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Graduate school on the iPad

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St. Mary’s University in Minnesota is bridging the gap between coursework and the job market by tailoring its graduate programs for the iPad.

Heather Kolupailo wouldn’t be attending graduate school if it weren’t for her iPad [2].

The 27-year-old St. Paul, Minn., resident is a recruiter for Adecco, a job that involves travel and some long hours, making attending regular classes difficult.

Now, thanks to three St. Mary’s University [3] graduate degree programs redesigned to be completed entirely on the Apple tablet, Kolupailo can earn her master’s degree in human resources management without setting foot on campus. She is one of 200 students around the globe enrolled in programs the university launched last spring.

“That was one of the most important factors for me, because of my job,” Kolupailo said. She enjoys the freedom of working on her schedule as opposed to spending a weekend day in class. “It’s better than having a sixth work day.”

The number of students from kindergarten to college taking classes online has skyrocketed. In 2010, more than 6 million attended online college classes, up from 1.6 million in 2002, according to a study by the Sloan Consortium [4], a nonprofit advocate for online education.

Many of those programs are traditional courses repurposed for the web by recording lectures or putting study materials online. Others are “blended” classes that include class time and online work.

Marcel Dumestre, vice president of graduate and professional programs at St. Mary’s, taught these types of online courses. Although he thought they were effective, he wanted to do something different: a complete experience in which students from around the world could study and interact anywhere, anytime.

(Next page: How the courses have been designed specifically for the iPad)

“What is different about these programs from others online is they are built to be native to the iPad,” said Dumestre, who believes the university’s approach is unique.

Like many of its champions, Dumestre thinks the device has the power to enhance the learning experience like no other.

The new programs are the latest example of how technology isn’t just replacing things like textbooks or lectures, but is even eliminating the need for classrooms. At St. Mary’s, administrators and instructors spent a year working with a consultant to design coursework that takes advantage of the iPad’s portability and immediacy.

Students in the new programs are expected to master the same skills, but the way material is delivered is unique.

“We didn’t want it to be just a presentation tool,” Dumestre said. “We wanted it to be interactive.”

Discussions between students and faculty via social media, video chat, eMail, and text message become key components of the learning process, Dumestre said. The programs are in project management, human resources, and organizational leadership and are accelerated coursework designed for working professionals.

“Our students find value not only in instruction; they find value in networking and interacting with other students,” he said.

Bob Andersen, director of instructional technology for the university, said students share their ideas and professional experiences with each other and often improve the lessons.

“Adult learners are adaptive learners,” he said. “We want to bridge the gap between work and academia.”

He encourages the Business Management students to take their iPads into their workplaces and use Twitter to tweet about how course concepts are playing out in their professional environments.

Andersen also highlighted the iPad’s accessibility and immediacy of information as two of its greatest benefits.

“Its portability is key—we think that it allows adults, busy adults to capture ‘stolen moments’ and ‘couch time,’ so if they’re on their lunch hour or in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, they can work on their assignments,” he said.

While students are still expected to write standard term papers, many professors organize assignments into five- to ten-minute chunks so that students can quickly read an article, or view an instructor-created or TED video [5].

The instructors also use Apple Store [6] applications in their classes. “We try to leverage the apps in the app store to improve the professional status of students,” Andersen said.

The altered course format takes a little getting used to, Kolupailo said, although she finds the virtual interactions more meaningful and valuable.

“There is a different dynamic online versus in the classroom,” she said. “I think this is very functional. It is very interactive and opens up a lot of possibilities.”

Professors also have had to adapt their teaching style, which can be difficult, but the changes that have come with the transition have staying power, Dumestre said. Now 15 professors are teaching iPad courses, and that is expected to grow with the university’s plans to add a dozen more degree programs tailored to the iPad over the next five years.

“Once you’ve taught an online course,” Dumestre said, “you can’t go back into the classroom and do the same thing.”

(c) 2013, the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.), with additional reporting from eCampus News. Visit the Pioneer Press online at http://www.twincities.com/ [7]. Distributed by MCT Information Services.