As we were figuring out what to do for our final assessment in this class, my partner and I decided to look more into the iPad for education. This article came out of that research.
The article was really the result or the explanation of a study done in Texas in 2011. The high school decided to pilot a program with having iPads in the hands of all the children. It didn't end up being all students, but all students in their Junior and Senior years as well as a few other. The results of the study were consistently in favor of students being able to have their own iPads for educational use. The article starts by talking about this 1:1 initiative and rolling the iPads out first to all teachers in the summer, then a small group of students helping with the initiative still during the summer, and finally to the rest of the students that would be participating. The school created an iPad help desk in the library space with charging stations and students and staff to help with issues. Teachers reported that they were able to do a lot of different things more easily, including doing a lot of assignments paperless. A teacher could create a .pdf file of the assignment and post it, students would use a .pdf annotator to write on the assignment and send it back to the teacher, the teacher graded it on the .pdf, and sent it back to the student. In the special areas, especially the ASL classrooms, the teachers and the students were able to do presentations using the video cameras and use those to practice homework and view for more practice. Apps such as Tap to Talk or Dragon Dictation allowed students that had a hard time with typing or putting their thoughts on paper were able to talk through their assignments. It did talk about the idea of trying to get the school library on a digital service like OverDrive for students to check out books to read on the iPads as well, but the process is too costly for education as of right now. At the conclusion of the school year, they surveyed students and teachers with the overwhelming majority saying that their learning improved, they were more motivated, and it wasn't the distraction that people thought that it might be. Teachers, students, and even parents come together frequently to talk about the iPad and brainstorm new ways to use the iPads as they go forward. It also mentions at the end of the article the real exploratory climate that came out as a result of administrators, teachers, and students all learning to navigate this new technology at the same time.
I loved this article! It showed how a school, with a lot of collaboration and time really put iPads in the hands of the majority of their students with great results. I think that the part of the article that hit me the most though was something said about the distraction of all this technology. At one point, before the study they had interviewed recent graduates who reported that they felt like the technology available to them at college was a bit overwhelming because of the lack of exposure. Students don't feel that will be the case now that they have participated in this. It really makes me think of our elementary students, who are looking to junior high and high school where technology is used more. It makes me wonder if we are setting them up for those same feelings, or if they are going to walk in knowing that technology can be a great and powerful tool for their education? I also thought about all the time and effort the staff and different students worked to get this program up and running, which concerned me. There are so many of us that are ready and willing to get these things done, but also so many that are thinking that it is just another thing that they have to learn about.
Foote, C. (2012, February). Learning together: The evolution of a 1:1 ipad program. Internet@Schools, 19(1), 14-18.
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