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2nd June 2011Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre
WebForward Conference 2011
Understanding How to Exploit The Power of Tablets in Education
Professor Robert HillExecutive Dean - Faculty of Sciences
The University of Adelaide
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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What is the problem?
• Scientists are too often portrayed as disconnected individuals, with little concern for public good, who have difficulty reaching a position on any issue.
• This has become more serious as politics has become increasinglyprofessional and many industry lobby groups only consider short term economic gain.
• Students are therefore not engaging in science – it is seen as important, but someone else’s problem.
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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Before and after drawings of a
scientist from a Fermilab
website.
From: http://ed.fnal.gov/projects/scientists
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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We don’t need a significantly larger number of working scientists, but we do need many more scientifically literate people.
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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Why is scientific literacy important?
• Population growth and climate change make a useful example.
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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World Population Growth Through History
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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World Population Growth Through History
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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Tester & Langridge (2010) Science 327: 818-22
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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The context
More crops need to be produced, in the face of rapid global environmental change
Food securityRising population - 9 bn by 2050
Fuel securityDemand for bio-fuels is putting Pressure on food crops
Climate changeImpact is greater for Australia than for any other developed countryImpact is greater for the agricultural sector than for any other sector
FAO (Rome, 2009) predicts we need 70% more food by 2050, but little more land can be brought in to production
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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Field trials by Australian Grain Technologies, University of Adelaide
- a macroarray
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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• Nevertheless, economic rationalists still believe that the only solution for future prosperity is economic growth and this is underpinned by population growth.
• We need a new paradigm for the future and scientifically literate people must lead the debate.
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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This was our problem, what was our solution?
• We have rewritten our curriculum to make it relevant to incomingstudents and to present it in a way that connected students closely with society and its current and future problems.
• We also needed a device to allow for seemless access and exchange of information, so that students could learn to educatethemselves – our choice was the Apple iPad.
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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This led to the 10 Big Questions:
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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• Every lecture is anchored to at least one of these questions.
• Follow up work includes freeing ourselves from set text books and completely changing our assessment process to move away from rote learning as the key factor for success.
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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We committed to the Apple iPad as the best tool to deliver this new curriculum
Why?• Students will carry it with them
• It is great for accessing the internet (we bought 3G enabled iPads)
• It has lots of relevant apps for education
• It allows for e-books to be purchased
• Staff were easy to persuade to be involved
• It was the shiny new device at the time and attracted a lot of
attention
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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What were the challenges?
• Some anti-Apple sentiment
• The ponderous University system
• IT staff, but they came on board when they realised it wasn’t a gimmick – they became enablers, not owners which was a critical point in the success of the project
• Developing an approach to marketing to students -several approaches tried, most failed
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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How well has it worked?
• First year enrolments increased significantly
• Retention has improved
• Student reaction has varied from non-commital to very strong, with no negative feedback
• The University is watching us very closely and several targets for success have been set and so far met
• There are major improvements in approach to teaching and content
• This is the start of a long process of continual improvement
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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What next?
• Remove text books from courses
• Radically change assessment practices
• Move strongly into on-line space
• Close large lecture theatres
• Teach students anywhere in the world • Contribute strongly to solving the major problems we face in
the future
Prof. Robert HillThe University of Adelaide
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http://annares.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/happy-birthday-dr-seuss/