** Poster Award Nominee

student and faculty perceptions of the effects of Laptop and tablet computer use in veterinary medical education

Jared Danielson*, Kevan Flaming and Chelsea Wetjen, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010 U.S.A.

Purpose
More and more educational institutions require that students own mobile computers. Mobile computing in patient care has been reported extensively, but fewer studies have explored mobile computer use in classrooms. Furthermore, little research has compared the effectiveness of laptop computers (laptops) vs. tablet PC’s (tablets) in classroom learning.

Methods
A cohort of veterinary students (N=120) used either laptops or tablets (approximately one half using each) for two semesters of classroom instruction. Midway through their second semester, students  received a questionnaire (53% response rate) regarding the computers’ impact. Also, five first-semester instructors were interviewed concerning the computers’ impact on factors such as learning and cost. Differences between responses for students using laptop vs. tablet computers were compared using an ANOVA.

Results
Students indicated that mobile computers improved learning overall, made notes more organized, were used for study, and improved accessibility of learning materials, but were distracting during lecture. Tablet users indicated greater learning benefit, more computer use during study, more study locations, greater preference for study environments, less desk crowding, greater acceptance of computers from faculty, more traveling convenience, and less printing than their colleagues who used regular laptop computers (p < .05 for all comparisons). Faculty reported some learning gains and cost savings from mobile computer implementation.

Conclusion
Students appreciate mobile computer use, with tablets outperforming laptops. Mobile computers are felt to help learning, improve convenience, and lower some costs, while distracting from lecture.