The University of the South Pacific has embarked on a Tablet Learning Project (TLP) to enhance learning in the region by handing out tablet computers to its students this semester.
The new initiative from the Vice Chancellor and the President of USP, Professor Rajesh Chandra, has seen 600 students receive a tablet each for free.
The tablets were distributed to students enrolled in selected courses offered at Alafua, Emalus, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Lautoka and Labasa campuses. This new learning tool has targeted students from Mathematics, Information Systems, Economics, Tourism and Education disciplines. Staff coordinating these distance and flexible learning courses were proud recipients of the tablets as well.
Managed by USP’s mLearning Committee, TLP promises to further extend the use of mobile technologies to assist students with their studies. With pre-loaded course materials, supplements and applications, the tablets ensure that access to quality education is made more convenient especially to regional students.
Students can now access their course materials anytime from any location. Students can also use the Wi-Fi facility at the campuses to access the internet via these tablets.
This new portable device invariably reduces the big load of print materials that students are normally required to carry with them to their classes. The students can carry the tablets to classrooms, field-trips, tutorials, lectures and basically anywhere enabling them to read, take notes, store and share information with their peers and instructors.
Upon receiving the tablets the students expressed their gratitude to Professor Chandra for reaching out and addressing their needs. They have thanked all concerned with TLP for providing them the resources they had desperately needed for their studies. This is also seen as a significant step from USP towards a paper-less higher education.
The mLearning committee is currently tracking students’ progress in order to gauge the success and effectiveness of the tablets in tertiary education in the region.
For more information on mLearning at USP, visit the website: http://www.usp.ac.fj/mlearning
SOURCE: PRESS RELEASE