Concept One

The world of iPad is just amazing. Through presentations I have learnt of and discovered sites such as the Victorian Government iPads for Learning. This site is a fantastic resource that explains how iPads work on a 1:1 basis, classroom ideas, educational Apps and many other features.

I thought I had pretty good knowledge of how iPads could be used educationally. Well I was pleasantly surprised when I observed a year five class during one of my practicum lead in days. The school has implemented a 1:1 iPad Program for year five through to twelve. The class was doing Naplan revision, when the class had put in their answers to the questions the teacher received immediate feedback and was able to discuss as a group the answers that students were struggling with. The teacher was able to display on the Interactive whiteboard from the iPad areas to discuss.

Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework was evident in this teaching context as the Technology is the iPad, Pedagogy was instructional and the Content was English. In this instance you could definitely see how the teacher had knowledge for technology integration to support teaching (Ferdig, 2009). What stood out for me apart from the ease of feedback was that all students were engaged in Naplan revision. Normally students would be restless and complaining about further revision.

Through discussions with the supervising teacher I understood the extent to which students actually use them in class. It has only been through the workshops at University and discussions with this teacher that I realise the range that iPads can be used. iPads are  tools with many applications for the classroom for all types of teaching styles and learning styles. There are a variety of applications available for teachers to teach the content needed. When students were introduced to the iPads at school the teacher would put a “work flow” on the IWB for students to navigate themselves to the applications they needed to complete work. This is a knowledge and skill, combined with the curriculum, which will assist students to be successful learners.  

The additional benefits to using an iPad as a mobile 1:1 learning tool is that  as explained in workshops and by the teacher is that when a student is off sick they can still have access to their work. The teacher explained that he takes a screen shot of what they are working on and emails it to the student. As long as the student has access to a Wi-Fi network they are still able to keep up with what is going on in the classroom.

Throughout the workshops we have heard over and over again about the need for students to learn necessary skills to succeed and develop 21^st century skills. Prensky (2001) suggest the children of today have been surrounded by these technologies for the entirety of their lives making them Digital natives, by incorporating a mobile device such as an iPad is an ideal way to develop life and career skills, ensure student engagement as well as students learning Core subjects.

References

Ferdig, R. E. (2009). Handbook of research on effective electronic gaming in education. Hershey, PA : Information Science Reference.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives Digital Immigrants. Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/prensky%20-%20digital%20natives,%20digital%20immigrants%20-%20part1.pdf