iPads for teaching and learning mathematics: collaborative group-work in an engineering-appropriate setting.

Jones, Matthew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5252-5234, Megeney, Alison ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3274-7809 and Sharples, Nicholas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1722-5647 (2021) iPads for teaching and learning mathematics: collaborative group-work in an engineering-appropriate setting. In: UCLan Conference: "Supporting Engineering Students with Weak Maths Skills and Widening Participation", 25 Mar 2021, Online. . [Conference or Workshop Item]

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Abstract

Middlesex University's Department of Design Engineering and Mathematics is piloting the use of iPads in teaching mathematics to students on our suite of engineering and mathematics programs.

In this talk I will illustrate how we've been using iPads to teach and learn mathematics with some example content and I will share the results of our pilot so far:

In Phase 1 (beginning June 2018) staff have been developing iPads as lecturing tools. For engineering students our approach teaches small groups in a workshop setting by working on practical problems in an engaging way:
* iPad "Virtual whiteboard" lets us handwrite commentary and calculations on top of prepared slides.
* wireless presenting means we can engage in small group discussions and immediately share findings with the wider class.
* Augmented Reality tools bring abstract mathematical objects directly to the workbench.
We use the iPads to record video and audio of everything presented for upload to the VLE.

In Phase 2 (beginning September 2020) we started issuing iPads to students. We found key benefits to student engagement:
* students collaborated more by using virtual whiteboards.
* students sought feedback more frequently, and we were able to provide it more quickly!
* a common hardware and software deployment improved access to the course and provided a uniform experience for students.

I will also briefly address the logistical issues of deploying iPads.

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