Michael Arnzen, Ph.D., associate professor, English, and chair of the Division of Humanities, is encouraging all teachers to consider incorporating the iPad into the classroom.

“While it does present some new challenges, from learning the device to managing the distractions it might cause in the classroom, the number one benefit of having a new mobile technology like the iPad in your teaching toolkit is that it makes you start thinking about how you might be able to approach old routines in new ways. You begin to start rethinking your strategies for assignments and how you might be able to reach students with different learning styles and interests,” said Arnzen. “This can renew your classroom; the creativity you bring to the table and the excitement it generates as you get eager to share new things can be contagious and many students will emulate it. Even now, I find myself updating old handouts for the device or looking for new apps to try out next time I teach a course.”

Arnzen is anxious to try a new app, “Inspiro.” It is a brainstorming app for creative writing classes. He also plans to use clips from YouTube and Netflix for his Art of Film course in fall 2011.

“And I will keep thinking about how students can use the iPad to generate their own scholarship and self-expression,” said Arnzen.

Arnzen also uses the iPad during faculty meeting and finds it helpful to take notes, manage schedules and analyze documents.

“At our Faculty Senate, most of our faculty use the iPad for items on the agenda and have used it to chat in a backchannel in addition to the formal discussion on the floor. We are growing as an iPad community, and it's making us all more creative and communicative,” said Arnzen.