critical inquiry. Its educational aims can be encapsulated in a single phrase: to go further, faster, and with more fun.

Experiences with iPads at Trinity began in Phase One, in the full range of subjects with the August entry students, including English, Chemistry, Drama, Economics, Environment and Development, History of Ideas, Maths and Physics. During this phase of the pilot, students and staff also incorporated the iPads into welfare and social activities, from attendance tracking to relaxation sessions.

At the start of 2011 the second exciting phase of the pilot project began. All teaching and many administrative staff have been allocated an iPad. The range of subjects taught with iPads in Phase Two has expanded to now include the original cohort as well as Media and Communications, Accounting, Psychology, Maths 2, and Biology. The focus for the year-long Phase Two is training teachers in the use of iPads and the broader range of education technology available at Trinity. This is a collaborative process, where all academic staff share knowledge and ideas to build a developing body of skills, innovations and ideas to foster engaging learning programs.

Phase Three involves repeating the pilot with August Extended students in 2011 to apply and refine the original research and to gain further experience and make more curriculum developments before entering the final phase of full deployment to all students in early 2012.

The final stage of the project will be to expand the use of iPads to the whole of Trinity College Foundation Studies students in 2012.

For more information, contact Jennifer Mitchell or Glen Jennings.