iPads

“A growing body of evidence is demonstrating that technologies, when used effectively by faculty and student advisors, can personalize learning at unprecedented scale potentially enabling all students – not just those who are able to attend the most elite, expensive colleges – to get the best and most effective education at a reasonable price.” – Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Digital Learning

Teaching with iPads

In support of the integration of mobile and engaging technologies that foster and promote student success, the Teaching & Learning Excellence Division provides opportunities for Austin Community College (ACC) faculty to incorporate the use of Apple iPads into their courses.

The use of iPads stemmed from a 2018-2019 Digital Fellowship. The goal of the program was to research and apply mobile technology through the use of iPad and digital resources to improve student learning outcomes, student persistence, and completion.

TLED has expanded iPad use in both teaching and learning at ACC. TLED offers iPads for both faculty and student use. An iPad in the Classroom Fellowship is available for faculty that encourages the study and teaching strategy redesign of their courses using iPads as a teaching tool. Additionally, TLED offers faculty support through the Teaching & Learning Knowledge Base with articles on a wide variety of technologies including iPads.

Check Out

IPads are available for faculty check out. Visit the Check Out Equipment page for rules, a list of additional equipment available, and to submit a check out request.

Request Support

For support, please submit the Faculty Support form. For ideas on how to implement iPads into your teaching, visit the Teaching Consultations & Support page to set up a consultation.

How to Check Out iPads for Your Classroom

The Office of Academic Technology has a limited number of classroom sets of iPads available for faculty members to checkout for use in the classroom. Classroom sets are intended for specific in-class projects, activities, or assessments. iPad sets are typically checked out for 1 day or class meeting and then returned – extended checkouts will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Classroom iPad sets are student-facing and come preloaded with Blackboard, Google Calendar, Google Chrome, Google Docs, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Sheets, Google Slides and Lockdown Browser.

Faculty members that would like to request a classroom set of iPads can fill out the faculty iPad classroom set request form. Requests for classroom sets of iPads must be submitted 7 business days prior to when the devices will be needed. Once you have submitted the form we will contact you within 24 hours (Monday – Friday, excluding weekends and holidays) to confirm your submission and discuss your needs.

Apps

A number of free apps are already made available to faculty for incorporation into their courses. A complete list of the free apps already available can be found here.

Premium (paid) apps can be requested as funding is available. If approved, TLED will purchase these apps and make them available only to the section(s) being taught by the requesting instructor.

If faculty would like to use apps (free or paid) that are not already available, a request for approval can be submitted here.

Apple Coaching Sessions

Apple Coaching Sessions are one-on-one sessions that faculty can book with an Apple Professional Learning Specialist. They are all former educators and faculty and LOVE being your creative partner in instructional design and how to design deeper learning experiences with Apple.

Please reach out for both design and integration questions.

All free, just send them an email to appleprofessionallearning@apple.com

Resources

Faculty and students that need assistance with the basic functionality of using tablet devices can refer to the LibGuide.

Visit the iPads in the Classroom articles in the Teaching & Learning Knowledge Base.

Contact

If you have questions about the Teaching with iPads program, please contact Matthew Evins, Director, Academic Technology via email: matthew.evins@austincc.edu