iLearning

CHANGING HOW WE LEARN: Will the iPad revolutionize business education? Two experts at the IMD business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, believe it will. Indeed, they say it will bring many other advantages, too. It will “save money on printing, contribute to environmental sustainability, improve networking opportunities among participants and bring cutting-edge knowledge into the classroom,” say Professor Bettina Büchel, the director of IMD’s “Orchestrating Winning Performance ” programme and Dr Iain Cooke, the school’s Chief Technical Officer.

In a partnership programme with Allianz Global Investors, Büchel and Cooke recently tested the iPad’s potential as a learning aid. Each student received an iPad the day before the programme. In addition to WiFi web access and standard applications, the devices included the programme’s presentations, case studies, related reading and programme information. The iPads were set up to allow the programme coordinator to stay in touch with the participants. The participants used the iPad throughout the entire programme for both course learning and logistical updates. At the end of the programme, they returned the iPads and were then able to retrieve all their related documents and information on a web portal.

“More and more IMD faculty are planning to implement iPads in their respective programmes.”

The feedback from IMD's faculty and staff as well as from the participants was overwhelmingly positive, write Büchel and Cooke. “A number of the participants said that they intended to buy [an iPad] for themselves as soon as it became available in their local stores. And more and more IMD faculty are planning to implement iPads in their respective programmes.”

The tablet computer could change the participants' experience. For example, it provides real-time information about a company or industry. It also changes the logistics of preparing and distributing learning materials. A professor can, for example refer students to a site after he has reached some key point.

However, warn the authors, iPads can cause distraction. “The purpose of introducing the iPad into the classroom is not to allow the participant to surf the web for sport results or to send instant messages to friends,” they say, adding that people have learned how to manage the mobile phone and will need to apply the same rules for the iPad.

Older executives are the most fazed at the idea of using iPads. “However, the iPad is so user-friendly that it promises to make the transition for technology-unfamiliar managers not only easy, but fun,” write Büchel and Cooke.