Third Week Using iPads in the Classroom

Nowthat the third week has passed, I have decided to do a quick postwith my thoughts on using the iPads in the classroom. Really it'sjust been two weeks of using them in the classroom since the firstweek was spent getting them properly registered in our librarytechnology tracking system. Then there was some time taken to get theWiFi setup on them by our local tech guy. I was inspired to blog weekly because of posts from KeithRispin, another B.C. educator doing a iPad pilot.

I have approached this newschool year with both excitement and nervousness. Excitement with thefact that there are 30 shiny new iPads waiting to be used whileteaching Social Studies. Nervousness mostly with the fact that I knewthey were not fully setup and I felt there was some technologyinfrastructure issues that were unresolved.

How I have used them sofar:

I have started my studentsoff on using the iPads slowly trying to use their strengths andfind out their limitations. I am currently using them in a Grade 8class, Grade 11 class and a Grade 12 class.

With my Grade 8 class I usedthem for web research at their desk. Students were able to go beyondtheir textbook and find more details. This went really well andintuitively the students knew how to use the web browser knew how tonavigate on the devices. I had pre-selected some links for them tovisit and posted them on my Moodle page. I also had students doingsome map review by using a few different map quiz apps.

I think that this is wherethe iPad really shines, we can do extended individual research rightat our desk. No more leaving the classroom, going to the computerlab, students find seats, start up the computer, login, wait, then goon to research. With the iPads it is becoming way more efficient andwe get to work quicker.

With my Grade 12 Historyclass I dove right in and we tried all kinds of different ways to usethe iPad in class. They were kind of my guinea pig class totry things out. The results have been hit and miss, however thelearning immeasurable. I wanted to really try to reducepaper usage in this class and do much more work on ouriPads. I am posting notes, handouts, and web links all in my classMoodle page. I have experimented a few different ways for students tocomplete some class work. I posted a PDF up on Moodle and they had towrite some answers...this turned out not to be that great becauseeven with the GoodReader app...it was hard for them to edit and typein the blanks. Mostly we waisted a bunch of time and the student werefrustrated. If I only wanted them to highlight then PDF format mightbe okay.

Next I posted a Worddocument on Moodle and they were able to download it into the Pagesapp. This worked really well because the students were able to get towork and answer questions right away. However, I think I want to getPages on my Macbook and post documents on Moodle in that formatinstead, there were a few glitches with the formatting ofthe MSWord document. I am having trouble getting the finisheddocument from students because our WiFi won't let us email from thedevices...frustrating, I think it has to do with the proxy server orfirewall. Not sure, but I am trying to get our Tech guys to fix it.

I also had student post someof their work onto Moodle directly in a Forum. This was terrific andI am leaning towards this type of entry in the future. Also thinkingabout EverNote, but this currently doesn't sync to the cloud. Mightalso be a proxy server or firewall issue.

With my Grade 11 class wehave had some issues and this last week did not go as well as I wouldhave liked. We just used the iPads basically for the first time thislast week and we were using the Pearson e-Text app. When we weretrying to download the chapters it ended up completely bogging downthe school WiFi network and no one was able to download theirchapters. I tested the WiFi that the iPads connect to and it showedaround 4Mb/s for speed. Is this fast or slow, I don't know? It mightbe an issue; however, we won't be downloading stuff like thiseveryday. The next day I had two students at a time download, I couldonly get 6-8 students to download the current unit...owch.Fortunately, the chapters are also available in the app

In the Grade 11 class I havealso been posting work in Moodle and have used MSWord format thatallows students to edit the document in Pages. I will be making alotof use of Moodle forums also in this class. I am waiting for all mystudents to get Wordpress accounts hosted on our server- our schoolwill be piloting this. I am hoping to use this for students to postonto and create a sort of e-portfolio to showcase their learning overthe term.

Conclusions:

It has been a good week,still some glitches to work out with the district tech guys. I amgetting alot of support from my principal and district tech staff, soI am hopeful the these issues will work themselves out over the nextweek.

Literature on teaching with Video Conferencing

My Annotated Bibliography of some literature on teaching using Video Conferencing (VC) over multiple campuses.

In SD73, we have at least one VC equipped classroom in each high school. These rooms are used for teachers to teach with students in front of them and also at other campuses. Additionally, the rooms are being used to connect to other content providers to open the doors of the classroom. This is like a virtual field trip.
Here is one example where our district is using VC to connect with experts around the globe.

One of the best resources to connect to content providers is to visit http://www.cilc.org/ where you can search content providers you can dial into for virtual field trips.

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Armstrong-Stassen, M., Landstrom, M., & Lumpkin, R. (1998). Students' Reactions to the Introduction of Videoconferencing for Classroom Instruction. The Information Society, 14, 153-164.

This article by Armstrong-Stassen et al.(1998), examines how university students react to videoconferencing as an instructional form. Students perceptions are taken at various stages in the completion of their course to gauge their acceptance of this as an instructional medium. It is a good study because it deals with many concerns that learners have related to videoconferencing. Although videoconferencing technology has changed alot since this articles publishing date, I still think this article's four major areas of concern are still true today.

Gill, D., Parker, C., & Richardson, J. (2005). Twelve tips for teaching using videoconferencing. Medical Teacher, 27(7), 573-577.

As the title of this article suggest, it gives the reader twelve tips for using videoconferencing from an instructors perspective. Videoconferencing is being used more and more across wide geographical sites to deliver courses. Gill et al (2005), breaks down many lessons that others have learned and put these tips together in a well organized list. The authors are very positive about videoconferencing and believe that teaching sessions can be delivered effectively and enjoyably.

Knipe, D., & Lee, M. (2002). The quality of teaching and learning via videoconferencing. British Journal of Educational Technology, 33(3), 301-311.

Knipe and Lee (2002) discuss how it is “naive to assume that merely linking distant groups or individuals at different locations creates an effective learning environment.” They are concerned that quality of teaching and learning is not always being considered when videoconferencing is introduced to an educational institution. Knipe and Lee examine diaries that students of a videoconferencing class kept to record experiences in this classroom situation. From these diaries, they conclude and explain why local videoconferencing students had a higher occurrence of learning over remote students.

Freeman, Mark (1998). Video conferencing: a solution to the multi-campus large classes problem? British Journal of Educational Technology, 29(3), 197-210.

This article found benefits to the use of videoconferencing, but his main criticism was that students and staff felt that lecturing learning activities and interactions were not improved by this mode of delivery. Freeman looked at videoconferencing and discuses the problems that staff encountered that led to distractions at the remote site. Concluding the article he outlines four recommendations that need to be resolved by technical staff and administrators.

Dreyfus, H. (2001). Disembodied telepresence and the remoteness of the real. On the Internet (pp. 50- 72). USA & Canada: Routledge.

Telepresence is an answer to the impersonal nature of distance education according to Dreyfus (2001). Using telepresence or videoconferencing, a teacher can change and acertain what is working or not working in a lesson and respond accordingly. This ability for a teacher to be able to notice social cues like mood, give them the advantage to respond and perceive the class environment more skillfully.

Saw, K.G., Majid, O., Ghani, A., Atan, H., Idrus, R.M., Rahman, Z.A., & Tan, K.E. (2008). The videoconferencing learning environment: Technology, interaction and learning intersect. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(3), 475-485.

Saw et al.(2008) look at videoconferencing classes by examining the interactions that occur. They looked at teacher initiated interaction to whole class, teacher initiated interaction to a specific student, student initiated interaction to the teacher, and student initiated interaction to other students all via videoconferencing. The large amounts of data that is collected leads the researchers to three major findings that deal with technology configuration in a videoconferencing classroom.

Anderson, T., & Rourke, L. (2005). Videoconferencing in Kindergarten-to-Grade 12 Setting: A Review of the Literature. Canadian Association of Distance Education Research: Centre for Distance Education at Athabasca University, Athabasca: Crown in Right of the Province of Alberta.

Anderson & Rourke (2005), conducted a literature review of Internet Protocol videoconferencing from kindergarten through to grade 12. They look at six topics: outcomes, learning activities, interactive learning processes, keys to success, special populations, and equipment and technology. In their government conducted review, they attempt to collect information on videoconferencing for policy makers. They do conclude that the literature on Internet Protocol videoconferencing from kindergarten through to grade 12 is still relatively new and in the early stage of implementation.

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My Conclusion

Distance education via videoconferencing is promoted as a way to free up students from the constraints of time and place to allow them to have easier access to education no matter where they live. Videoconferencing is being used to link rural learners with teachers and classroom communities. We really can't expect that just because learners at different sites are linked together with technology, that this will create an effective learning environment. There needs to be a number of things that are considered. Instructor and students need to have proper training and have timely access to technical support when problems arise. Instructional methods, strategies, and course planning need to be considered if they will function properly in a VC environment. Teachers need to make sure that they make connections with students at the remote site to make them feel as though they are part of the class. The technical setup and structure of the VC equipment needs to be done in a such a way as to make both sites feel included and part of the class. Videoconferencing will continue to change over time as the technology gets upgraded and there is no doubt that some of the concerns with VC will be overcome. But the most important piece to me is that VC create a cohesive classroom of students and a good learning environment.

Digital Learning Using Animoto

My Grade 8 Socials has just finished learning about European explorers. In the past I have had my students create trading cards for some explorers; much like hockey cards.
This time I wanted to teach them to use Animoto and be creative in making videos. They found Animoto easy to use and I really didn't have to help them much on the tech side of things. One of the limitations of Animoto is the number of characters they can add into the presentation (its less than twitter). I told them to be careful with what they say and to be concise with their message. I actually found this to be good because they had to summarize very carefully; they could not copy paste from websites.
I was thinking of getting them to make graphics and add text by using the Gimp image software program. This image then could be imported as a .jpg into Animoto. This would allow for more detailed text to be added to the video. Its and extra step and I might integrate it when I use Animoto next time.

So below are a few of the animoto videos that students created.
The class is seeking comments on their work.

Explorer John Cabot


Christopher Columbus


Ferdinand Magellan