UIT Project Charter
Updated 7/11/2016 3:51:00 PM
General Information
Project Name: Explore Mobile Technologies to Improve Teaching and Learning
Proj ID: 236
CEA: EM2001
Project Manager: Sheryl Barnes
Primary UIT Directorate: Choose an item. ESTS
Business/Product Owner: UIT Educational & Scholarly Tech Svs w/
Project Sponsor: Gina Siesing
stakeholder involvement
Other Affiliated Projects (parent/child projects): iPads for Education Pilot (child), JumboStudy (child), Dental Mobile App (child), ID
Consultation for Radiology iPad Project (child)
Description & Objectives
Use of mobile devices and applications for teaching and learning in higher education is an area of significant and rapid growth, as are
collaborative applications and cloud-based computing (Horizon Report, 2011, 2010 - http://www.nmc.org/horizon-project/horizonreports/horizon-report-higher-ed-edition). UIT is working on a set of strategic initiatives designed to pave the way for providing
leadership to the Tufts community in this fast-moving arena. ESTS’s pilot programs under this umbrella include:
● iPads for Education Pilot – This project will explore the potential value of iPad uses at Tufts by identifying 2-4 classes where
the professors have a keen interest in promoting active learning and student engagement via iPads. ESTS will loan each
students in those classes an iPad and will work with the faculty and other colleagues to support the project throughout the
semester and to study the effectiveness of the initiative. All faculty will have the opportunity to request to participate in
this pilot. Those selected will be asked to commit to carefully planning their use of iPads, define metrics to evaluate the
effectiveness of the pilots, and identify lessons learned and potential best practices that can be applied to other classes and
shared out as a study (conference presentation, poster, and/or article).
● JumboStudy - To develop a mobile application that will allow students to create and publish the creation of study groups,
their times, and locations. Application data would pull course and project site affiliations from Trunk and appropriate
Research Guides and experts from Tisch. ESTS staff has already prototyped this mobile application and will be building upon
it in partnership with Tisch.
● Implant Dentistry Mobile Application with Dr. Ali Muftu - Work with Dr. Muftu to develop a mobile-friendly HTML5
version of an application, similar to the "Dentistry ProConsult" app by Georgia Health Sciences University
(http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dentistry-proconsult/id418010567?mt=8), focused on implant dentistry. The project
would also explore and implement a variety of ways the application can be ported and distributed for broad adoption via
UIT’s Kurogo framework, the Apple and Andriod app stores.
● Extended Consultation Project for Radiology Residency 1:1 iPad - Dr Harp Bedi, director of TUSM radiology residency,
recently implemented an iPad 1:1 initiative for a small cohort of residents (about 20-25 students), Dr. Bedi will partner with
ESTS to explore ways to incorporate iPads more extensively into the program’s curricular activities to improve teaching and
learning. The objectives of the project are: 1. Create and share iPad-accessible video lecture content to residents; 2.
Facilitate problem-based learning activities and interactive lecture techniques during daily conference meetings; and 3. Emb
the process of documenting residents’ milestones in their day-to-day activities.
Benefits & Business Drivers
Tufts is already somewhat behind the curve in investigating mobile devices and applications for teaching and learning, and these
initiatives represent important opportunities to explore ways to close that gap while adding value directly to teaching and learning
at Tufts, to the clients involved, and to potentially broader audiences that will benefit from the applications and expertise developed
through this set of projects.
● There is great value in exploring the vast potential of these devices to improve teaching and learning, and these projects
have the potential to touch on all of these potentially valuable course-related use cases, as well as others:
○ mobile access to information in a wide range of formats
○ in-class note taking, annotating, and other content-capturing methods
○ multimedia project production, location-aware in-field data collection
○ touch-screen interactivity, collaboration, and problem-based learning in real time
○ mobile app design and development skills.
Template 4/12/12
Page 1 of 2
UIT Project Charter
Updated 7/11/2016 3:51:00 PM
●
ESTS will gain valuable experience to assist with potential future efforts to effectively scope, design and develop mobile
applications and partnerships as needed.
What are the impact/risks if project is delayed or deferred?
The main risks relate to Tufts falling even further behind in terms of investigating innovative teaching & learning. These risks accrue
to Tufts students who do not benefit fully from what’s now possible, to Tufts faculty who do not stay up to date in terms of their
own professional development, and to UIT & other support groups who become at risk of needing to make large-scale changes
quickly at a later date when more pressure builds up than can be resisted.
Are there alternatives to accomplishing the work/goals if project is not done?
No
Scope
Deliverables:




Use of iPads to improve teaching & learning in 2-4 classes at Tufts, with innovative pedagogy encouraged, supported,
documented, and published.
JumboStudy – a mobile application to help Tufts students form & join study groups.
Implant Dentistry Mobile Application.
Radiology deliverables – more accessible video, enhanced problem-based learning & student self-reflection.
See appendices for more detail.
Not In Scope: comprehensive or ongoing end-user support for iPads at Tufts
Template 4/12/12
Page 2 of 2