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.
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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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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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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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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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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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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