Below is a short video and some ideas I have about 1:1 iPad programs. I would really like to hear your opinions on my ideas.
How
1:1 iPads benefit a student’s education?
A 1:1 iPad program will result in, at
least, two significant benefits for a student’s education:
2. The transformation of a
student’s role in education.
We must give each student what he or she
needs to grow
To fulfill this role we must know exactly
what a student needs. We
use a range of ongoing assessment
to determine these needs then we personalise student learning and differentiate instruction.
iPads=
accessible tasks
With 1:1 iPads assessment tasks become
accessible to all students and richer data is produced. Questions can contain visual,
audio, or video hints to support a students thinking. Stile and Infuse
encourage students to sketch their ideas when problem solving during tests. The
iPad’s inbuilt camera allows students to capture and document their working out.
Transformation
of tests and quizzes
To accompany tests students can record
short audio clips, in which they explain their understanding, or video themselves
demonstrating skills. Students can even create their very own self-correcting
tests. These can be used to assess their own and other students’ understandings.
Know
Needs Now
Data can be gathered with increased
efficiency and be acted upon with more immediacy. Apps like Socrative, or services like Google
Forms, allow teachers to monitor students’ responses to tasks or tests in real
time. We can also ask students self-assessment,
or self-evaluation questions, about their feelings, thinking, confidence or
performance on a task. As a student answers a question these services mark the
answer, based on pre-determined criteria, and a colour-coded spreadsheet, of
the results, appears on the teacher’s screen.
Differentiate
instruction to each student’s point of need
By monitoring this data we can immediately gauge
if a student is finding the task too difficult, or has misconceptions, or feels
that they are struggling, or on the other hand is finding the content too easy.
While this is possible, and occurs, currently without iPad’s, the process becomes
much more efficient, thorough and detailed when aided by such technology.
Learn
anything, anywhere, anytime
iPad’s provide students with access to a
wide range of high quality instructional
media including video tutorials
and interactive lessons. Students
progressing quickly, or those having difficulties, can be directed to instructional
media that explicitly explores the content that they need to work on next. Teachers
can create this media prior to the learning experience. Teachers can also direct students to instructional
media that has been made by experts in their field, from around the globe.
TedEd, Ted, Khan Academy, BrainPop, BTN, TeacherTube, Mathletics, Literacy
Planet and many other services, and apps. Best of all students can be directed
to instructional media made by other students, who have iPads, from their
class, school or even from around the globe.
Students
become teachers
Once a student has proved mastery, of a
concept, they can create their own media using iPad apps like iMovie, Explain
Everything, and Phoster. This is a
transformation of the role of a student from simply being a learner into a learner
who uses their knowledge to teach others. Imagine how motivating it is to know
that other students will learn because of the work you are doing in class!
Flipped
Classroom Possibilities
Students can access this instructional media
at home. For example a student can watch a short instructional video that
explicitly addresses the content that they will be exploring in class tomorrow.
A short quiz or task may accompany this video. Before students have even
entered the classroom learning has begun and a teacher will know which students
are going to understand or have difficulty. Students who adequately complete the task at
home can begin the investigation stage of their learning experience. Those who
found the content difficult can explore problems, with their teacher and peers,
in more detail.
Increased
interdependence
High quality collaboration, sharing, and
discussions become more achievable, for all students on the iPad, with services
like Padlet and GoogleDrive. Students can share their ideas and respond to
others by posting on Padlet walls or contributing to live documents.
Increased
student independence
Students
will be able to answer many of their own further questions by searching the
numerous texts, media and information the iPad equips them with.
Create,
Create, Create…
…and it is not just creation for creations
sake. It is purposeful creation. Students
can create in any medium they desire with the aim of sharing their knowledge,
telling their stories, raising awareness, informing, teaching, motivating or
inspiring the world. Such creation includes videos, interactive books, text
documents, designer quality presentations and posters, photo collages, gifs,
slowmations, timelapses, brainstorm diagrams, drawings, blogs, websites,
comics, their own iPad apps, games and programs, animations, music, audio
recordings or printable 3D sculptures. The
work students’ produce can be responsibly shared and constructively critiqued
by classmates, parents, and the local, possibly the global, community.
Within a 1:1 iPad program a teacher can
fulfill their role, giving students what they need to grow, with more
immediacy, thoroughness, specificity, efficiency, privacy, and flexibility. To
me these enhancements to my ability justify a 1:1 iPad program and that is
before I remember that iPads have the potential to dramatically transform the
role of our students and also allow them to consume, collaborate and create in
ways we couldn’t even imagine a few years ago. A 1:1 iPad program places a
powerful tool in the hands of students. Learners can use this tool, with guidance
from teachers, to teach themselves and others how to learn.
By @JackLawicki
