Using iPads in the Classroom to
Engage the 21st Century Learner
Shauna NéroFrench Immersion, FSL and Spanish Teacher
The Digital Innovation Project
in SD36THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE:
Engaging students in their learning requires a multidimensional approach. While social and academic engagement is imperative to student success, we know that "...ultimately, we need to achieve the more ambitious goal of promoting deep cognitive engagement that results in learning."
National Research Council, cited in Dunleavey and Milton, 2008
11 schools in the district were given access to 30 iPads (7 elementary, 3 secondary and 1 Learning Center)
KWANTLEN PARK SECONDARY is an inner-city school in Surrey (the Whalley area).
At Kwantlen Park, 6 teachers (Science, Math, English, LST and French Immersion/Modern Languages) are sharing 30 iPads and 16 iPods to complete their research
Following the results of our first year, district students involved in the project are filling out a survey before, during and at the end of the semester/year.
We will be completing our research at the end of this year to share with the district and our school. We hope to encourage the district to purchase more iPads in order to make this technological tool available to more.
Our school is also a testing school for a Learning Commons library project which will see the integration of iPads, media devices (digital cameras) and a space for learning.
Why I use the iPad in class?
• To increase student engagement
• To empower the digital native student with using what they know (technology)
• To give choices to students through a variety of apps can appeal to different learning styles
A. Allows for differentiated learning so that students of all levels can be successful
What other teachers have to say:• @MmeHibou uses iPads in the math classroom
to help students who struggle, she loves the visual aspect
• @msewen uses them for student success and ease of use. He recently used iPad dictation for a student who cannot write (a great example of empowering the student)
Learning from my mistakes: practical knowledge
• Give each student the same iPad number for the whole year (even if they are doing group work, choose one student's iPad number in the group) and record this on a class list
• Put a responsible student in charge, ask him/her to distribute the iPads when necessary and collect them. Do not let any student leave the classroom until YOU have checked that all have been returned.
• Create a contract for students to sign which ensures their responsible and respectable use of the iPads in class.
Getting to know the iPad
• Do not assume that they know how to use an iPad (this was my first and biggest mistake)
• Give students a "Scavenger hunt" activity for them to learn the basic uses (taking pictures, saving pictures to Photos, surfing the internet on Safari, turning it on/off, the use of the "Home" button)
• Let them have fun for a class or two in order to acquaint themselves with it, those students who have used an iPad before become the leaders
Share a Google Docs list with the terms that they need to
know
Home button: enables you to leave an app at any time
Safari: the access to the internet
Finder-search engine: swipe to the left after the home screen to the Magnifying Glass page to type in the name of an app to find its location
Swiping: the act of moving between pages, turning pages on the iPad
Do you know.... (because I sure didn't...)
• that to take a picture of the screen (Screen Capture), you hold the Power button and the Home button at the same time (your pic is then saved in Photos)?
• in order to save battery power, double tap the Home button and "x" (delete) the apps that appear at the bottom of the screen?
• to save a picture in Safari, you press and hold the picture and then choose "Save Image" or "Copy"?
Power of surveys and exit tickets
• They give you the opportunity to know what they know
• Students are given a voice, a voice to express their concerns or their joy of using the iPads
• A great learning tool for you, it lets them know that you are learning as well and want to learn from them
Methods to do polling
• polleverywhere.com: students can text or send answers online to open-ended or multiple choice questions
• (free account is limited to 40 answers)
• Socrative app (Teacher and Student) : Questions or Quiz-based activities
Set up a place to receive projects
• Classroom gmail account (students also know the password)
• Dropbox (using that Gmail account)
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