Teachers today are up against so many challenges. We need to make daily decisions about EVERYTHING! Do we teach students how to write in cursive or is print sufficient? Do we focus on spelling or can they just use spell check? Do we give homework and if so, how many hours per week? Should our students be working on projects in class or is it ok to send the projects home? Education is ever-advancing. And teachers need to be too. The definition of being literate has changed since I was young. It used to mean that you could read and write. Today, people use terms like “tech literate” or “tech illiterate”. Today, being literate doesn’t only mean you can read or write; today, being literate means reading , writing and being able to navigate technology. By teaching in innovative ways, children are taught to think and not taught what to think. Teachers are preparing children for jobs that have not yet been created. According to Kaminiski et al. (2003), teachers should not assume that students are tech literate and that they aren't necessarily learning to use technology at school. Teachers need to keep that in mind when introducing technology in class. A study in Quebec (Karsenti et al, 2013) showed that the benefits of having iPads in the classroom outweigh the challenges. This study observed 18 elementary and high schools across Quebec. At the time of the study, over 6000 students in Quebec were using iPads in schools. As long as screen time is limited to a maximum of 2 hours per day (this may mean 1 hour at school and one hour at home) there is no harm in using ipads at school. iPads in the classroom can teach children in ways that cannot be taught with paper and pen. It can help children express themselves. And the best part? Children are all active learners. When a teacher is teaching in front of the classroom, the children are not necessarily all engaged -with an iPad they are. Here is a video of a 6 year old playing with an educational app called: Lexia. He is learning about contractions and about words that start with b, d, and p: youtu.be/CBwy6hz1yxg Here is again writing words like know and could: youtu.be/f0R1RwBaaGg His mother, Tami Zuckerman, a former kindergarten teacher and former CEO of VarageSale, likes to call this "App enabling" and not "App dependent". She went on to tell me she thinks there is a good use for technology in school, like the app her son was using but that there are also some bad uses of technology in school that are not educational. She calls those babysitting apps. According to Kemp et al., there are some people who support technology in schools and others find that there are many disadvantages. Here are some pros and cons of using iPads in the classroom: Pros
So, how about all that other technology in the classroom? Are they tools, or should technology remain at home? What about all those educational games? Do we need technology to make schools more suited for 21st century learners? Or are the basics, like pencil and paper more than adequate? I remember the day Smartboards were introduced into school. The first one that arrived at our school was on wheels. Each teacher reserved it for a month and then passed it onto the next teacher. I remember receiving a quick training from another teacher who was familiar with SmartBoards. I loved using the Smartboard -so did the children. The biggest challenge was that not all teachers were using it properly. Some teachers went from standing in front of a blackboard teaching, to standing in front of a $6000 Smartboard and teaching. There was no difference. According to a study conducted by Franklin et al. the biggest obstacle for the 23 teachers who were part of the research was lack of time in the classroom to use technology. They said that they were so busy teaching other subjects and getting their students ready for exams that they didn't even have time for much technology. When I read this article, I thought it was an interesting obstacle to face. These teachers were adding technology to their curriculum instead of integrating it into the curriculum. Last year, I did a project with my students on WW1 and WW2. They had to use ipads to make a video about the wars. I did not add to the curriculum, I simply enhanced their learning by having them use ipads instead of other tools. In a recent study, researchers Kucirkova & Sakr (2015) reported that story making apps help with student creativity. My students' projects on WW1 and WW2 were EXCELLENT! When iPads were first introduced into the classroom, we received about 5 per classroom, which meant that you could easily have a center in class -centers are when a few different activities go on at the same time. Students sit in groups of 4 or 5 and do different activities for a given period of time. One group might be working on a puzzle, when another group is working on math; another group will be working on reading or writing and finally, one group will be working with iPads (usuallly a very popular center!) Some classrooms may have a 1-1 program (1 iPad per student). Some classrooms may have a 1-2 program (1 iPad for two students). Some classrooms may have a class set of iPads, perhaps just 3 or iPads per class. Although it is more convenient to have more iPads in the classroom, even a few can prove to be beneficial. Here is a video of a high school student that I interviewed, talking about what it is like to share iPads with classmates: youtu.be/PD_09Qjn610 What about schools that do not have access to iPads? I believe that teachers have to find creative ways to teach without technology. I met with a grade 6 teacher recently who was very surprised with the grade 6 government exam. She said that she thought the students would be sitting in rows and working quietly, instead, as part of the exam, the students are to discuss their dream home with one another before reading and writing about it. They are supposed to draw a picture of their dream house too and present it in small groups. No iPads or technology was needed for this exam -yet it was still very creative, something that students need. According to Dunn et al. (2018) iPads allow students more choice and creativity in students' writing. The researchers went on to say that students didn't realize that they were doing work. They thought they were playing. I believe the same goes for any activity in class. The kids might not think of the assignment as work if it's fun. Here is a YouTube video of an elementary student that I interviewed who doesn't think that iPads belong in the classroom: https://youtu.be/WJm4LM8iREo Here are some tips for teaching students to use the iPad in the classroom
iPads can be used in addition to any subject that the teacher teaches in class. Some teachers only have students use iPads to play games, or to make movies. iPads offer so much more! Here is a YoutTue clip of a teacher (part-time science teacher, part-time History and Geography consultant with his opinion about iPads in the classroom. https://bit.ly/2GA3WVi Here are a list of my FAVOURITE apps!Epic! Is a digital library for students under the age of 12. There are 25 000 English and French books in this app. If you are teaching a unit on butterflies, you can find books on butterflies and add it to the collection for students. The children will have access to all those books. You can create your own comprehension questions or use the ones that are already provided. Pic collage is an app that allows children to create collages using pictures and words. For example, you can ask your students to find an image or to take a picture of something to do with Halloween. Then the students are asked to write words or sentences describing that image. Students can then share the image with their parents. The students can take a picture of a book cover, then write the beginning, middle and the end of the story. The teacher can send an assignment to the children and the students can work directly on Pic Collage. This same activity can be done with paper and pencil but students wouldn’t be able to instantly share them with their parents. And the students wouldn’t be able to take a picture. Pic collage is just a creative way to engage the students. Class kick in an app that allows the teacher to see what the student is doing in real-time. The teacher can give feedback right away and students can edit their work as soon as they receive the feedback from their teacher. The teacher can prepare assignments or use existing worksheets. The teacher can send the assignment to the student and the teacher can see the student working on it in real time. Book creator is a way to have students make their own books. The teacher teaches the importance of writing a book (beginning, middle and end). Each slide is a different page in a book. Students can add text, images and their voice. This book can be shared with parents. This app is used to help select students. It is a random student selector or a random group generator. Each student puts a finger on a button and the app chooses a student. So many times, students will argue about who goes first in an activity. The teacher shows the students how to use the app once, and they will be able to easily use it on their own as needed. Two or more students place their finger on the app. After a few seconds, the app will choose one person. This app is used to time classroom activities, transitions between activities, morning routines…It is a visual aid that the students can use at any time. The teacher puts the timer on the SmartBoard for all to see. Kahoot is a game-based application that allows teachers to formatively assess their students. For example, the teacher reads a story to the students and uses Kahoot to test their knowledge. The teacher can instantly see who understands and who doesn’t. Plickers is an assessment tool. The teacher asks a question, the children answer in multiple choice format by holding up a QR code. The teacher scans the answers using an iPad or phone. The results are anonymous and the teacher can see if the majority of the students understand the work. Tip: Don’t laminate the QR codes. The scanner won’t be able to read the results. Seesaw is a digital portfolio that allows students to share their work with their teachers, peers and parents. Students can upload pictures, record their voices, type, circle important information... It takes seconds for students to post their work. They can post science projects, artwork, written work. They can read passages from their favourite book. Parents can only see their own child’s work and not the work of other students.. Children can see all their peers’ work. This app is called Number Pieces. I would recommend it for math teachers. It allows students to represent numbers using base ten blocks. Students can record their voices and show their work. Instead of simply marking them right or wrong, the teacher gets to see their thinking. I would recommend the use of stylus pens as a classroom management tool for using iPads in the classroom. The teacher buys a few Stylus pens for the iPads. The students who are focused and working well get to use one for the day. There are so many incredible, innovative and creative ways to use the iPad in the classroom. Teachers need to take the time to become familiar with the apps. Do not introduce them to the students all at once. Do not use the iPads all day long. All students should have equal opportunities to work on the ipad, not just students who are finished their work early. Using iPads properly in the classroom can be truly beneficial to students. And if you don't have iPads, make sure to integrate educative games into the curriculum. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- References and suggested readings
Cheryl A. Franklin & Philip E. Molebash (2007) Technology in the Elementary Social Studies Classroom: Teacher Preparation Does Matter, Theory & Research in Social Education, 35:2, 153-173, DOI: 10.1080/00933104.2007.10473331 Dunn, J., & Sweeney, T. (September 01, 2018). Writing and iPads in the Early Years: Perspectives from within the Classroom. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49, 5, 859-869. Kaminski, K., Seel, P., & Cullen, K. (2003). Technology literate students. Educause Quarterly, 3, 34-40. Karsenti, T., & Fievez, A. (2013) The iPad in Education: uses, benefits and challenges- A survey of 6057 students and 302 teachers in Quebec, Canada. Montreal, QC: CRIFPE. Kemp, A., Preston, J., Page C.S., Harper, R., Dillard, B., (2014) Technology and Teaching: A Conversation among Faculty Regarding the Pros and Cons of Technology The Qualitative Report, 19(3), 1-23. Retrieved from https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol19/iss3/2 Kucirkova, N., & Sakr, M. (September 01, 2015). Child-father creative text-making at home with crayons, iPad collage & PC. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 17, 59-73.
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