One Tablet Classroom

12 Apps for the One iPad Classroom – if your school or classroom is in the early stages of using mobile tablet devices there may well be only one tablet device per class at the beginning stages. If that’s the case then this post by Monica Burns may be helpful as it provides suggestions for apps which will be useful where there is only one iPad tablet device in the classroom.

iPads4Schools The One iPad Classroom – this post on the iPad4Schools blog describes some apps and some guides to workflow (storing and sharing work done by multiple pupils through the one iPad) which will work where a class has access to only one iPad tablet device.

Playing with Media on the iPad – #CUERockstar – ideas and links to resources for use with an iPad (though ideas can translate to other devices) including ideas for when a device is a shared device to manage class folders of images. Describes various tasks and suggested apps which can be used to undertake the tasks.

iPad as the teacher’s Pet v2.0 – a post by Tony Vincent which sets out how a teacher can use a single iPad ior tablet device in a classroom, even where pupils do not have devices, for many different purposes. Each is described and illustrated with visual infographic posters.

Pupils taking pictures in your class?

Where pupils have been encouraged to bring their own mobile device to school to use in learning activities under the direction of staff (Bring Your Own Device or BYOD) some teachers can be concerned about pupils taking photographs and sharing them.

Each school, and local authority, will have guidance in place to ensure pupils are being educated about appropriate behaviours.

For one teacher’s viewpoint about how to view pupils taking photographs, and to manage it in a classroom context, then click on this link to a post by high school teacher Chris Aviles 

http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&entryid=7654

Socrative – for feeback and to support assessment for learning in the classroom

There are many tools now available specifically to help gather feedback from all pupils in a class – sometimes called classroom response systems, class voting tools or clickers. These let teachers get a quick response at the beginning, during or end of a teaching session. This way the teacher has a wider overview of the undertsanding at any time of the whole class and not just of a few individual pupils.

Why use response tools?

Used as part of an Assessment for Learning strategy a teacher can change the pace or direction of teaching to take account of responses from pupils. Click here for information about Robert Marzano’s research about the positive measurable effect on pupil learning of an effective teacher combining the use of an interactive whiteboard with a classroom response system. Click here for an article by Karen L Mahon sharing what her research found were the 12 most effective strategies for using classroom response systems to impact on learning.

What tools are available?

In addition to bespoke classroom response systems (such as those designed to integrate with interactive whiteboards like Promethean or Smartboard which also have a wide range of free to download ready-made resources) there is now a wide range of tools which can be used with whatever internet-connected devices may be available in a class, whether computers or mobile devices.

One which works on any device (whether PC or any internet-connected mobile device or tablet) is Socrative. This would work well in classrooms where there is a mixture of devices, perhaps PCs, school tablets or personally owned mobile smartphones. Whatever the combination Socrative will work as a tool to support learning and teaching in the classroom.

Socrative

Danny Nicholson on his Whiteboard Blog has provided a useful review and guide to using Socrative classroom response system which works on any Internet-connected device. Socrative is a free web-based system that lets teachers set up questions for responses by pupils on any device with a web browser (smartphones, tablets, laptops).

Bradley Lands has described how he uses Socrative in formative assessment in his classroom (this includes videos of the use of Socrative).

Socrative itself has a blog with regular posts describing how different users are making use of the tool. In addition is has an online space for users to share resources they have created – once a user has uploaded one resource which they have created they then get access to the resources shared by others for free.

The 3-minute video below by James Sanders and Aaron Slutskyprovides a quick overview for teachers about using Socrative in the classroom:

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Rob Zdrojewski has produced a 53-minute video of his presentation describing step-by-step how Socrative works (this link here also provides his notes with examples of the use of Socrative), the different features and explaining how he uses it in the classroom:

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To use Socrative for the first time go to socrative.com (from there a teacher can log in to the teacher account from the link at the top, and a pupil can log into the pupil shortcut from the student link at the top too).
There is also a teacher shortcut: t.socrative.com
And a pupil shortcut: m.socrative.com – pupils don’t need to create an account in order to use Socrative, as they simply go to this link and enter the teacher room number provided by the teacher.

Gathering Student Feedback with Socrative is a presentation by Meredith Martin providing a step-by-step guide for teachers setting up and starting to use Socrative as a tool to gather feedback from learners.

Information about further tools can also be found by clicking here.

Flipped Learning

(Infographic from http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/)

Flipped Learning is a method of teaching that turns the traditional classroom model on its head. A Flipped classroom switches the teaching method- delivering the content of a lesson online outside of the classroom, and using the classroom time to embed the learning. Click here for an infographic on the main features of Flipped Learning.

The following video shows a Flipped Classroom in action, with pupils using a range of personal mobile devices to support and demonstrate their learning.

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For more information please visit Teaching and Learning or Learning and Teaching.

If you’re appy and you know it…

There are thousands of apps and online tools available to download and use on mobile devices, but which are the best, and how can you use them with pupils?

This blog contains a section on Device Neutral Assignments, allowing staff and pupils to select a tool that will work on their device to achieve a task.

As the use of mobile devices for learning evolves in Falkirk Council, we’d love to hear about the latest and greatest apps and tools you are using with pupils, and share the best tools to support staff and pupils.

Click on the big red “Submit” button to suggest a tool for learning!

How does BYOD impact on learning and teaching?

Research on impact of tablet devices in schools

http://www2.hull.ac.uk/ifl/ipadresearchinschools.aspx – the first national evaluation to investigate the use and impact of tablet technologies (specifically the iPad), across Scottish schools and local authorities was undertaken by a research group based in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hull and published in March 2013. The study investigated a range of issues associated with the deployment of personal mobile devices as tools for teaching and learning.The study focused on four principal themes related to the use of mobile devices as personal tools for teaching and learning. These were:
• How tablet devices impact on teaching and learning

• The leadership and management issues associated with the deployment of mobile devices in schools and local authorities

• Parental engagement with learning when students use mobile technologies as personal devices

• Professional development and learning for teachers introducing personal mobile devices into the curriculum

The headlines findings from the study show that:
• The ownership of a personal mobile device, like the iPad, facilitates many of the pedagogical aspirations set out in Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence framework.

• The adoption of mobile technologies on a personal basis significantly increases access to technology for students, both inside and beyond school, with many attendant benefits for learning which include greater motivation, engagement, parental involvement, and understanding of complex ideas.

• Personal ‘ownership’ of the device is seen as the single most important factor for successful use of this technology

• Teachers are equally engaged by the use of a device like the iPad which has a low learning curve enabling them to use it immediately as a teaching tool and a learning tool for themselves

• The use of the device is contributing to significant changes in the way teachers approach their professional role as educators and is changing the way they see themselves and their pedagogy:

• Parents also appear to become more engaged with the school and their child’s learning when the iPad travels home with the student

The full report findings can be found by following the link below:

http://www2.hull.ac.uk/ifl/ipadresearchinschools.aspx

http://glo.li/NWgGQT An overview of resources supporting educational establishments making a move to mobile devices has been collated here: http://glo.li/NWgGQT This covers the rationale behind the move to using mobile devices, studies on the impact on learning and teaching, practical implications for schools, acceptable use policies, recommendations for classroom management, examples of experiences of schools, and ideas shared by many teachers on ways to use mobile devices to enhance the learning and teaching experience across the curriculum.

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/learningwithdevices/ The use of tablet devices in supporting learning and teaching is documented at Education Scotland’s Learning with Devices site which details experiences from various schools (pupils, school staff and parents) around Scotland.