Group items tagged

1) Focusing on content apps" 2) Lack of Teacher Preparation in Classroom Management of iPads 3) Treating the iPad as a computer and expecting it to serve as a laptop. " iPads are devices meant to compliment computers" 4) Treating iPads like multi-user devices 5) Failure to communicate a compelling answer to "Why iPads? "iPad supports essential skill areas - complex communication, new media literacy, creativity, and self-directed learning"

'We are now entering the mobile age, where phones are carried everywhere...cars are becoming travelling offices, airplane seats are entertainment centres, computer games are handheld ... We now have the opportunity to design learning differently: to create extended learning communities, to link people in real and virtual worlds, to provide expertise on demand, and to support a lifetime of learning' (Sharples, p.2 ). New technologies are enabling change, socially and economically, and education is cautiously embracing these tools for 21st century education. A paper presented at the recent 26th Australian Computers in Education Conference, titled Developing Early Learners' Creativity and Collaboration Using iPads, reports on a case study designed to investigate pedagogies using iPads that develop creative and collaborative skills in young learners. 'How can teachers use iPads to facilitate the development of creativity and collaboration in early learning?' (p. 3) is the focus of this research. The study was conducted in a Year 2 class where one of the authors was the teacher. Six iPads were available in a class of 25 students. Ten learning activities were developed and students in small groups used iPads to complete the assigned tasks. For some activities students worked in pairs. A reflective journal, guided by questions that focussed on creativity and collaboration was maintained by one of the authors. The paper responds to the forces of 21st century education: the surge of mobile computing devices and what have been termed the 21st century skills (critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration). The authors focus discussion on creativity and collaboration from various perspectives including those outlined in the Australian Curriculum documents (ACARA). It is through the review of these sources that the authors adapted and developed checklists to measure creativity and collaboration in their study. Three vignettes are shared by the aut

1. Do NOT wait until the last minute to give them to staff. 2. Do NOT expect it to go perfectly on the first day students get them. 3. Do NOT roll out all your apps at the same time on the same day. 4. Do NOT try and control everything about the iPad. 5. Do NOT expect teaching to change immediately. 6. Do NOT assume the entire community will be on board. 7. Do NOT evaluate the program solely with test scores. 8. Do NOT limit staff training to the summer. 9. Do NOT expect email to be the best option for submitting work 10. Do NOT let fear overcome your mission"

Some educators say iPad tablet computers and other mobile technology aid the learning of students as young as those in kindergarten. Other teachers maintain that introducing technology to such students can be harmful. As the technology trend continues, one education consultant says proper communication and strategies must be in place to ensure successful use of the iPad and other mobile devices.

This paper reports on a qualitative study exploring ways teachers can adopt iPads to provide opportunities for young children's learning and exploration in an early childhood education and care setting in Hamilton. Interviews with teachers, children and their caregivers as well as observations of teacher interactions with children and copies of children work produced on the iPad informed the study. The findings focused on two teachers' practice to reveal the different ways teachers can make use of the iPad to expand children's learning opportunities and foster closer home-centre links. In particular, four key iPad-supported practices were observed - use of the iPad as a relational tool, as a communicative tool, as a documentation tool, and finally, as an informational tool for supporting child-led learning.