It’s a tool, it’s a tool, it’s a tool.
The iPad is not going to replace teachers or ‘fix’ education. There is a cost implication that must be taken into account and only an educator will know if it is right for their students. Indeed the cost-benefit analysis for an establishment must take into account a host of factors when considering iPad use in the classroom. However, if there are iPads in the classroom, there are a number of applications that can enhance learning and assist the educator in developing student skills. In fact, the iPad allows educators to build on existing styles and increase flexibility in their classroom whilst personalising learning.
Assessment for Learning
The most valuable weapon in an educators arsenal is feedback. The principles of assessment against a backdrop of grading have been discussed at length for many, many years. Regardless of the conclusion you come to, the iPad allows an educator to collect information to provide feedback much more efficiently than any other tool. Of course, the use of mini-whiteboards, hands up and questioning techniques have been and will continue to be useful. However, they don’t compare to individual responses to questioning that can be collated and reflected upon immediately.
Applications such as eclicker, Socrative and Nearpod have the ability to provide instant feedback for every child in the classroom. On their iPad a student can respond to any number of questions that are immediately available to the educator. Moreover, if an educator is unsure of progress, they can ask students to complete a task that will inform the next stage of the lesson. Having a device in your hand, that is collating work by students immediately for feedback, is a very powerful tool when assessing for learning.
Collaboration
Setting a collaborative task is a tried and tested technique to allow students to question each other in the pursuit of an answer. The staple tools for this have included A3 paper, colour pens and research material (if you are lucky in a computer room). We can now add to this the iPad that can be the research resource, the ideas board and the means to share completed results.
Every educator has been left with completed work and no easy means to ensure the student has a copy to refer to in the future. This has often been resolved with photocopying and/or pictures. With the iPad, any group work can be shared instantaneously with others. Different facets of a project can be brought together and/or dismissed with the touch of a finger. The reasoning behind a decision can be verbally recorded for future reference.
The point is an educator can now set tasks to enhance learning, safe in the knowledge the students have the tools to complete what is required. Don’t get me wrong theses tasks can be completed in other ways, however, the iPad allows the student to concentrate on the learning and not logistics.
Practical Use
These are a few of the applications that have been made a little easier by the use of an iPad
- Interactive whiteboard (Explain Everything) – with the ability to add images and audio
- Mind mapping tool (Popplet) – with the ability to share the map with others when required
- Highlighting student work – using Apple TV where any iPad screen can be shared with the rest of the class. Has the added benefit that students take pride in their work if they know it might be seen at any point.
- Visualiser – using the camera function any work can be displayed using existing projector set-up, not just paper.
- Instant feedback – via AfL applications
- Shared resources – via Dropbox linked to all students in class
Informing the Next Step
Perhaps the most significant impact of an iPad in a classroom is the information it can provide. For the students, the ability to define or research new concepts is a very powerful application, particularly when guided. For an educator, it is the ability to provide resources to enhance learning and tailor it for all abilities. Gone are the days of setting homework, collecting next lesson, assessing and then handing back the following lesson. This process can now occur between each lesson and inform planning. Platforms such as Edmodo and Schoology allow students to ‘turn in’ assignments and receive feedback before their next classroom time. This provides a wealth of information that directly informs an educator.
Every tool has a time and place it should be used. From a ruler to a calculator, they are fit for purpose and it would be strange to use them otherwise. However, the iPad can meet the requirements of a number of tools and offer an ease of use that removes some of the barriers to learning.
If you are thinking of using an iPad in the classroom I urge you to consider that the effort required to understand its implication is front-loaded. Getting to grips with the technology will allow you to make informed decisions about its use in your classroom.
I would be very interested to hear about experience with the iPad and am very happy to discuss its use in education.
Rebecca (@bekblayton)
October 21, 2012 at 8:47 am
Really great post, and one which strikes a chord with me. Whilst there are great apps for curriculum areas, or designed for motivation and support, the iPad is best used as a tool. So many apps which promote talk, allow pupils to choose learning methods and allow instant teacher feedback.
Thanks!
Daniel Edwards
October 21, 2012 at 8:49 am
No problem – thanks Rebecca.
Jim Stephens
October 21, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Hey Dan, thanks for continuing the dialog on this conversation and sharing the apps. Experimenting is key for the 21st century and so is modeling experimental learning for our students. I think when we say to our students “hey, let’s give this app a try and I what to know what you think.”. Nothing builds relationships more than learning together. Jim
Daniel Edwards
October 21, 2012 at 3:27 pm
Thanks for commenting Jim. I agree there is a real advantage to sharing the learning experience.
Greg Hughes
October 21, 2012 at 3:38 pm
I fully agree – best to completely ignore Curriculum apps and focus on generic learning tools, most of which you mentioned! Specific subject apps are just the icing on the cake…
Daniel Edwards
October 21, 2012 at 4:13 pm
Very true Greg. Cheers for commenting.
Jamie Hall
October 22, 2012 at 1:33 am
Good article, but I feel that some points are missed the fact that the iPad is great at helping learners at all levels, it’s really going to change how teachers deliver instruction. These two reasons among many more make the iPad the greatest educational tool of our time. I could teach all year long with 4 apps… Educreations, A flashcard app like SAS Flash Cards or Brainscape and something fun like Comic Touch Lite, and Socrative or Infuselearning.
Daniel Edwards
October 22, 2012 at 5:01 am
Thanks for commenting Jamie.
spiketown
October 22, 2012 at 8:26 am
Hi Jamie,
What always strikes me when I go into classrooms and work with iPods/iPads with children for the first few lessons is the dynamic changes almost immediately. I still tend to introduce a whole class idea (through a stimulus on a screen or even just by asking them a question) but the children working collaboratively sections of the day seem to expand. It actually helps me with one of the things that sceptical teachers often tell me, “They will just fiddle with them when you are talking”. I disagree, in practice I tell the children that they will be doing a lot more work, rather than me “teaching” at the front so when I DO want to speak to them they very much need to stop everything. Does work well.
I also find that classrooms become very mobile in a totally different way. The children naturally get up from their seats and go to show others what they are doing, it reminds me of that experiment where you sprinkle a thin layer of flour on water. The particles are all spread out but if you begin to stir they start to coalesce (great visual way of explaining how the early solar system formed from the fragments of rock orbiting the Sun!) Same in the classroom, you stir in some ideas and instead of being neatly spread out they start to coalesce around what someone else has just found out. This is one of the things that teachers need to take on board before working with the devices.
This blog continues to give a very well considered approach to using iOS devices in teh classroom, keep up the good work!
ST
http://www.spiketown.wordpress.com
Alecia Baxter
October 25, 2012 at 8:19 pm
Hello Mr. Edwards,
My name is Alecia Baxter and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am in Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class and majoring in Elementary Education. After reading “What can you do with an iPad in the classroom?” I am still not sure on whether or not I want iPads in the classroom. The pro of having it in the class is that students can share data instantly and/or be more portable than a laptop. The con is that what if you were to have misbehaving students they would most likely use the iPad for non class related topics. So after considering the pros and cons of the iPad I will have to say yes to having them, but also have a tool that shows what the students are doing on the iPads. If you would like you can follow me on twitter. Thanks for posting!
Take care,
Alecia Baxter
EDM310
University of South Alabama
Daniel Edwards
October 25, 2012 at 8:23 pm
Thanks for commenting Alecia.
You’ll be glad to know there are a number of ways to control access on the iPad, including locking them down to one app or blocking gaming apps. I can strongly recommend trying one out.
Charlotte Rode
October 28, 2012 at 6:15 pm
I have one iPad for my use at present in a junior high. I use it for its camera to project photos of student groups at work to see themselves working. It is an immediate connection for kids. I use Art Authority app to project painting images students draw from as a warm up when they settle into class and as a way to introduce new works of art. I use art and math apps for individual students for diffentiation and I am still figuring out more ways to use this great tool.
Daniel Edwards
October 28, 2012 at 6:23 pm
Interesting to hear about your use. Thanks for commenting.
Nicole U.
November 6, 2012 at 8:55 pm
Thanks for the ideas, David. My building is about to go 1:1 with student iPads and I’m working on wrapping my head around valuable ideas for instruction and delivery. A new idea for me will be the opportunity to allow students to collaborate on a document from their own devices – I see you’ve suggested Dropbox as a way to allow students access to each other’s writing. Have you any other suggestions for apps or websites to facilitate something like peer editing of a paper? Thanks so much!
Nicole
Daniel Edwards
November 6, 2012 at 9:11 pm
Thanks for commenting Nicole. With iOS 6 allowing you to open in app I would suggest using Explain Everything, audioboo and neu annotate for PDF. Hope that helps.
Robert Dodd
November 10, 2012 at 10:58 am
Great post. We are a 1:1 school and our teachers use the tools mentioned above. I get a few comments from parents about eBooks and why our district didn’t purchase digital books for the students to use on the iPads. It is hard for people to understand the cost factors in doing this, who owns the books when a district purchases them, and the quality of the texts at this current time. Any thoughts on this? I personally think books are just a resource like the iPad. I don’t see why not having a digital text would be a concern.
Daniel Edwards
November 10, 2012 at 11:00 am
Thanks for commenting. I’ll have a look into it.
John Davies
November 24, 2012 at 5:37 pm
Regarding ebooks – we’ve just invested in Overdrive which has an iPad app and is compatible for many platforms. Also other eresearch sites: encyclopedia britannica online and ejournals like jstor. Students can read and research a host of things from their seat. Very good if you are in our position: library building currently being built. My new library will be awash with tablets, tv screens and if course some traditional books also.
Daniel Edwards
November 24, 2012 at 6:06 pm
That is very interesting to hear. Good luck with your project.
Lauren
December 30, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Daniel, great article! Excelegrade (www.excelegrade.com) is another new platform for assessment. Some of the things that distinguish us from others are 1) we have a question bank aligned to Common Core, 2) we accommodate free response and allow students to show work with a stylus, 3) we automatically populate a mastery tracker showing standard by standard how students have done and keep track of their mastery over time. Best of all, it’s free! We think more teachers need to know about Excelegrade as a great assessment solution.
Simon
January 5, 2013 at 1:17 pm
Interesting reading, Daniel – thanks. A really fun classroom use of iPads which not only teaches history but also boosts responsible use of social media is to combine Skype, Croak It and Twitter. Run some skype sessions with famous historical figures (although Santa was equally effective!) and have the kids interact with them via Skype initially, then via Twitter for written questions, or optionally voice messages via Croak It (and submitted via Twitter). No need to keep it to history, try it with topical characters too! Can be implemented fully in 45 mins and doesn’t require steep technical learning either.
Daniel Edwards
January 5, 2013 at 1:19 pm
Really appreciate the comment Simon. Thank you.