School apps go to the top of the class (Chris Griffith, The Australian [AU], 13/3) - 0 views

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  #1 Tracy Tan on 27 Mar 12

   

  (Restricted access, article posted here) Some food for thought: if kids are 'learning in snippets of time', does this mean that deep learning is being compromised?
  Australian schools are getting into the business of commissioning apps for Apple iPads and other mobile devices and their uses seem limitless.
  
  
  
  West Moreton Anglican College at Ipswich is already up to version two of its iPad app and an Android version is imminent.
  
  
  
  It lists daily news items, student timetables, upcoming assessments, and a portal to private subscriptions such as WorldBook Online and ProQuest Online, and direct searches to the University of Queensland library.
  
  
  
  It's part of the college's digital rollout that includes 640 iPads for year 7-12 students -- a $480,000 investment paid partly by the National Secondary Schools Computer Fund and the college itself.
  
  
  
  Tricia O'Keeffe, the college's director of technology and information services, says parents can digitally sign student permission notes using the SignMyPad app on their child's iPad.
  
  
  
  The college plans to further develop the app as a portal to its information system being developed with the help of IT solutions company Data 3.
  
  
  
  Lesson plans, student worksheets, course details, parent notices and course resources are being digitised.
  
  
  
  Soon students waiting at, say, a bus stop can access the school app to read school material or start a worksheet. It's as if Gen Z is being trained to make the best of idle minutes for short learning bursts.
  
  
  
  ``Kids are learning in snippets of time,'' says O'Keeffe, a former IT professional who once worked at Data 3.
  
  
  
  Students at West Moreton will soon submit assignments online and when they leave, there's a plan to store a portfolio of their work in secure cloud storage, with their permission.
  
  
  
  There's also a plan to extend the app so that teachers using iPads at home can peruse a list of their day's tasks, including any substitute lessons they have been assigned at the last moment, and a downloadable file of the lesson plan.
  
  
  
  West Moreton is just one of a number of schools with iPhone and iPad apps.
  
  
  
  Gold Coast-based Digistorm Education, which developed the West Moreton iPad app, says it plans to roll out another eight in the next two to four weeks, having forged a partnership with Independent Schools Queensland. It has already completed an app for Kings Christian College, also on the coast.
  
  
  
  Digistorm business development manager Chris Lang says apps allow a school to push a notification to a parent's smartphone in about 30 seconds.
  
  
  
  Apps are also being adapted for Android and eventually Windows 8 devices.
  
  
  
  Digistorm, a local outfit, faces competition from global provider Blackboard Mobile, which has already been embraced by St Hilda's School on the Gold Coast, on Digistorm's home turf.
  
  
  
  App development for schools and universities are a huge market internationally.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">(Restricted access, article posted here) Some food for thought: if kids are 'learning in snippets of time', does this mean that deep learning is being compromised? <br /> Australian schools are getting into the business of commissioning apps for Apple iPads and other mobile devices and their uses seem limitless. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> West Moreton Anglican College at Ipswich is already up to version two of its iPad app and an Android version is imminent. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> It lists daily news items, student timetables, upcoming assessments, and a portal to private subscriptions such as WorldBook Online and ProQuest Online, and direct searches to the University of Queensland library. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> It's part of the college's digital rollout that includes 640 iPads for year 7-12 students -- a $480,000 investment paid partly by the National Secondary Schools Computer Fund and the college itself. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Tricia O'Keeffe, the college's director of technology and information services, says parents can digitally sign student permission notes using the SignMyPad app on their child's iPad. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> The college plans to further develop the app as a portal to its information system being developed with the help of IT solutions company Data 3. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Lesson plans, student worksheets, course details, parent notices and course resources are being digitised. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Soon students waiting at, say, a bus stop can access the school app to read school material or start a worksheet. It's as if Gen Z is being trained to make the best of idle minutes for short learning bursts. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ``Kids are learning in snippets of time,'' says O'Keeffe, a former IT professional who once worked at Data 3. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Students at West Moreton will soon submit assignments online and when they leave, there's a plan to store a portfolio of their work in secure cloud storage, with their permission. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> There's also a plan to extend the app so that teachers using iPads at home can peruse a list of their day's tasks, including any substitute lessons they have been assigned at the last moment, and a downloadable file of the lesson plan. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> West Moreton is just one of a number of schools with iPhone and iPad apps. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Gold Coast-based Digistorm Education, which developed the West Moreton iPad app, says it plans to roll out another eight in the next two to four weeks, having forged a partnership with Independent Schools Queensland. It has already completed an app for Kings Christian College, also on the coast. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Digistorm business development manager Chris Lang says apps allow a school to push a notification to a parent's smartphone in about 30 seconds. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Apps are also being adapted for Android and eventually Windows 8 devices. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Digistorm, a local outfit, faces competition from global provider Blackboard Mobile, which has already been embraced by St Hilda's School on the Gold Coast, on Digistorm's home turf. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> App development for schools and universities are a huge market internationally.</div>

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