Avis Techno #2: Google Docs

Bienvenue,

Aujourd’hui nous allons regarder au service de Google Docs.  C’est la série de logiciels offert par Google.  Il y a un logiciel de traitement de texte, un tableur, un logiciel de présentation et un logiciel pour produire des formulaires.  Il est semblable aux produits offert par Microsoft Office.  Ces services de Google sont gratuits donc il y a des avantages et des désavantages.

Avantages :  La beauté des Google docs est que ton travail est sauvegardé dans ‘les nuages’.  Ceci veut dire que votre travail est sauvegardé sur un serveur hors-site et non sur un ordinateur particulier.  Vous pouvez donc travailler sur vos documents de n’importe quel endroit qui a accès à Internet.  Ceci peut être un gros avantage pour les élèves et le personnel enseignant qui veulent travailler sur leurs devoirs ou notes à l’école ainsi que chez eux.  Vous n’avez plus besoin de sauvegarder votre travail sur une clé USB ou de vous l’envoyer par courriel.

L’autre avantage est qu’il permet aux élèves, au personnel enseignant et administratif ou n’importe quelle combinaison de travailler ensemble sur une variété de projets.  Les élèves peuvent travailler sur une présentation de groupe sans avoir besoin d’être ensemble dans le même espace ou en même temps.

Google Form est une excellente façon de faire une collection rapide d’information.  C’est très simple de créer un questionnaire ou même un quiz.  L’hyperlien au formulaire peut être affiché dans la salle de classe, sur un site Web ou envoyé par courriel.  Votre auditoire cible peut ensuite compléter le formulaire lorsqu’il le veut.. Une fois qu’ils ont complété le formulaire vous pouvez visionner l’information récueilli dans un tableur.  Il est très simple de créer un formulaire Google comme un formulaire d’évaluation pour une leçon ou un atelier.

Google docs sauvegarde votre travail au fur et à mesure que vous écrivez.  Ceci est très important, surtout pour les élèves ou ceux qui oublient de sauvegarder leurs travaux régulièrement.  

Désavantage : Tandis que Google ressemble beaucoup aux autres logiciels (Microsoft Office, iWork, etc...) en temps que les fonctions de bases, il lui manque plusieurs des fonctions avancées.  Par exemple, il y a un nombre limité de polices disponible.  Il y a moins de gabarits pour les disposition de nos documents.

Un autre désavantage avec Google docs est la dépendance sur une connexion à  Internet.  Cependant Google docs vous donne l’option de sauvegardé votre travail sur une clé USB

La vidéo suivante (en anglais seulement) explique très bien les avantages de la collaboration offerts par Google docs.

Tech Tips #2: Google Docs

Welcome back.

Today let's look at Google Docs.  This is Google's suite of word processor, spreadsheet, presentation maker, and form producer.  It's very much like the Microsoft Office suite.  Again, this is a free service offered by Google, so there are some pros and cons.

Pros:  The really nice thing about Google docs is that your work is saved in the clouds.  This means that your work is saved on a server somewhere in cyberspace, it is not saved on any specific device.  You can then work on any of your documents from anywhere that has internet access.  This can be a tremendous benefit for students or teachers who want to work on assignments from school and home.  You no longer need to save a backup or email a copy to yourself.

The other great benefit to Google docs is that it allows students, teachers, administrators or any combination of these to collaborate on a variety of projects.  Students can work on a group presentation, a slideshow for example, and not have to be together in the same space or at the same time to complete their presentation.

The Google form is a great way to collect information.  It's easy to set up a questionnaire or even a quiz .  A link to the form can be posted in a classroom, on a website or sent via email.  Your target audience can then complete the form at their leisure.  Once they submit the form you can view the data as a spreadsheet.  You could easily set up a Google form as an exit card strategy for a lesson or workshop.

Google doc autosaves your work as you go.  This is a huge benefit, especially for students or those people who forget to save their work as they go.

Cons: While Google docs mirrors many of the basic functions of other office suites (Microsoft Office, iWork, etc...) it does not have many of the advanced features.  For example you have a limited number of fonts to choose from.  There are fewer templates to choose from when deciding on the appearance of your document.

Another downside to using Google docs is its reliance on an internet connection.  However, just like working with a school and home computer, Google docs gives you the option to save your work to a USB key.

This video does an excellent job of explaining the collaborative benefits of Google docs.

Avis Techno #1: Google Reader

Salut tout le monde et bienvenue à une nouvelle série d'article. Je vais écrire au sujet de différents sites Web et services du Web 2.0 qui vous sont disponibles et gratuits. C'est produits seront utiles pour vos projets et vos classes.

Nous allons commencer par regarder aux services de Google. En créant un compte de Gmail (le service de courriel de Google) vous avez accès à tous les autres services de Google, gratuitement.

Aujourd'hui nous allons nous concentrer sur Google Reader. Google Reader est semblable à un journal personnel. Il utilise les flux RSS pour vous garder à jour avec les blogues et les articles des sites que vous avez choisis. La grande majorité des journaux et site Web ainsi que plusieurs écrivains en ligne ont des flux RSS.

Une fois que vous avez votre collection de flux RSS, Google Reader les met à jour chaque fois qu'un nouvel article est publié. Donc, au lieu d'avoir à visiter plusieurs sites Web pour lire des articles qui vous sont d'intérêt, ils vous parviennent tous à la même place pour un accès plus convenable.

C'est un excellent outil pour la collection d'articles sur des sujets qui vous intéressent. Vous pouvez trouver des écrivains qui conviennent à vos projets, vos intérêts en éducation ou même des sujets d'intérêt personnel.

Google Reader est aussi un très bon outil pour nos élèves. Nous voulons encourager la lecture chez nos étudiants. Nous savons que plus ils lisent, plus leur lecture s’améliorera. La lecture est une compétence essentielle pour eux, à l'école et dans leur vie. En utilisant Google Reader nos élèves peuvent accumuler leurs propres matériaux de lecture ciblant leurs propres intérêts.

Tech tip #1: Google Reader

Welcome everyone, to what I hope will be a biweekly occurrence.  I’ll write about different websites and web 2.0 services that are available and free, to help you in your projects and classes.

The first we will look at are the Google services.  By signing up for a free gmail account (Google’s email) you get access to all of their services, for free.

Today I want to look at Google Reader.  Google Reader is like a personalized newspaper.  It uses RSS feeds to collect blog entries and written material from sites you have chosen.  Most newspapers and media outlets have RSS feeds, as do individual writers online.  

Once you have your collection of feeds, Google Reader will update every time one of your selected writers adds a new article.  So instead of going to a number of websites to read articles that interest you, they all come to one place for convenient access.

This is a great tool for collecting articles on topics that are of interest for you.  You can find writers that relate to your projects, topics in education that interest you or even on topics that are of personal interest.

This is also a great tool for students.  We want our students to read more.  We know that the more they read, the better they get at it.  Reading is an integral skill for our students, both at school and beyond.  By using Google Reader students can accumulate their own reading material, geared to their own interests.

Some practical solutions for the 'New Classroom', Part 1

I still have to think of something better than 'New Classroom', any suggestions?

Over the past few post we have looked at what we could be able to do under a new system that focuses on a the new skills required for the 21st century.  Now lets look at three concrete steps that would help facilitate such a system.

Mobile is where it's at (or at least where it's going)


Mobile computing is starting to hit its stride.  It is becoming less expensive, more reliable and simpler to use.  Those are three of the biggest hurdles to the adoption of a technology.  Admittedly they are limited in their functionality when compared to desktop or laptop computers.  However, when you think of what a student needs the most in school, access to the internet, word processing, audio and video recording/simple editing, audio and video listening/viewing, presentation preparation, email, etc..., these are all found on smartphones or tablets.

Now I don't see schools giving students smartphones, but I could see them getting each student a tablet computer, like the iPad.  The idea of implementing a 1:1 ipad project may seem to be expensive, but over the course of a high school student's 4 years it would actually save money.  A tablet in the hands of each student would dramatically reduce the need for paper.  With the use of the good word processors available the student could complete a great deal of their work this way.  Students with learning difficulties could take advantage of the many accessibility features found natively in many tablets or any of the numerous apps available to help them.

Give them a stylus and they can complete any of the worksheets you might have available for practice.  Email or Dropbox become the main means of 'handing in'  their work.  A stylus in a teacher's hand allows them to edit written work and send it back to the student.

A tablet for every student also removes much of the need for computer labs.  What is the main purpose of those rooms?  For classes to do research and prepare some work that demonstrates what they have learned.  Business classes use spreadsheets, history classes write essays, etc...  Short of the computer programming or communication technology classes, most classes don't need the full functionality of a desktop computer.

Mobile computing can also spell the end of the textbook.....

More on that in my next post.

The teacher and the student in the New classroom

So we have now moved beyond our current industrial education system and have a system based on mastery.  Where does that leave us and our students?  What new roles do we have?  What does the student need to do to be successful?

This new system does not diminish the role of the teacher.  In fact it becomes more integral.  Just because we are no longer the absolute experts does not mean we do not have an important role.  I believe that a teacher's true expertise lies in critical thinking and in making connections to previous learning.  That is the essential skill which should have been honed through university and then in teachers college, and that is the essential skill that we should be trying to impart to our students.

I've started reading Howard Gardner's Five Minds for the Future.  In it he states, what he believes are, the five essential skills, or Minds, that will be required by people to succeed in the future.  I won't go into great details about the five minds, but I would highly recommend reading the book.  The focus of the book seems to be that as teachers, and the book is not solely targeted at educators, we need to foster these skills in our students.  We need to rethink the way we teach.

We should no longer focus on the content of a discipline, but instead we should focus on the ways of thinking in that discipline.  For example the method of thinking is science relies on the use of the Scientific Method.  Students need to learn to posit a hypothesis, devise an experiment to test it, record the data and then make sound conclusions based on that data.  Beyond that they need to accept the possibility that their hypothesis was incorrect and not be disappointed by it, but see it as a way to learn more.  As they progress through these exercises they will undoubtedly pick up the content.  However, the acquisition of this knowledge will be deeper, because of the critical thinking that was involved in the process.

This teaching to the five minds will serve our students best because in the future, as in the present, the recall of information can be done more quickly and effectively with the use of any number of search engines or databases.  The required skills will be exactly those fostered through teaching to the five minds.  Students greatest assets will their abilities to think and not the 'stuff' they've learned and forgotten since.

The students have an important role as well.  Probably the most important one of all.  Ultimately, in a system predicated on mastery, the final responsibility lies with the student.  They are the ones who must put forth the effort to gain mastery.  In today's educational system responsibility has been taken away from the students.  Many students are not interested or invested in their own education.  They are not interested because they are forced to study what has little or no meaning in their lives.  They cannot see how the french vocabulary sheet or the lecture on the pythagorean theorem affects their lives in any way.

They are not invested in their education because they have little or no control over it.  They have very little choice in courses available to them, in assignments given to them or in the way the course is presented to them.  By having no control over their education they have not invested in their own education.  As such they often could care less what they are doing, as long as they are doing enough to get the credit.  Is that what we want our students to get out of their education?  If not then what should the students be doing?

They need to care and be responsible for the choices they make.  It is approaching exam time here at my school and teachers are pulling their hair out trying to help students achieve credits many could care less about.  I've already touched on why students don't care, but why are the teachers so stressed out?  It is the push for 'Student Success'.  While it is a noble ideal it does little to make students responsible for their choices.  We are 'pushing' many students through, again with just enough to pass, in the name of their 'Success'.  If doing just enough is termed success than we need to redefine the term.

In a system of mastery, a student doesn't move on until they have shown exactly that.  There is no longer any 'just enough'.  On the student's part this makes them responsible for their true success or failure.  I think failure is an important lesson that our students just don't get.  No one is ever completely successful. Failure is a part of life.  We try something and it doesn't work, we fail.  But what students need to learn is to persevere through that failure and learn important lessons.  A system of mastery allows that.  You keep at it until you get it and can show it.

Not only do students get some control over the content, but also over the pacing of their education.  If a student needs more time to grasp a math concept, no problem, but if they are accomplished poets why should they have to spend as long as others who struggle with them?  In giving the students control over their education you engage and interest them.  And that is the key to a responsible student.

Mastery, Learning Objectives and Blended Learning

At my school this year we have unofficially adopted the motto: "Not all students will learn in the same way or on the same day".  I think this is true and with the recent focus on student success and credit accumulation I think that institutionally we have come to understand this.  However, we have not made any significant changes to support this.  Students still have to be in class for a specified number of days and they still have to learn a specified number of learning objectives.

This means that a student who has difficulties still has to grasp the concepts within a prescribe period of time, even though we are insisting that not everyone learns at the same rate.  The flip side to that coin is that a strong student must still move along at the same pace as the other students who may need more time to grasp the same concepts.  So while we recognize that students learn at different rates, we have made no significant changes to support this.

If we were to make the necessary changes to support this what would they be?  I think that part of it has to be the notion of mastery.  The curriculum is currently divided into strands with both overall and specific learning expectations.  This organization lends itself to the notion of mastery.  To have learned something you need to show more than simply remembering the facts, you need to show that you understand or have 'mastered' the information.  The students need to absorb the information, and then apply levels of higher order thinking.  The next step is to demonstrate their 'mastery'.

So, what does this process look like in a classroom?  We need to remember that we are talking about a digitized classroom with universal access to mobile devices.  I think that learning objectives need to be listed and made evident and clear to the students.  As teachers we need to find ways of getting some of the info (key concepts) to the students.  This can be achieved through video tutorials, podcasts, notes, Keynote or Powerpoint presentations, teacher created websites, Prezis, etc...  

We also need to have students find their own information.  Let's remember that we are trying to get the students to think critically, not only about the information we provide them, but about the mass of information available on the internet.  Our main function as educators should shift from being the 'sage on the stage' to being a guide towards understanding.  As such we need to lead the students towards understanding.  Part of this can be accomplished through Differentiated Instruction.  When given choices students often respond with interest.

The accumulation of credits will proceed at different rates for different students.  Classes will become much more 'fluid' in their makeup.  Students will move from one group to the next as they demonstrate the appropriate levels of mastery.  Much like swimming lessons, once you have demonstrated that you 'know' the required learning objectives you move on to the next, higher level.  

We are already starting to see a similar model in Blended Learning.  This is a class that combines students being in the classroom with students who are online.  This model is starting to be used more widely in my board in order to deal with declining enrolment.  It allows for students to take credits that may not be offered at their school because of low numbers.  It also allows the 'host' school, for the credit, to run the course despite low numbers.  Within the model I am proposing students would be placed according to their 'mastery level' and work with students of a similar level.  This model is not age dependant.  You could potentially have a student in grade 9 working on their grade 11 math by the end of the year, while still completing their grade 9 french.

In my next post I'll explore the role of the teacher and the student.

21st century education: What might it look like?

I feel like things are on the cusp.  We are approaching a critical mass.  Something has to give.

These are some of the thoughts and gut feelings I get when thinking about where I see education in five or ten years.  Attendance is an issue.  Submission of work is an issue.  Student engagement is an issue.  I don't think anyone will argue that our students are changing, or that life outside our schools are changing.  However, not many can deny that we as educators are not changing.

Walk into any class and ask yourself how different it is from 15-20 years ago?  My guess is that it is not very different.  Sure there might be a few more computers in the classroom, most students have their cell phone or iPod touch, there might be SmartBoard or projector, but the structure of the environment is much the same.  The teacher leads the learning, the student assimilate that knowledge and spit out some work that demonstrates they 'know' the 'stuff'.

This educational structure has been in place for a few centuries, since the establishment of public education.  It is a structure that has served our society well.  It can't be denied that such a structure is an immense factor in the high literacy rate, the industrial development and the wealth of our society.  But we must understand what need that educational system served.

With the development of our industrial society, we needed literate individuals who could follow a process and be part of an assembly line.  It was important to know specific, and limited information by heart.  A worker needed to know what was coming down the assembly line and what was needed at the next stop along that line.  Our education system developed to produce people who fit into that model.

We no longer live in an industrial age.  There can be no denying that industry and manufacturing are still a vital part of our economy and our lives, but much of that manufacturing is being automated or being sent to other countries.  Our economy is becoming one that depends on information.  Our society reflects this.  We live with a constant stream of information bombarding us, the new jobs of our economy will be ones that make sense or manipulate or manage all of that information.  Mobile technology is also changing the 'when' and 'where' of those jobs.  Why does something need to be done between the hours of 9am and 5pm anymore?  If we have constant access to information no matter where we are, then hours of operation become more flexible.

If this is the world we live in, then we need to prepare our students for that world.  We need to rethink our model of education.  We need to change.  So what will this change look like?  I don't know, but I can hazard a few guesses.

When working with information the most important skill is to think critically.  Working with information requires higher order thinking.  You need those skills to analyze, synthesize and evaluate the information you are working with.  So those are the skills that our students need to develop.  I have noticed a shift in focus towards this over the past few years.  However, we need more, it needs to be a core element of every class.  We need to move beyond simply asking students to regurgitate information, they need to understand it and make judgements on it.  The internet and the digitization of most of our information has made the need to mentally retain information less important.  In the past it was beneficial to remember as much as you could, it was faster than looking it up in books.  The innumerable databases and Google has made the search for information much faster.  At work if you need some information you can look it up quickly.  Efficiency and effectiveness in the work place are no longer dependant on the retention of information.  Instead it lies in the ability to sift through information and make sound judgements and decisions.

Collaboration is another crucial skill that will be required.  This is perhaps where new technologies will have the largest impact on the shape of our classes.  If students are to collaborate, they get together.  New mobile devices and social media allow them to collaborate without physically meeting.  In a sense it alters the meaning of time and space in an educational setting.  Students can work at their convenience.  While deadlines should not be lessened or not stressed, some students may choose to work in the evenings, or on the long bus ride home.

Students arrive at school and have a good understanding of using social media.  Our task would be to harness that basic understanding and refine it.  Just as they need to be taught how to think, they need to be taught how to work effectively in a group.

My next post will look at the idea of mastery and learning objectives.

Technology in the Classroom - Prezi

I was introduced to Prezi on Monday.  I met with other innovative teachers and we discussed using graphic organizers.  One of my colleagues (Hi Chris) introduced me to this.

I got to playing with it today and came up with this(Click here for link to Prezi).  I think it does a decent job of explaining some of my thoughts on the use of technology in my classes.

Enjoy.

The wiki wave

I find myself riding the wiki wave lately.  I've started using wikis a lot in my classes this semester.  I teach french as a second language and have very small classes, so small in fact that I have to combine three classes into one.  I have a grade 9 Extended French, grade 10 Extended French and grade 11 Core French combination.  The Extended french program starts in grade 5 and has students speaking french for half days until grade 8.  Once they get to high school they have to take 7 credits in French.  As you can guess it's not the largest program.  So I've been forced to combine classes in order to offer them.

That means that I am running two novel studies simultaneously.  The wiki is great, because I've set one up for each novel.  For each chapter the students have to read it and then write two comprehension questions.  Once all of the questions have been posted to the wiki they choose three to answer in the comments section.  This wiki is run through our board's server, which means the students have to logon to access it and this keeps track of who made what changes and comments.  In terms of assessment and evaluation this is very handy.  I can easily scan through, see who was contributed and assess their work accordingly.

In my grade 9 french geography class we are also using a wiki.  Except in this case the wiki is our textbook, and it's the students who are creating the content.  This is the project that is really exciting for me.  This is a different model for teaching.  Instead of the teacher being the sage on the stage, I am their guide.  So far we've talked about higher order thinking and different types of questions.  We've come up with different research strategies and way to get information for the textbook.  Our next step will be to evaluate that info and talk about what should make it into the textbook and what should be left out.  All of this would have been very difficult without the wiki and the iPads.  For this class I have 12 iPads dedicated every day.

The only unfortunate things is that the wiki can't be edited with the iPad.  You can submit comments, but not edit the page.  Luckily I have two desktop computers in my class, so the kids can do their research and prepare their info on the iPads, email it to themselves and then go on the class desktops to edit the wiki.  It's a pain in the butt, but it is what it is.

Mobile Technology: Altering Time and Space???

I know the title seems laden with metaphysical implications, but I think there might be some truth to it, in a manner of speaking.  Let me explain:

We are now in exam week.  Our first semester is coming to an end, students are panicking about exams, and finally handing in much needed assignments.  As I've mentioned in earlier posts, my grade 11 Ancient Civilizations class has been using our school's new iPads to research and prepare a board game and write a research essay.  The iPads are a class set, 24, that for the time being remains in my class.  For almost three weeks my students have used them every day.  It was a good exercise in classroom management for me and self-control for them.  Facebook is such a tantalizing distraction for so many of my students.

To get back to my point about time and space.  I've been thinking and reading a great deal about iPads or any mobile tablet computer and how to best use them.  I've come to a simple conclusion:  Every student should have one.  Fraser Speirs make an excellent case for this in his latest blog post (http://speirs.org/blog/2011/1/21/how-the-ipad-wants-to-be-used.html).  He is a teacher at a private school in Scotland, and has just instituted a 1:1 iPad to student program.  Granted he works at a private school and I work at a public one, but the argument for them is no different.   A mobile device, like the iPad allows students to complete their work on their own schedule.

An excellent example of this happened last weekend.  My history class had been working on their research essays.  They were due on Friday, but I extended the deadline to Monday.  I received an essay from a student on Monday morning at 1:35 am.  That's right I got it in the middle of the night.  The student wasn't coming in to school on Monday but was still able to send in his work.  This gets to the core of my post.  He could do it because he had access to a computer and the internet.  Many of us take this for granted, especially those of us who live in an urban area.  My school provides for students who live in a rural area.  High speed internet is not always an option, and some students can't even get dial-up!  One potential solution to this is to get those students a Wi-Fi+3G iPad, and come to some agreement on the data plan.  This would go a long way in eliminating the digital divide in our area.

Consumers vs. Producers

My wife and I have noticed a trend with our two youngs boys, ages 7 and 4, when compared to us growing up.  On weekend mornings, especially saturday, my wife and I can remember rushing downstairs to watch the great lineup of saturday morning cartoons.  My boys however, rush to the macbooks, iPods and iPad.   They play games, make music (or at least try very hard), put on concerts with the iPod blaring Queen or AC/DC.  All of this while we  are trying to enjoy a quiet morning coffee.  My wife just doesn't understand it.  Having read Don Tapscott's book Grown Up Digital I think I do, at least a little.

In his book he talks about the Net Generation and their much different relationship to media, due in large part to the ubiquitous nature of the internet and technology.  Previous  generations had a much more passive/receptive relationship with the limited media of the day.  We sat on the couch and watch TV, listened to the radio or read what was written in the newspapers/magazines.  Other than the occasional letter to the editor, the mass population had no way of actively participating in the creation of media.  We could only sit passively and receive the media message from on high.

Flash forward to the past decade and the explosion of the Web 2.0 and the masses now have a means by which they can create media.  Think of Youtube, Wikipedia, blogs, podcasts, twitter, social networks, etc...  There has been a monumental shift in the way we interact with the media.  We are no longer passive when it comes to media, we actively create it and share it.  For many this has been a very uncomfortable shift, mistrust and disdain are often symptoms of this discomfort.  Our youth, however, find this new relationship with media to be completely natural, like breathing.  The technology is no longer a barrier to media production, but is often an enabler.  Most video editing software includes a button that allows you to upload to Youtube, or share on Facebook and Twitter.

So the issue with my boys is not that they are spending less time with their media than we did, but spending their time differently.  We would sit and enjoy the show, for my boys they are the show.

This is what I believe to be the fundamental element in the effective use of technology in the classroom. We as teachers need to understand our students' relationship to media, not only as consumers but as producers, and turn that to our advantage instead of fighting against it.  We need to understand that in this we are not necessarily the experts.  This might be frightening for some, and just like in the media industry there will be mistrust and disdain, but the potential for meaningful discussions with our students about the process of learning is the key.  Since we no longer control the creative process that can be used  in learning activities, we can instead focus our efforts towards helping the students evaluate, analyze and synthesize their learning.  That is higher order thinking and that is the 'holy-grail' of education.

iPads in the art class

We received our iPads just before christmas break, so to help teachers familiarize themselves with the iPad we sent many of them home with one.

One of the first teachers to get back to me after the break was our Art teacher (hi Rosie).  I had gotten her the Artstudio app.  Here is what she was able to do with it:

Quite simply, this is fantastic work.  She is not a technogeek, but she found the app easy to use and intuitive.  She especially liked the ability to zoom in quite closely to work on some fine details.

She was able to modify the brush style and pixel sizes.  She could easily modify colours.

But more than anything it wasn't what she could do with it that made her so excited.  It was what she could see her students doing with this.

With the magic of the Undo button, she strongly believes that students will be more confident to try out new techniques and ideas.  On paper if a student makes a mistake it could potentially ruin hours of work.  This tends to make students hesitant to try new things.  However, with this app, all a mistake  costs you is the effort of pressing the undo button.  If anything this might be the biggest benefit from using the iPad in the art room.

She also sees a major saving in materials.  As with any skill, different art techniques require practice.  This app presents them with an excellent means of practicing without using up reams and reams of paper

One more benefit is the ease with which this app allows students to share their work.  As with many apps, students can email their work to themselves, their teachers, family and friends.  It is also very easy to post student work to the school website.  This is a great opportunity for students to showcase their work.

Thanks for reading,

and don't forget to talk nerdy to me:)


Artwork created by Rosemary Gough

iPads in special education

The special needs of learners is always at the forefront of any teachers mind when preparing a lesson. I was interested to find out how the iPad might help.

I've found two apps that make the iPad excellent for our spec. ed. students.

The first one is Dragon Dictation. This comes from the makers of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, who for years have been making speech recognition software, widely used in schools. This app is currently free for iPod and iPad users. Now I don't have much experience in spec. ed., but our lead teacher in that department (Hi Chris), thinks highly of it. Students can speak into the iPad's built-in mic, and the app will record and convert it to text. You then can copy and paste, email, or even post to facebook.

At the other end of the spectrum we have Speak it! This app will take any text and convert it to speech. If a student is researching online and has difficulties reading, he/she can copy and paste the text and the app will read it to them. The app will also read PDF and email.

The app also allows you to save them as audio files. A neat feature allows you to slow down or speed up the speaking, as well as change the size of the font. The app also highlights the words as it reads them, so that students can follow along.  It is well worth the 1.99$, especially if you push it out to multiple units.

What makes these apps even more appealing for students are how discreet they are. Unfortunately, students with learning difficulties often feel shame and will avoid using help to avoid appearing "dumb". Using an iPad is cool, and other students wouldn't even realize they were using assistive technology. That in itself might be the biggest benefit of iPads and iPods for spec. ed. students. It removes the stigma and replaces it with a "cool" factor.

Is an iPad an iPod on steroids?

I was at my son's swimming lesson the other day, when a good friend (Hi Jared) asked a good question: How is an iPad not just an iPod touch on steroids?

It took me a few seconds to jumble some kind of answer together, but it got me thinking.  I remember when the iPad was first announced, I was skeptical about its usefulness.  I already had an iPod and used it alot in my classroom.  I would let my students record their presentations, I would record my lessons and post them online, I would use it to research and write notes.  I just couldn't see what an iPad could offer that would make it more useful.

Then, this summer, I pre-ordered one for my wife (Hi babes).  It was our tenth anniversary and I thought it would be a good gift.  She wanted something to surf the web, keep up with her email and facebook.  That was one of the big selling points of the iPad.  It wasn't until we got it that I started to see how the iPad might fit into a classroom.

There are two main points that make the iPad more useful and effective than an iPod: Multitasking and the iWork productivity suite.

Multitasking is a new feature on the iPad.  It allows you to go from one app to another without closing it.  This is great for students doing research online.  They can find their info online and then switch over to Pages to work on their assignment.  Before this you had to close the app, open the other, do your work and then start all over again.  If you think about how much back and forth is done between your research information and your actual work, it is a huge time saver to multitask.

iWork is comprised of three separate programs: Pages (word processor), Keynote (slideshow presentations) and Numbers (spreadsheet).  This represents a huge advance over what the iPod touch has available.  On the iPod you have Notes, which allows you to jot down quick notes, but it doesn't have the versatility and functionality of a full word processor like Pages.

I could probably go into more details, and I'm sure I will at some later point, about the iPad, but if I was asked again about iPads, iPods and steroids I would know what to answer.  The iPad is not an iPod on steroids, while it shares many commonalities with the iPod, it has moved beyond it.

Let me know what you think,

and don't forget to talk nerdy to me :)

First project

We are now back from the Christmas break and have 3 weeks until exams, Yikes!!!

My grade 11 Ancient History class has 2 research projects and an exam to prepare for in that time.  The first project is a group one, where students have to create a trivia board game.  They get to choose between Medieval Europe or Islamic Africa.  They can imitate an existing game, or invent one of their own.

The iPads have been great in class, it allows them to surf the web and find info.  I've directed them to our school board's Virtual Library, where they have access to licensed encyclopedias and periodicals.  Of course Google and Wikipedia are also popular destinations.

This part allows for me to have conversations with students about sources and their reliability.  How do you know that what you are reading is correct?  What can you do to verify the info?

It also forces students to think about how they search for their info, once you get to Google or Wikipedia, what do you type into that search box?  How do you get to the info you are after.  These are the important things I hope they take from this class.  This is what will serve them in the long run, not knowing who was the English king in 1066.

One challenge has been to keep them focused.  Facebook is a first stop after turning it on.  Instead of beating my head against that wall I've given them the first five minutes to satisfy their craving and then ask that they focus on their work.  I've also imposed mini-deadlines.  This project requires that each group member prepare 15 trivia questions, so by the end of today's class they needed 10 done, otherwise they were coming back to finish at lunch.  That worked quite well.

I'll be back later with more on how the project is going.