Reed College has released a detailed report documenting the outcomes of their iPad pilot study — and the results look good. The college had first tried a pilot study using the Kindle, but the Amazon e-reader came up short in key areas that are important for education: highlighting and manipulations of texts.
The study was focused on how the iPad could be used for learning, especially in regards to reading texts and PDF files.
Some of the highlights of the study:
* Students found the iPad’s LCD screen to be more friendly than the Kindle’s e-ink for reading textbooks.
* Although the iPad’s battery does not last as long as the Kindle, students found their iPad’s battery lasted almost twice as long as a standard laptop battery.
* Students liked how they could annotate PDF files using touch responses on the iPad, something that the Kindle lacks. Because of this students were able to save from having to print thousands of papers by using the iPad.
We recently highlighted how medical textbooks customized for the iPad are being released, and this pilot study should only further reinforce notions of how mobile devices could be used for medical education.
Source: Reed College iPad pilot study PDF via Fast Company
