Term 3 Has Begun!

At the end of last term, I was required to reapply for my job, and when doing so I underwent the same sort of interview process (with many less people!) as I will do for the QCT Certificate interview. Once I was given my job (as an aide specialising in guided reading groups), I thought seriously about what I wanted to do with this opportunity and how I would maintain the standard I have set. One of the important tools I have used in support of my role is an iPad. I’ve used it to enhance student learning through research, watching short clips to introduce the topic of their book, and summarising their learning through the use of concept maps. The students have enjoyed the additional element that the iPad brings, and its’ use has been a positive influence on student learning when it is used.  I must stress that for each 40min lesson I conduct, I do not use the iPad for all, every or even every second lesson.  Here’s some examples to put into context for you.

1. Year 1 class, their goal is to begin finding facts within non-fiction books and retell these facts in their own words (summarising!).  The book today: “Big Cities in the World”.  Ipad use: there were four cities explored in the book.  We began with New York city – I used the National Geographic World Atlas app to show the students Australia, over to New York, and even identifying the “Hudson River” which is spoken about in the book.  I then showed them a short clip from the New York City Vacation Guide of the highlights of New York.  The student understandings from the book were enhanced with the audio visual material I gave them.

2. Year 4: Non-Fiction book on “trees”.  We used a concept map to highlight the new understandings, and even create a “lifecycle” chart using kidspiration app.

3. Year 5: “Forensic Science” book (again, non-fiction).  Once the students had read a few pages of this heavy book, I used the iPad to play a video of “forensic science for kids“.  It showed the many uses for forensic science and was very age appropriate.

As you can see, while I didn’t use the iPad for every class, when it was used, it provided an enhancement to the lesson.  I’m learning more and more about the value of this device in my small group sessions, and I’m enjoying exploring the opportunities while I don’t have teaching/planning pressures!

 

So I’ve asked you to “Suck It Up” but at what cost?

It’s interesting to see my peers as we all reflect on our navigation through this study of ICTs and pedagogy.  I had already decided to reflect on the importance of addressing potential concerns when presenting new ICTs to children, and reading Megan’s Blog has furthered my thoughts.

Megan writes with passion as she reflects on the fears of many parents/educators when dealing with ICTs:

“Should we as teachers be encouraging the use of technologies that much, that students are losing what I see as important everyday skills, such as writing with a pen and paper?!”

These are the exact concerns that were expressed by parents as we were given the opportunity to volunteer our child’s participation in a BYO iPad program at her school.  I have to say, these were never my concerns.  So many parents and peers have expressed their worry that pen and paper will become extinct but I don’t believe this will ever be the case.  It’s my opinion that many would have had the same concerns when calculators were first put on the school booklist.  I wonder if they were concerned that children would never be able to mentally calculate once these were commonly used in classrooms, and what about when we were able to take them into classrooms? “Gasp!”.

However, these concerns are valid! Therefore, I think as educators, when introducing a new ICT to children, it’s important for us to see the potential concerns, and address these to allay parent’s fears.  Part of the first assignment for this ICT course is to present an online artifact and I plan on making some of my artifact dedicated to addressing potential concerns.  I believe this is an important approach to teaching – understanding the concerns of parents, and addressing these in a compassionate and understanding way.

There’s another great article about the use of iPads to transform the classroom by Ben Johnson on his blog.  Click on the image below to see his interesting point of view about appropriate use of iPads vs inappropriate use.

Transforming Teaching and Learning

Interestingly, this subject is something very personal for me.  The school my daughter attends offered an iPad class for her prep entry, and it was upto parents to nominate whether their child would be considered for the BYO iPad class.  As an educator, it wasn’t a decision I took lightly, and considered many things when making the decision.

Firstly, I considered the benefit to being a part of something quite groundbreaking- while it wouldn’t be a perfected system, there would be opportunities for me as an educator to be a part of something I will probably need to use and integrate as an educator, and see this from the perspective of a parent.  Looking at how this class would change the way we discuss/reflect and quiz my daughter about her schooling through the use of photos, videos and presentations she makes on the iPad.

It never concerned me that she wouldn’t do enough writing, as I am well aware that the Australian Curriculum still requires these elements to be taught, assessable and evidential.  I was however concerned that she would become so wrapped up in the technology that her rough and tumble, gross motor, role play activities would become extinct, and we know that this is vital to neurological development (see an article from Doug Imig of Urbanchild to regarding this here).  I raised my concerns with the Principal, and the he assured me the children would never be on the iPad more than 70% of the day.

I imagined the use of the iPad to support classroom collaborations, such as math games that would normally be played on an interactive whiteboard, being used as a class, collectively, enabling differentiation – one student who is struggling has more opportunities to repeat the activity if required, while another can move up to the next level.  One example is the game I’ve seen used in prep (below) called “Ladybird Spot Total“; usually students would do this in the classroom using the interactive whiteboard, taking it in turns.  Activities like this could provide better differentiation by allowing students to complete the activity independently with self correction, or in pairs, collaborating.

Today, however, I had my daughter’s eyes checked and the optometrist (who specialises in  children’s behavioural optometry) gasped when I told her my daughter was in an iPad class.  “Why?!” she said.  I had this instant thought that I did the wrong thing by agreeing to send my child to the BYO iPad class.  “What have I done?” I sat silently while miss 4’s eyes were tested and contemplated my decision.

Then I came home and as I write this I’m reminded that while I’m not 100% sure that the iPad class will provide better opportunities for differentiation and opportunities to excel, I do believe that it can.  The difference you see, is up to the educator.

As with any educational resource, how it is used is up to the educator.  Do you want to use a resource because it’s pretty, sounds good, or makes life easier, or do you want to use a resource (and I mean ANY resource – not just ICT) because it can transform the learning of students in your class?  This slideshow (Tranformative use of iPads) inspires me to think about opportunities to transform learning, and specifically through the use of various ICTs.