https://www.nationalteachersalliance.org/ This section is focused on collecting the best information about implementing tablet computers in schools. From expert advice to lessons learned from piloting schools, we aim to discover the true challenges and advantages of tablet computing technology.
Send links and ideas to info@NTAmail.org.
The Los Angeles Unified School District has suspended its $1 Bil iPad implementation due to the superintendent's and other high LAUSD officials ties to Apple and to the the software company, Pearson.
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According to a recent USC study, 122 5th graders who used the iPad software 'Math Motion' for 20 mins per day for five days improved their score 15% over the control group.
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LAUSD approved a $30 million contract to purchase 30,000 iPads for students. The deal reached will cost LAUSD for each iPad $678 including a case and learning software. The remaining amount will be spent on...
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Ever wonder if the school down the road or the district in the next town is using Ipads in the classroom? Well, wonder no more..this map shows all the major adoptions...
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At Cincinnati Country Day, we are often asked why we put computers in the hands of fifth graders. Having lived this model (1:1 in 5th-12th grade) for over five years as a professional, I've seen the reasons up close and personally. Our fifth grade students are some of our best users. They are gentle with their machines (for the most part). When they make mistakes...
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Do you love extending learning beyond the school walls? Would you like to use Frederick Douglass' former home as your classroom while you teach students about the Civil War and the abolition of slavery? Or use the the jungle at the U.S. Botanic Garden to teach about plant adaptations? Then Live It Learn It might be the spot for you.
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Lots of people who fear technology in schools (especially when those people are faculty) assume that everything has to change tomorrow. Elvira and Country Day are proof that incremental change is best.
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I've been teaching for the past 14 years and I always have made a point to plan and run engaging and academically rigorous field trips. But I had an idea. What if we harnessed tablet computers to design activities that allow students to explore independently?
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While we would have liked to see a more detailed analysis of the goals and results of these iPad school pilots, this article is a good start and lets us know what 18 schools are doing with tablets across the country.
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When I went to ISTE in San Diego this summer, I visited my friends at the Fujitsu booth. They had a prototype of a device we’ve been wanting for years. It had all of the powers of a Tablet PC, but the screen could be removed from the keyboard, enabling even greater flexibility without sacrificing power and productivity. Recently, we received the first of our own batch of Fujitsu Stylistic Q 702s (aka “the Q”).
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Here is an intersting article showing how schools are paying for iPads through grants, bonds, giving up textbooks and discressionary funds.
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Can schools use the same content filtering approach as with desktop computers? Maybe not. The iPad's mobile nature and lack of flexibility within the app store create new challenges for schools. Many students can take their school iPad to non-secure servers (such as their home) and access whatever content schools / society deems inappropriate for young minds using school technology. So what are your options? According to this article there are two solutions:
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When I was interviewed for my first position at Cincinnati Country Day, I asked Rob Baker (Director of Technology) and Kelly Hammond (Academic Dean) if they’d ever heard of OneNote. They looked at each other, grinned and explained that they were currently jotting notes in a shared notebook that was synchronizing so that they could see both sets of comments on the same page. That was over six years ago...
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There is a new report that showcases Andriod tablets in the classroom. Will Android always be Jan to iPad's Marcia?
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If your students are taking their iPads home from school, there are several things that need to be considered. I have been amazed at how little parents know of technology. Specifically, many parents do not realize what risky opportunities are available to their children, especially when they use an unfiltered Internet connection. It is important to educate parents so they know some of the things to watch out for when their children utilize technology.
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If many of you are like me, returning to school is an exciting time. My spirit hearkens back to the smells of leaves on the ground, the sounds of fall sports, and the excitement a new year of academics brings. A new school year brings with it, too, all of the back end work that goes into evolutions in our technology program.
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The Partners in Learning Network is both a website devoted to sharing and celebrating great educational ideas and a yearly competition to determine finalists who will represent the U.S. in a global forum and competition.
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Microsoft’s announcement earlier this week that they will begin producing their own Tablet PC, the Surface. Hemingway argued that the beauty of an iceberg is that 90% of it is under water and concealed. I would suggest that the true beauty of a convergence device such as the Surface is, well, below the surface.
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Jeremiah McCall has pioneered the practical application of video games in history and social studies classrooms. He is able to do great things because he teaches at a school dedicated to best practices and characterized by a rich Tablet PC environment.
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Using Microsoft Community Clips and Tablet PCs, students at Cincinnati Country Day learn by teaching each other, making videos much like Sal Khan's.
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When I agreed to write for the National Teachers Alliance, I suggested that the best way to get to know the success of Country Day’s technology program was through its people. Rob Baker, our Director of Technology, is a man who uses....
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In 1996, school leaders from Cincinnati Country Day traveled to Microsoft's headquarters to learn about 1:1 Computing. Nearly twelve years to the day, another generation of Country Day leaders returned to Seattle to meet with other innovative educators to discuss the powers of Tablet PCs in altering the education landscape in the United States and around the globe.
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A class set of 30 iPads has a huge setup cost that has to be paid before they're ever used. Even if I only take 5 minutes to set up each one, I'm looking at around 2.5 hours. Anyone that's ever taught knows that any free time is hard to come by, and an unallocated 2.5 hours is next to impossible to come across. I knew I had to start somewhere, so I
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Simple fact—technology that doesn't work is a waste of everyone's time. That being said, one needs to understand what it means for technology to "work." Too many times, school administrators, teachers, students and IT staff limit their definition of "working" technology to its mechanical functionality. This article speaks to applicable functionality, something that is directly impacted by my second point of consideration for a successful 1:1 iPad initiative: professional development.
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This week we learned that San Diego Unified has committed to purchasing 25,700 iPads for its students. At $370 a pop that would be about $9.5 million on tablet technology alone. Will students benefit from San Diego Unified’s huge iPad undertaking? With what we know so far, it is way too early to say. What we do want to say is....
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Do you want your school 1:1 iPad initiative to fail? Of course not! However, be that as it may, many teachers, administrators and schools set themselves up for failure without knowing or expecting. District offices, principals, teachers, and other education groups all have the best of intentions. However, without careful planning and thought, your 1:1 iPad initiative is doomed to fail.
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"Mr. McCrea, your iPads arrived today. All 30 are in the cart already." I had no idea what to say. For the last two months, I had planned for the 10 I wrote into the classroom grant, known what I would do with them and how I would integrate them into group projects in the class. With that one sentence, all of the planning I had done was all for naught, and I'd be going back to the drawing board.
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We know that some people are very excited to replace paper textbooks with digital textbooks on iPads to save money but this article implies that the cost-savings math may not be there.
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Starting in April, the NTA will feature 5+ teachers who will blog about what they are doing (or not doing) with tablets in the classroom. Why? Well whenever we visit...
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Last month the Sesame Workshop released the iLearn II report which analyzed top-selling educational apps from Apple's iTunes Store. The report found some pretty interesting things including that most (72%) target preschool or elementary aged children and most are considered "general learning" (47%) with math coming in a distant second (13%).
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The Obama administration is asking U.S. schools to speed up digital textbook adoption by allowing tablets to be purchased with textbook funds.
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When Apple introduced their new iBook Textbooks many speculated that schools could justify buying more iPads as they would realize huge savings on textbooks. The guys at Gizmoto say this is not going to happen...yet.
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Should schools even bother implementing tablets in the classroom? Techcrunch's Matt Burns makes the case that especially for younger math and language arts students the answer is NO.
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TripTronicTech Editorial Makes the Case for Tablet Computers in the Classroom
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Everyone loves those memorable Steve Jobs iPad presentations but sometimes you don't have to be an international icon to make an impact. Check out what High School Student Michael Harrigan had to say about his schools tablet initiative.
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Check out this TED-x talk where a 6 grader explains how he developed multiple apps for tablet computers.
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In a somewhat skeptical tone, this article looks at the ways Apple reaches out to schools as potential customers.
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Looking for the best iPad apps for your school program? The Department of Educational Technology of the School District of Palm Beach County have supported a wiki that allows teachers to post up their favorite apps.
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A recent 60 Minutes episode shows educators achieving amazing success with severely autistic students.
MoreWe like tip #43: Use a dish rack to store/sync/charge multiple tablet computers.
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So as many of you know, we have taken on becoming the leaders of tablet computers in the classroom. We believe that with the proper access, pedagogy and teacher-driven implementation support, tablet computers can transform how teachers teach and students learn. To that end, we are committed to helping schools get 100,000+ tablets into the classroom. We have submitted for an Award offered by Teach For America to assist in the process.
MoreThe NTA recently hosted a cocktail party to gather teachers (and any others interested in progressive educational endeavors) to discuss our latest initiative: Educational App Reviews and iPad in the classroom. The results were very interesting.
MoreSee how educators from kindergarten to college are using this technology in the classroom in this 6 minute video. Do your experiences match?
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