Ipads in the Classroom

          When I first heard about the use of Ipads in the classroom to improve student engagement and thinking, I was a little bit skeptic as I suppose most are. I was interested in how they were using it to support the classroom and do the benefits out weigh the negatives of student Ipad use. However, throughout the experience, I made sure to keep an open mind about how I would be able to utilize technology, such as Ipads, in my future classroom.

          I had the opportunity to visit two classrooms at El Camino High School in Oceanside, CA, both of which were math classes. My first assumption was that students will be playing with the Ipads to do other activities other than the ones asked of them by the teacher. As the classes began, this is was immediately proven very wrong (Although, I was very tempted to explore and play with the Ipad!). All of the students were working on their assignment and never appeared to go off task.

          My second curiosity was exactly how the Ipads promoted student learning in the classroom. It was difficult to observe how they were being used because the lessons we observed involved the students doing a worksheet, on the Ipad, to study for the CAHSEE or a test. Discussing techniques with my colleagues, exploring on the Ipad myself, and the debrief with the teacher at the end of the day did, however, help me visualize the benefits in the classroom.

          The classrooms greatly benefitted from the Ipads through assessments. All types of assessments could be given to the students on their Ipad. The El Camino teachers also used Moodle to administer the tests in which students could use the internet and/or Evernote (where students save their notes they take in class) on the tests. This method of assessment, in math, possibly may assess students on conceptual understanding versus memorization. Moodle was also a great tool to the teachers for assessments. Moodle analyzed every assessment, student, question, and could give you more data then you could ever need, all done for you! I actually thought that this sole product of the Ipads (and Moodle) was a reason for getting Ipads in the classroom. I did agreed with how the assessments were being implemented, although I would most definitely want to do more research about a demonstration true student achievement on such assessments.

          Other neat characteristics I observed about the Ipads were the applications and how the Ipads could be used in classroom discussions. I am a huge fan of Geometer’s Sketchpad (GSP), and of course I was impressed with the FREE application all of the Ipads had. For those of you who do not know about GSP, it is an interactive mathematical program in which the user can construct shapes, graphs, lines, etc. and also move these sketches around to see characteristics or how objects are independent/dependent on other things. In my future classroom (filled with Ipads for students), I would use this tool to have the students explore the mathematics and concepts behind certain content. Students would be able to have the tool in their own hands. In addition, hearing about the ‘Apple TV’s’ allowed me to picture how student work could be placed on the projector for students to explain or ask questions to the class. This could be done in confidentiality or not, possibly promoting more student involvement in class discussions.

          Overall, I thought this experience was very informational and beneficial to the future of education. We all know technology is taking/has taken over society and, I believe, education of young adults should also involve technology in order to prepare them for this new world. I learned a lot about how Ipads are beneficial and I do agree they would be. Although it may be more difficult to immediately get them into my classroom, I am willing to further discuss how we can do this. Thank you to El Camino High School for a great observation and beginning to conquer the world of technology in the classroom.