David Jakes makes a really good point in this article about iPads. This statement is so true: “Devices themselves do not transform classrooms. They just don’t. What device, or technology for that matter, has? The mightiest technology of them all, the Internet, hasn’t even transformed learning, at scale, across K-12 education. And I offer a walk down any school hallway as evidence.”
Here is the link to his article: http://davidjakes.com/words-matter-ipad
Food for thought, as we begin to use iPads more in our schools (with certain select teachers and classrooms) how do we get those teachers down the hall to let their students touch the computers and go on the internet? That is the reality we face daily and that is our goal as a team: let the students use the technology they have available…….Refresh is bringing more and more laptops and technology into the schools, we have to get the technology in the students’ hands. Teachers need to give up control.
Here is an interesting article my co-worker just shared with me after reading this post: Mooresville School District, Mooresville, NC
Please watch this video to show you what students think about their learning:
Click here to view a Voicethread by Shasta Looper’s Class about Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students Using Technology on PhotoPeach
Great article. He’s absolutely right. That’s what our questions have been here about iPads–how do we use these as mobile learning devices in meaningful ways? If we’re not doing “stand alone” technology, what advantages are there with mobile devices? The issue goes all the way back to “why do I teach the way I teach?” Often, teachers choose strategies to support management not learning (e.g., I have to get 25 students on the same page at the same time so I can keep control). When we use mobile technology to support “keep everybody on the same page”, the technology becomes a glorified pad of paper. No reall purpose to it. However, if students are working on projects at their own pace, say, through a writing project, with an app that both records their voice and their text, these children can work independently in small groups on skills they need without much teacher guidance. The technology then supports and “transforms” the learning process because it does what the teacher often cannot do–provides a scaffold at just the right time and at just the right level in ways that students both understand and control. When that happens, then we’re talking a new way of teaching and learning. Children really can start where they are and move forward. That’s what we’re looking at with ipads. How can we make the concepts and skills we’re teaching accessible through technology. My “Reggio” brain says children can do a lot more than we give them credit for. Technology becomes another way for them to use those “100 languages” — another way into their thinking and another way for them to express what they know. Thanks for sharing this article. jhartman
The classroom of the past is obsolete. Teachers must recognize that we DO live in the 21st Century. Our students, for the most part, are products of this era. Instead of rebelling against technology, it is imperative that we embrace it as educators if we are to take our students to the next level. Who even knows the next level? We must embrace and not fear technology. The technology allows for students to rise to the next level of competence—and love doing it!