DGHI Gives Interactive Presentation of iPad Program at Information Technology Conference

marc ipad

DGHI's Marc Sperber developed iPad fieldwork exercises for an MSc-GH course. He trained faculty and students on how to use the tablet.

Published February 21, 2011, last updated on March 19, 2013 under Education News

DGHI is taking a major step toward more efficient data collection, organization and sharing of global health research in the field with the use of the Apple iPad. The iPad pilot program began in the fall, and last month sent a global health fellow into a low-resource setting with the iPad for research, a first for Duke.

Outlining the successes and opportunities of the program thus far, DGHI’s Educational Technologies Consultant Marc Sperber and Duke Center for Instructional Technology’s Shawn Miller delivered an interactive poster presentation at last week’s EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) 2011 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.  The unique poster presentation “iPads as a Fieldwork Research Tool” was in the form of an interactive experience for the user on the iPad tablet itself. As part of the presentation, Sperber and Miller highlighted both the usefulness and limitations of using iPads as a teaching and field research tool based on five in-class exercises and student feedback.

Last semester, students learned how to use the iPad in Research Methods in Global Health Sciences II, a Master of Science in Global Health (MSc-GH) course taught by DGHI faculty member Jen’nan Read. Ayaba Worjoloh, an OB/GYN fellow in the Global Health Residency and Fellowship Pathway Program, is currently using the iPad for her qualitative research at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania.  This summer, MSc-GH students will conduct their global health research in locations around the world using the iPad.

The lightweight, touch-screen mobile computing device is equipped with Wi-Fi and 3G Internet access and research and survey applications that can collect, chart, evaluate and present data. In unpredictable field settings, the device is especially helpful due to its small size, long battery life and easy handling.

View the iPad pilot program interactive poster presented at the conference.

 

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