Eureka Faculty-Students Embrace New Technology
January 27, 2012
Change is inevitable. With new technology seemingly coming around every corner, educators sometimes feel they are always in catch up mode The issue has never been do we want new technology but how can we best use it, incorporate it into our classroom and make it meaningful to the students.
A year-an-half ago USD389 introduced iPads, one cart of 15 at the High school, one cart of 15 at the Elementary. They were like shinny new presents at Christmas time that everyone is excited about but not real sure how they work, how can it help me, how do I use these in the classroom, etc... We have since added another cart of iPad2's and have put iPads in all the teachers hands at Marshall with plans to do the same at the High School. It's not just good enough to put technology into a teachers hand. School districts must also provide quality training to enhance the technology. Without this partnership technology will never see it's full potential within a classroom. Eureka school district is doing both and as we provide more training we are seeing the iPads being used daily with a call for more.
Slowly but surely this new technology is taking hold as teachers research apps that are beneficial to their content area and grade level. Are we moving away from traditional desktops and laptops and becoming more mobile with iPads, iPods, cell phones? Watch students as they come into the school, most have a cell phone that they consider their third arm.
Given the choice of a laptop or iPad sixth graders Ashleigh Casper, Teresa Mills, and Braden Lowe all agreed they would select an iPad. When further questioned why, Ashleigh stated "I just like being able to touch the screen, it makes me feel like I'm learning it better and it's fun." Which brings us to the discussion of engaged students. With traditional teaching of lecture and note taking then practice we obviously have to work to keep all engaged but with the iPad in a students hands they are engaged the entire time. Will lecture, note taking, laptops, desktops disappear in the future? I don't believe so as they all have their merits and benefits. The iPad can replace the traditional pen/paper practice time. Apps have been released and are being used that engage students and make it fun for them to practice. Hence the benefit of the iPad. If you can get a student excited about practicing basic drills then you have something. The challenge is how do we incorporate all of these to give the student the best education possible so when they walk out our doors they are armed with the knowledge they need to succeed.
Mrs. Herb, Kindergarten teacher notes, "The advantage I see with an iPad over traditional laptops or desktops for my students are the convenience in size and weight. The touch screen makes it very easy for students to manipulate through the apps on the iPad.
The power of the iPad is not just in the Apps but in the all encompassing tools the iPad offers. Need to take a picture? Done. Need some video to go with that PowerPoint? Covered. Want e-mail? All over it. How bout just research on the web, that's easy with Safari. Transfer music, record sound, hook up your head phones, move pictures you've taken with the iPad to your laptop are but a few of the other features this device is capable of.
Apple has released two new Apps iBooks2 & iTunesU texbooks. Apple has partnered with three of the major education publishers to make text books for the iPads at 14.98 a book. See related story.
Mrs. Collinge, Sixth Grade Science & Social Studies teacher comments, "This is a phenomenal change in the way material is presented to students. Educators have known for a long time that differentiated learning is necessary to see growth in all students. We know that students have different modalities that allow them to understand content better. Now, we finally have a way to alter content so that all children can grasp the concepts. I think that when students use this type of textbook, the interaction will go past memorizing facts to deeper understanding of the material."
"Another benefit I see is that this will eliminate the heavy bookbags I see the kids carry around. Not many adults would be willing to carry a bag of this weight with us wherever we go throughout the day."
One of the many Apps that Mrs. Collinge uses is called (Stack the Countries), "This app is a clever, interactive electronic worksheet that makes finding the correct answer rewarding. Through the use of the iPad, students acquire skills that are relevant to the tools being used in today’s world. Students now need to be able to use the tools available to them to support their understanding and use reasoning to make sense of the information that is so readily accessible, instead of memorizing facts," she noted.
The big three, reading, writing, and arithmetic are not the only place the iPad is making an impact. Mike Davison, Elementary P.E. teacher has incorporated a new App (iMuscle) into his curriculum. "iMuscle is an interactive app, that shows the entire human body and all of its muscle systems. This app replaces the need for me to sit and lecture about every muscle system and what they do," Mr. Davison noted.
The iPad is not the be all device that some have proclaimed but it does provide another powerful weapon in the teacher's arsenal to provide valuable content that students get excited about. If a student is enthused about learning, excited about being engaged, looking forward to getting to class because they know they are going to use the iPad, teachers and students have both won.
