Yesterday I went to an interesting professional learning seminar at the head office of Apple Inc, Melbourne. As my workplace has recently changed from being a Windows school to a Mac school in the past couple of years, I was eager to hear advice and case studies on how Macs are being used in the classroom with teachers and students.
I listened to how iPods and iPhones are being used in schools for projects, how Macbooks and various Apple applications are integrated into teaching programs for a wide variety of learning tasks in everything from Maths to Art, how iTunes U has added academic depth to video and audio resources for teachers and students and there was lots of talk about the growing number of schools in Australia going 1:1 (1 laptop per student).
But after I left the seminar it hit me.
With every Apple education officer in the room proudly displaying their new iPads, no one ever mentioned how new these devices are being used in classroom settings, if at all?
Has anyone got any stories they’d like to share about how they have used the iPad in the classroom with students? Better still, has anyone used an iPad in a drama/theatre classroom with students?
I know that Ennesbury College is going to add the ipad to their required booklist for 2011. The Drama department is investigating many ipad applications that can be used in the classroom.
Pultney Grammar, also in Adelaide, are another school adding the ipad to the booklist.
Hi Justin,
Long time no see! We have some iPads in the Centre for eLearning here at Curtin. I’m teaching a Movement and Drama class in Primary and Early Childhood Education and have taken my iPad with me to the first class. I haven’t yet used it much in a collaborative sense with students but it was incredibly useful to me as teacher to have ready access to a range of tools and resources I needed throughout the lesson.
My colleagues and I have begun 100 Days with an iPad where we are documenting some of our discoveries.
I’ve already discovered Dramativity – David Farmer’s app for the iPhone/iPod Touch – that still works on the iPad…
Not a lot to report yet – it is early days… but looks promising… personal ownership of these devices seems a critical aspect. Several schools around Perth have opted for the devices for their students starting 2011 – 1-1 iPad programs. I know some are starting at Grade 4 in primary school.
Cheers
Kim Flintoff
BA, Grad Dip Ed, MEd
Lecturer, Instructional Design | Centre for eLearning | DVC Education
Lecturer, Movement and Drama | School of Education | Faculty of Humanities
Virtual Worlds Advisor | School of Nursing and Midwifery | Faculty of Health Sciences
Hi Kim!
Greetings from the eastern seaboard.
I will be most interested in your findings with your colleagues as you delve into 100 days with an iPad. Sounds fascinating! I must check out David Farmer’s app you refer to. 1:1 iPad programs in schools seems an inevitability, but it is those early pioneers that deserve the credit for taking the risks (if there are any) and paving the way for others in the future. I agree with you about ownership of the device when used by students in education. As with laptops in schools, ownership with iPads will be a critical factor with their level of success in educational institutions. And yet on a personal level, the jury is out for me on the iPad. I just don’t see the gap in the market Apple have seen with the iPad, lying somewhere between a smart phone and a laptop. Nevertheless, I would still love to hear people’s iPad stories like yours, particularly with their use in drama education.
Justin