After reading the readings for the week and watching the podcast I do have some concerns and questions. Math that moves: Schools embrace the iPad was one article that I did find interesting, but I did have some questions regarding the iPad. I understand that the iPad is a huge tool for education, but is it still a tool if not every student has an iPad? In a lot of the schools only the teacher has an iPad. How does that help the other students learn? Some teachers plug the iPad into their computer, but I feel the students will learn more if they have the it in front of them. I feel like the teacher might lose control of the students if they are focused only on one screen. How would you handle this in the classroom if the students become off task while the teacher is trying to use the iPad?
From the same article, I found interesting that some people feel differently about the iPad. "There is very little evidence that kids learn more, faster or better by using these machines," said Larry Cuban, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, who believes that the money would be better spent to recruit, train and retain teachers". This quote really made me think about the benefits of the iPad. Even though the iPad is used an a lot of school across the United States, what are the benefits to using the iPad? I haven't done much research on this, but I am going to look into this a little bit more.
I have never really thought about how districts could be spending the money. Some schools are spending a lot of money on iPad's, what else could these schools be spending the money on? Some schools, my brother's high school, Wayland Union Schools, got iPad's given to them by the Gun Lake Casino. Every student in high school has one, but Wayland didn't spend any money on them, they were given to the school. But, if Wayland would of spent the money on those iPad's the whole community would be upset because they could of used that money toward something else. This is something that needs to be looked at for each district because it is going to be different for them all.
To answer your first question: it depends. If only the teacher has an iPad, it becomes difficult to justify how they are used to enhance learning. Perhaps by hooking it up to a projector (but a desktop can do that), or by increasing the teacher's productivity (allowing time for other activities to occur). If the ratio is not 1:1, it's very possible, as long as the teacher has directed activities for those with and without them, and the roles change over time. With respect to discipline, the teacher must have clear expectations for their use, create assignments the absolutely require the use of the iPad (as opposed to glorified busy work that could be done without them), explain the importance of why the iPad is necessary to the students, and have clear, ENFORCEABLE consequences for misuse.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the benefits of any technology, you're looking at productivity gains, as well as enabling learners to do things they wouldn't have been able to do previously. Just like my glorified worksheet example earlier, teachers need to be able to implement lessons that use the tool in a meaningful manner. Otherwise, it's a waste.