7:30am – 9:00am Registration and Coffee

9:00am – 9:30am Why Tablets?
Speaker: Tim Liptrap, Associate Professor of Sport Management, Nichols College

In recent years, tablets have been introduced to students as young as 4 years old. Pre-K to 12th grade learners are consuming, curating and creating content on mobile devices at extraordinary rates. IT departments and faculty will need to be ready for these learners with high tech skills as they enter into our classrooms. This short presentation will look at the current state of tablets in education, and the projected trends.

9:30am – 10:30am Challenges in Choosing the Right Tablet, Applications, and Security from an I.T. Perspective
Panelists:
Cindy Lafortune, Manager of User Support Services, Nichols College
Kellie Campbell, Assistant Director IT, Saint Michael’s College

Cindy will address android and Kellie will address iPad and Windows 8.

10:30am - 10:45am Break

10:45am – 11:30am Best Practices Round Table Discussions
Facilitator: Nick Barnes, Assistant Professor of Business and Law , Nichols College

Using cutting edge software and tablets, you will be exposed to the team based learning concepts which is sweeping academia by storm. Teams of your peers will be posed with real world situations and issues facing I.T. departments and academic pedagogy. Using wireless visual collaboration technology, your team will present a developed solution. Bring a current issue from your campus for this hands-on discussion.

11:30am - 12:30pm Lunch

12:30pm – 2:00pm Planning, Training, Doing: Letting Faculty Development Drive a Campus iPad Mobile Learning Initiative and Assessing its Success
Speakers:
Charlotte Briggs, Director of Teaching and Learning Support Services, Bay Path University
Thomas Mennella, Associate Professor of Biology, Bay Path University

In fall 2013, Bay Path College launched a campus-wide iPad mobile learning initiative for all incoming traditional first-year students. This presentation will describe the faculty development program that enabled a smooth launch and the highly successful integration of iPads into redesigned courses to enhance student learning. Presenters will compare Bay Path's approach to iPad integration to some less successful approaches, suggest key factors for success of mobile initiatives, and offer a generalizable framework for planning courses to prepare faculty for "technology integration" with mobile devices. Some examples of the successful integration of this technology into the classroom will also be shared, as well as lessons learned (good and bad) in piloting iPad-redesigned courses. The program's director and a faculty participant will contribute insights.

2:00pm – 3:00pm 10 Tips for Powerful Tablet Teaching and Learning
Speaker: Patrick Larkin, Senior Consultant, EdTech Teacher

Tablets have emerged as the favorite hardware device of many educational institutions for a variety of reasons: flexibility, portability, engagement, intriguing apps, and more. In successful tablet programs, conversations about pedagogy center the tablet properly as an effective learning device. When used wisely, tablets can function as a differentiator, a student-response system, a classroom manager, a curator, an organizer, a connector and -- most of all -- a creator. By developing a pedagogy that encourages creative implementation, we can reinforce a process of learning that crafts innovative and problem-solving minds.

This session provides tips, strategies and examples of innovative uses of tablet technology. It explores the possibilities inspired by the presence of tablets in today’s classrooms, but also outlines the mistakes educators make when implementing tablets. Adopting a "5 Days, 5 Weeks, 5 Months" framework, the sessions provides both short and long-term strategies for powerful tablet implementation. From collecting and organizing student information and web resources and implementing workflow solutions, to developing creative and collaborative student projects, the session will cover a range of tablet implementation scenarios.

3:00pm End