iPads in the Classrooma new tool for learning...

Connecting Point • ed@connectingpoint.com.au • 03 9347 7466

What is an iPad?

• A tablet device marketed as a platform for audio and visual media such as books, periodicals,

movies, music and games, as well as web content.

• Uses Wi-Fi or a 3G mobile data connection to browse the internet, load and stream media

and install software.

• Managed and synced by iTunes on a personal computer via USB cable.

• Controlled by a multitouch display.

An innovative new tool...

• It is not just a new technology but also an introduction to a new learning culture.

• The question is not how they compete with laptops but what is the best way to use them?

How do the different technologies complement each other?! 1

Why use an iPad?

Outside of student engagement and educational software, the iPad has a number of simple features that

make it ideally suited to use in schools:

• User friendly- the iPad is simple, intuitive and fun to use, making it easy for both teachers

and students to start working right away.

• eBook reader function- allows school textbooks to move onto the iPad, saving substantial

costs in traditional book expenditure and reducing the weight of schoolbags.

• Battery life- 10 hours.

• Portability and connectivity- the lightweight iPad with Wifi and 3G facilitates learning

anywhere, anytime.

Engaging Students

Becta’s (2009) research demonstrates there is a strong body of evidence that digital technologies

can have a positive impact on learners, showing the potential for iPads to:

• positively impact on student engagement and motivation, including improving their

confidence levels and attitudes towards their own learning and behaviour.

• promote improved opportunities for students to control the construction of knowledge and

to learn through collaboration and interaction.

• connections across sites of learning, and with the real world, through formal and informal

online networks and access to global communities with expertise and perspectives that can enrich

learning.

See http://publications.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=41343 for more information.

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Apps: a world of learning resources

The ‘app approach’ to loading software on iPads is leading rapidly to the development of a huge range of

free and low priced software that is designed for educational use. Imagine that instead of going to a

bookshop at the start of the year and getting a collection of expensive and bulky books/learning aids, you

simply download everything you need to your iPad.  Now students can study, take notes, communicate

and collaborate with other students all over the world using just one tool.

App examples include:

• Interactive eBooks that engage and improve comprehension.

• Creativity and multimedia apps including video editors, podcasting, comic strip designers,

animation tools, drawing and photo editing.

• Music apps such as a polyphonic keyboard and drum pad, guitar and other string

instrument apps as well as digital music makers.

• Math applications including interactive problem solving, reference materials, poll and

survey makers and advanced onscreen calculators.

• Science based quizzes, a solar system guide, real-time measurement, data visualisation and

analysis, and interactive physics based games.

• High resolution history maps and atlases, factbooks and research applications.

Teaching with the iPad: opening new doors

• It occupies a new space in technology, one which is still undefined to some extent, yet which is

likely to be significant over time. The space is between the mobile space occupied by phones and

iPods, and the portable space which is where laptops and netbooks live. The iPad largely does

what the other devices offer yet also offers so much more.

• It will help to personalise learning - it is widely recognised the 1 to 30 one-way knowledge-

transfer model is fast becoming redundant. As teachers and lecturers begin to create new ways of

tackling this issue, the iPad could play a useful role in this transformation.

• It’s a blank canvas - the scope for apps written specifically for teaching and learning is huge.

Educationalists can work with developers to create new and innovative software which reflect the

learner’s needs and expectations in technology. Essentially the iPad is a tactile and engaging

handheld device which could transform the way young people learn.

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What might the iPad mean for I.T in schools?

• Reduced reliance on server infrastructure- How much time is wasted not being able to ‘log in’?

How often is the network ‘down’? The iPad could hold all the apps a learner needs for a day/

week/month/term’s work.

• It could also be the start of a large reduction in the role of the technician in providing the

technical support many schools need with their technology. Too often teachers are over reliant

technicians for everyday issues due to the over complicated nature of some technology. The iPad

needs little if any maintenance and installing the software is simple, quick and easy - there is little

need for any technical support. This is important because it puts the teacher and school in control

of their technology.

• No more ICT suites - too many schools segregate their technology from everyday teaching and

learning by placing it in a dark, windowless room and timetabling when learners can access

computers. Children are then herded in large groups along the corridor to use the computers.

Thus technology becomes compartmentalised and discrete rather than ubiquitous and generic.

What people are saying

Western Australia- Bevan Doyle, Chief information officer Western Australian Department of Education and Training:

• The days of students carting heavy and expensive textbooks could be numbered, with schools preparing to adopt the latest technology gadget, the Apple iPad.

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• Principals of schools who have been testing the device say they hope to phase out textbooks in senior school eventually because they could all be stored on the device.

• Ballajura Community College plans to introduce 50 iPads to Year 12 classes in hospitality and physical education next year. Principal Steffan Silcox said teachers were already using them to track attendance but the school was working towards putting all Year 12 course notes and assignments on iPads."We are trying to cut down the amount of paper that we produce," he said. "But also, instead of kids having to carry huge backpacks with all these textbooks, eventually we want to be in the ! situation where kids just carry around an iPad, which is a nice light piece of equipment."

Queensland Department of Education- David O’Hagan, Assistant Director-General Information and Technologies for the state’s Department of Education and Training.

• “Handheld computers in schools are being used for individual and small group activities where students interact with educational apps,” “The devices are small and portable which makes them easy to use for educational activities that take place outside the classroom and on field trips.”

• A number of secondary and primary schools in the state are trialling the handheld devices in other fields such as literacy, maths, reading, writing, English as a second language and special needs classes.

• "The devices are small and portable, which makes them easy to use for educational activities that take place outside the classroom and on field trips,"

Victoria- John Brumby on the launch of iPad trials

• “As part of its continued focus on optimising technology in schools, the Victorian Government, with support from Apple, is examining how iPads can be best used in schools. In a classroom with 1-to-1 devices such as the iPad, contemporary ways of learning can be optimised. ICT-rich learning and teaching opportunities can increase student participation, engagement and achievement.”

Further reading

! http://www.vicipadtrial.org

! http://epsipadtrial.globalstudent.org.au/

! http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/75-really-useful-ipad-tips-and-tricks-688556

! http://ipadineducation.co.uk/iPad_in_Education/Welcome.html

! http://mashable.com/2010/04/03/ipad-setup/

! http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/10/13/ushering-ipad-into-the-classroom.aspx

! Connecting Point

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