The German Red Cross (GRC) training center in Baden-Württemberg offers a wide range of courses for all fields and levels of activity related to Red Cross work. The GRC team has recently started using iPads in the hope that they will pave new paths for the use of media in their training. The GRC training center in Baden-Württemberg first equipped its lecturers and administrative staff with iPads in late 2011. A special training course offered by the Steinbeis Transfer Institute for Academic Management highlighted the usefulness of these devices in training and organization.
Sales of tablet computers have skyrocketed in the past year and the devices counted as one of the most desired Christmas presents going. Their popularity extends beyond private use, with professionals increasingly reaching for their tablets at work. After presenting user reviews, an overview of the device and first steps for its use, instructor Benjamin Schiller covered tools and software apps for using iPads in administrative and management work.
The central topics covered by the course include emailing, organizing appointments and contacts, working with administrative tools, and editing and presenting documents. The iPad enables mobile, decentralized working – ideally suited to coordinating the services offered by the GRC training center, including its facilities for hosting company events and seminars complete with overnight accommodation. Benjamin Schiller pointed out that integrating the iPad would require an analysis of business processes and gave tips for what might be relevant when optimizing these.
The lecturers at the GRC training center had already familiarized themselves with various device functionalities. In the workshop, they learned that the iPad can have far more practical applications than mere Internet searches and email facilities. With their newly acquired skills, they can let their creativity run wild, for example, using the iPad’s integrated camera and various apps to create interactive teaching materials. Participants of future GRC training courses are also expected to use iPads soon, opening doors to all kinds of new learning experiences. Additionally, the devices will be an essential component in blended learning models. Benjamin Schiller recommended that the lecturers on this training course work together to create a strategy for integrating the iPad in existing teaching concepts.
Silke Hartmann
Steinbeis Transfer Institute Academic Management, Marketing and Study Consulting – SAMS (Ludwigsburg)