Increasing Learning with iPads and Social Media
David Beskow, Ashok K. Deb
This paper was completed and submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master Teacher Program, a
two year faculty professional development program conducted by the Center for Teaching Excellence,
United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, 2013.
Abstract
Given the rise of social media and mobile devices, the Army is looking at ways to leverage these
technologies. There was an iPad study at the U.S. Military Academy that searched for best practices for teaching with iPads where all the students have iPads as well. There were 3 sections of
Differential Calculus that were used to develop some of the best practices for incorporating the iPad
and social media into the classroom. Provided the proper infrastructure is in place, the content
delivery method significantly changes when compared to a regular course. Additionally, with the
plethora of applications available to aid in learning, it can seem overwhelming which ones to use.
Lastly, the iPad as a mobile platform allows greater access to the social media outlets that many
students already use. In this study, Facebook was utilized as a mechanism to get students to think
about math more outside of the classroom.
Keywords: iPads; social media; student motivation; capstone project
Introduction
The iPad was a revolutionary device that was announced in January 2010 by Apple Inc. At the time, no one could really predict
the full potential for this product. It was joked that the iPad was
merely a larger version of the iPod Touch and therefore was not
revolutionary. The multi-touch screen, virtual keyboard, wireless
connectivity, internet access and camera were all features that existed in the iPod Touch and iPhone. The iPad is truly an amazing
piece of technology that has transformed many classrooms as it
has opened eyes, broadened minds and sparked some motivation.
This paper discusses the findings from conducting an iPad study
and its use in teaching college mathematics. After an explanation
of the study design for my courses and the technology infrastructure, the next topic to be discussed are the applications that were
used. Results are presented concerning student attitude and feedback along with recommendations for teachers who are considering
implementing iPads in their courses. The results of 512 responses
to a technology survey of the student body at-large is provided to
explore the degree to which we can generalize our results to multiple Figure 1: Student working
students studying in multiple disciplines. Additionally, there is a iPad at board
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discussion of the increase role Social Media played in the classroom
as a result of the iPads.
Literature Review
Even given the recent entrance of the iPad in the mobile computing market, multiple researchers
have evaluated how the iPad can change and enhance the secondary and tertiary educational
experience. Some studies were exploratory in nature (How can we use iPads in our classroom?).
Some tried to measure student engagement and interest in learning, while others tried to measure
the impact on student performance.
Most researchers have found that student feedback is overwhelmingly positive [Maag, 2006,Oscar
Perez; Virgilio Gonzalez; Mike Pitcher; Peter Golding and Espinoza, 2012,Brand and Kinash, 2010].
The impact of the iPad on student performance, however, is somewhat inconclusive. Some research
was simply able to claim that it did not hurt academic performance [Oscar Perez; Virgilio Gonzalez;
Mike Pitcher; Peter Golding and Espinoza, 2012]. Positive impacts of iPad use in education included
that teachers began using multiple pedagogical techniques such as blogging, podcasting, etc that
they would not otherwise have experimented with [Yeung and Chung, 2011]. One hindrance to
its use that was noted in our literature review is the fact that not all students were familiar with
mobile devices, and not all student have a Facebook account or other social media account that
may facilitate collaboration [Backer, 2010].
Of the literature reviewed in this project, we found that Murphy had the most comprehensive
study of iPad use across multiple undergraduate and graduate institutions. Murphy assessed the
use and success of iPad implementation at 36 institutions. Murphy does note up front that a part
of the motivation for iPad implementation at multiple schools appears to simply be what he calls
the “kudos” factor. In other words, many institutions “...are perhaps using it as a visible symbol of
their ’technology differentiation”’ [Murphy, 2011]. Murphy’s significant contribution is to categorize
how each institution is using iPads into one or more of the following categories which he named
typologies:
Table 1: Murphy’s six “Typologies” of iPad use in higher education
Typology 1 Ubiquitous Access to Course and Subject Materials
Typology 2
Enrolment and Administration
Typology 3
Peer-to Peer and Peer-to-Educator collaboration
Typology 4
Content generation
Typology 5
Research/material yielding
Typology 6
Productivity enhancement
Murphy notes that the majority of schools primarily use it simply for content delivery. Murray
additionally notes that very few educators seem to use the iPad for collaboration, attributing this
to a behavioural view of learning as opposed to more modern theories on student learning. Murphy
also notes that very few institutions (Abilene Christian University being the exception) build there
entire course around the iPad making it the center of the learning experience both inside and
outside the classroom. [Murphy, 2011]
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Background
The purpose of the iPad study conducted by the Math Department in MA104 during the spring
semester of Academic Year 2012 was three-fold. First was to evaluate the MathStudio application
(app) in its ability to replace Mathematica as the Computer Algebra System used for the course.
Second was to quantify the added benefit of students having the iPad to augment their technology
resources in the course. Lastly, the study was to provide insights and recommendations for if or when
all cadets were issued an iPad in addition to their cadet-issued laptop. It is the strong position of the
Math Department that cadets be issued a PC laptop with Mathematica for the foreseeable future.
The test bed for this research was two classes that were iPad enabled. Every student was issued an iPad, wireless keyboard, smart
cover and stylus. I had 14 students in One class had 14 students
and the other had 18 students in the other class. The instructor
was also issued an iPad. Fortunately, the instructor received the
iPad two weeks before the students and was able to become more
familiar with the device and structure lesson plans using it. The
main advantage of having the iPad earlier is that one has the ability to discuss its limitless potential with other educators and to
learn the nuances of the various applications. Forming a working
group with other iPad instructors or conducting other face-to-face Figure 2: Students using iPad
collaboration is critical. It is highly recommend that any teaching on graded event
organization either send instructors to iPad focused workshops or
conferences. If any do not exist, then the best recommendation would be to host one. If one is
hosted, ensure students are invited because that is where some of the best ideas came from.
Infrastructure
While the iPad is a very capable device by itself, its full power is not unleashed until it is connected
to a high-speed wireless network. In a military setting this can be quite difficult and expensive.
In order to connect to the internet at West Point, we had to establish a separate contract for
commercial internet services. That service had to be pushed over existing lines to the buildings
designated for iPad connectivity and then wireless access points had to be placed in those specific
locations. It was two weeks into the semester before Cadets had internet access which was critical
for downloading the apps and updates that leverage the dynamic capabilities of the device. By
the midpoint of the semester, there was iPad connectivity in my office, our classroom and in one
study area of the Library. While these areas should be considered as a bare minimum for coverage
areas, not having internet access in the barracks was very detrimental. The course is designed for
each Cadet to spend 3 hours preparing outside of class for each hour in class. It is unreasonable to
expect all of that preparation to be done in the Library. Additionally, if this program were to be
implemented Academy wide, the Library would not have the space for everyone.
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Applications
The thousands of applications available for the iPad are probably its key selling point. The functionality of the device is both customizable and boundless. From a previous study, there were a
select number of applications that I was confident would be helpful for Cadets. There were some
other applications that were evaluated to see if they were better suited. This is an area where a
lot of thought needs to be focused.
MathStudio
MathStudio app is a paid mobile application that is available on iTunes for $19.99.
It was required for those who participated in the study. For future implementations,
it should be the cadet’s responsibility to download this application. One option of
payment would be to include a $20 iTunes gift card in the class bundle from book
issue. MathStudio app has very good tutorials that explain major functions. The
instructor should augment this with a technology lab handout and a quick reference
card specifically designed for the MathStudio app and MA104. All of the technology
objectives of MA104 can be accomplished using the MathStudio app. The advantages of using
MathStudio are its reduced cost, its response speed in launching and computing commands and its
ease to use. The disadvantages are the difficulty in cutting and pasting into a Word document for
a project write up, its limited help and tutorial feature which is not as robust as Mathematica’s
and its limited error messages which make it more difficult for troubleshooting. However, half of
the cadets would prefer to use a calculator app on the iPad instead of the cadet issued calculator.
On the other hand, 75% of the cadets would prefer to use the MathStudio app over Mathematica.
An added benefit of MathStudio over Mathematica is that there is a good chance that my
students would still have access to MathStudio after they graduate. As the cadets become Second
Lieutenants in the U.S. Army, it is highly unlikely that they will personally pay for the license
for Mathematica on their future personal computers. What is even more unlikely is that their
Army unit will buy a Mathematica license for their work laptop. However, if they had bought
MathStudio for the iOS devices, they would access to the program and future updates conceivably
for their lifetime. Additionally, they may not take their laptop on a foot patrol in Afghanistan, but
it wouldn’t be unreasonable to carry an iPad or iPhone. Whatever shortcomings MathStudio has
as a Computer Algebra System (CAS), it more than makes up with portability and access.
NotesPlus
Each iPad also had the Notes Plus note taking application which costs $7.99. It is very
easy to use both the stylus and your finger to write with Notes Plus and it has all of the
basic options you would expect such as different colors and line sizes. However, since
there is not dual screen option on the iPad, you either use it for taking notes or for
the CAS. It is very difficult to do both simultaneously. This is one area where group
work is great. Students can pair up and use one iPad for the CAS and take notes with
the second iPad. At the end, it is very easy to save the notes as a .pdf file and then
email to the other student. This way groups can work on different parts of a larger project and
quickly share the results electronically at the end without having to make a trip to the copier or
digital sender. While it was not used course wide as part of this study, Notability was identified as
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a better alternative to Notes Plus. In addition to being cheaper ($1.99), it is easier to sync with
either Google Drive or Dropbox and it is has a voice record option as well.
Notability
Notability is a very good note taking app as well. As each company has released newer
versions and updates to their applications, the lines that separate different applications
have become blurry. Notability allows the user to file their notes in folders which is
great for organization. This really allows them to carry a different notebook for each
class and to always have their notes with them. One main advantage is the ability to
sort a folder by name, modified date, created date, subject, size or if it was exported.
Similar to your email inbox, it makes finding that one particular notebook very easy.
Another good feature is that it has a left-handed mode. The background paper can be various
width rules or various sizes of graph paper. In addition to be able to add various media to your
notes, it allows for you to added post-it notes as well for tangent ideas.
GoodNotes
As compared with Notability, GoodNotes has a better layout. Where Notability looks
and feels more like email, GoodNotes looks and feels more like iBooks. Your notes
are saved on a bookshelf that allows you to preview. Your notes can be saved in
different folders and each folder is basically a different bookshelf. It makes organizing
and storing your notes more intuitive than using a file system type of hierarchy. Since
those familiarly with the iOS system are used to iBooks, saving notes in this format
may lead students to take better notes. It basically reminds students to focus on the
book part of notebook instead of just the note part. This motivates them to better organize their
thoughts and helps motivate them to come back and review their notes, just as you would review
a book. An additional advantage for GoodNotes is the ability to transfer files to or from your
computer over WiFi.
Evernote
Another interesting note taking app that motivates students is Evernote. Their logo
is the head of an elephant because elephants are known for never forgetting anything.
Evernote allows students to capture mixed media in a stream of conscious format.
Students can take a picture of notes on the board, a short video of the teacher speaker
or some quick handwritten notes. These mixed media tidbits can be organized in one
note which is accessible on any computer via the Internet. This increases the motivation
for students to take notes since it often reduces the effort to capture the information
and it makes it easy to access the information. It does a great job of spurring the interest of
students since they can capture raw content that they can come back and research further later.
This is probably the best note taking program for collaboration and content sharing.
iBooks
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The main e-reader application on the iPad is Apples very own iBooks. While the
application works seamlessly with the iOS environment, there are some limitations. The
book has to be created using Apples proprietary software (currently iBooks Author).
The book would also need to be published through the iBooks software in order for it to
be loaded on a device. The great resolution of Apples Retina display in addition to the
ability to bookmark and highlight provides for a great reading experience. It is great
that you can even use iCloud to sync your bookmarks and highlights across multiple iOS devices
that a student may own. In addition to the overhead of getting a book into iBooks, students do
not have the option of writing free text in the margins of the book.
Kindle
Many students already own a Kindle, the e-reader that is licensed and sold by Amazon. There is a Kindle application available for the iPad. Overall, there is very little
difference between the usability of Kindle and iBooks. They both equally motivate students to read more often since their library of heavy textbooks can be reduced to the
weight of electrons. Books bought through Kindle can also be read on a computer or
on other (normally cheaper) Kindle devices. The main drawback between both of these
applications is the ability to mark or write in the book. From a teaching perspective,
it is hard to get students synchronized on the same page as page numbers have a different meaning
depending on the size of device and the selected size of the text.
Note taker as e-reader
While the Kindle app is a basic e-reader, iBooks has the ability to be more motivating
with dynamic content that can be custom created with iBooks Author. However, having
a book as a PDF file allows for it be opened with one of the previous mentioned note
taking applications. This allows for students to make notes in the margin, put question
marks next to what they dont understand and to respond to questions in the text in
the same place. Of course, it is difficult to get PDF files of most textbooks due to
copyright issues. An additional point to note is that it is not currently possible to have
two apps displayed simultaneously on the iPad. So one cannot really read with one app and take
notes with another. You could use this as motivation for students to study together. One student
can have the text open on their iPad and their partner can have a worksheet or blank notes page
on his or her iPad. At the end, the notes or worksheet can be easily shared to whoever had the
book open.
Social Media
One aspect that the iPad help enable was the use of social media in teaching. This
is where the iPad performed excellent in the pedagogically sense. There was a closed
Facebook group created just this class. Of the 42 students, 38 joined voluntarily. One
cadet did not have an account and did not want one while three other cadets did not
want to join. Extra credit was offered to students who found and posted interesting
articles that leveraged math. The goal was to help the students realize that applied
math exists in all of their current interests and hobbies. Over time, the group became
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a self-governing forum where students would post questions about the reading and homework. The
great thing was that other students would start answering the questions, even when the question
was posed to the instructor. Eventually, students found the group to be a faster and just as reliable
source than emailing the instructor. While most cadets had Facebook accounts before the study,
the iPads actually increased their participation in group. While this is possible with the laptops
that all the other students have, they do not get the instant notifications that come with mobile
devices.
Figure 4: Sharing content beyond course material
Figure 3: Facebook collaboration in order to
access course content
This changed the teaching style to a very dynamic situation. The instructor could see updates
and comments during the evening and weekend period as cadets did their homework and studied.
Before going to teach class, the instructor would have knowledge of the exact problems students
had with the reading or homework, because those issues were voiced over social media the previous
night. This provides a wealth of intelligence for the instructor as opposed to just guessing what
the students may have had trouble with. This is also great for understanding the sentiment in a
class. The instructor could get instant feedback on what students thought about a quiz or exam
by going to the Facebook group. In most cases it was raw, honest, unsolicited feedback that the
instructor had before even grading the papers. Normally, an instructor would not get that until
after the next class meeting.
Survey
Survey Description
In order to further understand the conclusions of our study in the context of the larger West Point
education, and to aid in generalizing the results/conclusions, we conducted a survey of 1087 cadets
and received responses from 512 cadets (47% return rate). The cadets were randomly selected from
across the Corps of Cadets with both male/female participants as well as participants from all four
classes (Classes of 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016). The survey asked the following questions:
1. Do you personally own any version or model of Apple’s iPad?
2. Is your iPad WiFi only?
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3. If you were given an iPad and your course text book was electronically stored on it, would
you be more motivated to read it?
4. If you were given an iPad and a note taking application, would you be more motivated to
take notes?
5. If you were given an iPad that had applications similar to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint
and Mathematica, would you use the iPad to complete course assignments?
6. Do you have a Facebook account?
Survey Results
Detailed survey results are provided in Table 2. Of note is that 18 ± 3.1% of cadets own an iPad. In
other words, roughly 1 in 7 cadets currently own an iPad and presumably use it to varying degrees
to enhance their undergraduate education. Of the cadets that own an iPad, almost half of them
own one with 3G access. This high percentage is presumably due to the fact that West Point does
not currently have commercial WiFi widely available on the campus. Also of note is that 95 ± 1.8%
of cadets have a Facebook account. This is the vast majority of students...but not all of them. In
a class of 17 students, on average one student will not have a Facebook account.
In regards to iPad implementation, the majority of students believe that iPads would motivate
learning–but it is not an overwhelming majority. It seems that cadets believe than an iPad would
increase their motivation on assignments more than it would increase their motivation on reading
their textbook or taking notes. Just as students have a large variance in learning styles, they would
also have a high variance in the means and degree to which they would use an iPad to enhance
their education, which is illustrated in the varied interest in the iPad. While we did not ask for
a students major, their is presumably more homogeneity among students of the same discipline.
Social science disciplines would primarily use the iPad for content delivery, foreign language students
would primarily use it for interactive applications and digital translators, whereas math and science
disciplines would lean more toward mobile computational applications with some content delivery.
Results
In general, the fact that the MathStudio app is on the iPad which is a mobile device with longer
battery life gives significant advantages over a laptop with Mathematica. Furthermore, since the
MathStudio app was not allowed on the Term End Exam or the Course Project nor would the
cadets keep the iPad for use in other classes, there was resistance in learning the MathStudio
syntax which proves to be an advantage for the laptop with Mathematica option. This situation is
specific to West Point and the current study at hand and should not affect the evaluation criteria
between the MathStudio app and Mathematica.
As it concerns the added benefit of having the iPad in the classroom, the case is not clear cut.
While the iPad allowed us to conduct some more dynamic exercises in class, it is now evident that
it significantly assisted the learning of the material. The exercises conducted in class were:
• Record presentations by fellow cadets and use the video playback to give constructive criticism.
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Table 2: Cadet iPad Survey Results
Class
Response Percentage
2013
100
20%
2014
127
25%
2015
144
28%
2016
141
28%
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Response Total
2013
2014
2015
2016
18%
No
422
82%
300
90
0
100
200
Yes
400
Own iPad?
No
Yes
60
12%
No
49
10%
N/A
403
79%
0
100
200
300
Yes
400
Is your iPad Wifi only?
N/A
No
Yes
20%
Agree
141
28%
Neutral
112
22%
Disagree
85
17%
Strongly Disagree
72
14%
120
102
0
20
40
60
80
100
Strongly Acree
140
Will an iPad increase your motivation to read textbooks?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
25%
Agree
135
26%
Neutral
80
16%
Disagree
89
17%
Strongly Disagree
78
15%
100
129
0
20
40
60
80
Strongly Acree
120
Will an iPad increase your motivation to take notes?
Strongly Agree
158
31%
Agree
146
29%
Neutral
71
14%
Disagree
69
13%
Strongly Disagree
67
13%
0
50
100
Strongly Acree
150
Will an iPad with Office-like Apps increase your motivation on assignments?
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
95%
No
26
5%
300
485
9
0
100
200
Yes
400
Do you have a Facebook Account?
No
Yes
Strongly Disagree
• Record the flight of a remote controlled helicopter and then use the playback to develop
parametric curves
• Use iMessage on the iPad to distribute board problems
• Use the camera app to take pictures of completed board problems for notes
• Complete board problem sheets electronically by writing using a stylus on a .pdf file.
There were other activities conducted with the iPad which could have also been done with a laptop
computer. The added benefits of the iPad in the classroom were based on the camera, iMessage
capability and touch screen writing. The iPad’s network had the additional benefit of having
unrestricted internet access which would not be expected for an Academy wide implementation.
From the students’ perspective, 73% did not feel that taking notes on the iPad was better than
using a paper notepad. Only 13.3% of the cadets said that the iPad helped them learn the material.
Additionally, 86.7% said that the iPad did not help or hinder their learning, so there was no harm
done. Although, it is hard to make a fully assessment on the usefulness of iPads on learning the
material since 93.3% of the cadets said that they would use the iPad more if internet was available
in the barracks.
From the broad student survey we learned that 1 in 7 students already own and use an iPad.
We also saw that, on average, one cadet out of every section of cadets does not have a Facebook
account. Facebook collaboration could therefore arguably reach 95% of the students. Regarding
iPad implementation, our broad student survey revealed high variance in the attitudes toward iPad
use in the West Point educational experience.
Conclusion
If the Academy were to issue an iPad to every cadet, there are a few recommendations from the
cadets who took part in the study and me. First and foremost, there needs to be iPad capable WiFi
throughout the Academy area. Next, the MathStudio app needs to be allowed on all assignments
and graded events. Additionally, there needs to be extra training geared on teaching cadets how
to use the MathStudio app. Other applications are needed to make the iPad platform sustainable.
There needs to be a seamless way to create Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents as these formats
are used in other courses. One cadet recommended replacing the laptops with iPads, while one
cadet recommended not issuing iPads at all, and yet another cadet believes that iPad program
is trying to solve a problem that does not exist. Personally, I feel that iPads would serve as a
great augmentation to the core math program and would help most cadets in learning the material,
provided the above issues are addressed.
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