Evaluating eduPAD: The pedagogy of a personal organizer for collaborative learning

Abstract

This paper will review the recently proposed educational research project between Singapore’s NIE and the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Educational Technology Division (ETD). The eduPAD device is a hand-held electronic personal organizer that can store items, such as entire textbooks, on a storage card the size of a postage stamp. In addition, eduPAD allows learners to communicate with each other’s terminal, thus, enhancing new collaborative learning experiences. Clearly, as an IT communications tool, eduPAD offers tremendous pedagogic potential for learning both in the classroom and at home. The exact nature of what constitutes the best pedagogic practice for optimizing the use of eduPAD in the classroom is the key research question that this project hopes to answer. By carrying out a major study and evaluation of the key identified pedagogic areas underpinning the use of eduPAD in the classroom, we hope to provide valuable feedback to the designers and manufacturers of eduPAD, so they can improve its educational specification. We will also be determining the instructional design criteria underpinning the development of eduPAD’s main courseware application: eduBook. By producing and influencing the quality of eduBook educational support courseware, we envisage a unique set of products and services that could capture a worldwide market, enhancing Singapore’s reputation as a leader of IT educational hardware and courseware.