Web-based teaching and learning approaches have been recognized as important tools to enhance the educational experience of
students and their collaborative learning curve. While representative studies about the effectiveness of iPads in higher education are
still rare, we argue based on prior pedagogical research (Menkhoff
& Bengtsson, 2012; Menkhoff, Thang, Chay, & Wong, 2011) and our
experiences in various classes that such tools are useful in the context of collaborative learning for the following reasons: (i) as part
of students’ blended learning experiences, they support groups of
learners in mastering collaborative project tasks and achieving
course objectives; (ii) they help students to leverage the power
of collaborative learning scenarios and to further develop key competencies with the help of their peers; and (iii) they engage students to search for (and gain) more knowledge, e.g., by tackling
truly challenging project assignments with relevant issues. As
one course participant suggested, it would make sense to supplement iPad-enabled learning exercises with (even) more social
media applications. It was stressed that the class could have been
given more time as a group to tweet about their learning experiences and to evaluate the iPad use during the bus ride back from
the NEWater Visitors Centre to the university