To:Peter Lucia
Collin MacDonald
From:Sandra Schwarzkopf
Date:February 17, 2017
Subject: GMHS 1:1 iPad Technology Pilot Program Report Summary
Project
The 1:1 iPad technology pilot program involved twelve students in my Honors U.S. History II class. Ten students were issued school iPad 2.0 devices and two students brought their own. The IT department pre-installed a list of iPad apps on each school issued device prior to the beginning of the school year (see attached exhibit), and students who brought their own iPads were required to purchase those apps. All students were provided wired keyboards and styluses, which they used regularly. Students used their devices on a daily basis for most assignmentswith the exception of summative assessments (primarily tests). The sole reason for this decision was to preserve the integrity of the assessments and offer the same testing environment as provided in the other section of Honors U.S. History II that was not a part of the pilot program.
Student Population
The pilot group consisted of generally motivated students who appeared eager to participate in the program since the first day of school. Even though the students were unaware of what the program would look like and how it would affect their learning, they were open minded and willing to be active participants providing frequent feedback. The families of most students who received school issued iPads were able to purchase their own devices, but chose to receive school issued iPads because of the convenience. Additionally, at the time the pilot program commenced, the school had not decided to proceed with the 1:1 iPad technology. One student frequently shared that his/her parents would be opposed to participating in 1:1 program if required to be purchased by the family. The student did not volunteer if this was financially related.
Overall, students demonstrated comfort in using technology. Even though they were not familiar with most of the apps, they mastered the use fairly quickly, and utilized each other to solve any issues. No student in this group voiced any concerns about his/her inability to learn the technology.
Results
As of this date, my assessment, backed by student feedback,is that the program has been a success. All of the students argued that having keyboards was essential as it enabled the students to use iPad devices as personal computers. They were able to efficiently take notes on Notability, and write longer writing assignments using Google Docs. Students have been exposed to a variety of apps, and will continue to utilize additional ones in future units. For instance, as part of their 1920s unit, students were required to choose a historical figure and create a silent film using the Silent Film app representing the same. For note taking, students can use Notability or Google Docs. The plan has been to introduce the students to a variety of apps and have them choose the ones to use when working on a project. Students have been learning how to use apps, not necessarily for the specific course, but to be able to transfer their newly acquired knowledge to other disciplines. Students have shown resourcefulness when designing their projects. They have been taking into consideration what they learned and utilizing that knowledge to problem solve.
Students in this pilot program offered that using technology did not make them necessarily learn more content. In fact, a majority of the students in this group claimed that they noticed no difference in using technology when it came to their acquisition of content. In other words, they could/would learn the same amount of content from class lectures and non-technology activities. However, technology has enabled them to be more efficient when learning new material and creative when it comes to their output. This is a highly motivated group of students that would be learning regardless of what resources are in front of them, but they recognize the value in technology use and how efficiency and opportunity to be creative can make them more effective.
Challenges
- As previously mentioned, this pilot group consists of highly motivated students, but even they tend to get distracted. Even though app download is disabled, students use available apps to communicate with one another and their friends (Google char, iMessage, airdrop), so they are able to exchange information that can lead to distractions. In this class, it has not been an issue that distracted from actual learning, but it has been quite noticeable. Perhaps if teachers had a feature to control which apps were open during class, that would minimize distractions.
- Although this is minimal, there can be pushback from a small number of parents who are unable or unwilling to make the investment in technology.
- Students expressed concerns that many teachers may not be comfortable with technology, and as a result would not utilize it in the classroom as much as we do in our class. It is important to have consistent use of technology in the classroom, but also make sure that students understand that technology is not replacing other forms of instruction and engagement.
- Lastly, the program itself has been positively received by teachers, but it can be overwhelming to many because it will take significant amount of time to convert assignments to iPad-friendly activities. Using basic apps is fine as most teachers do so at this time. Learning creative apps and then exposing students to it can be challenging without guidance, so my recommendation would be to have a knowledgeable resource who can help teachers plan curriculum.
Exhibit
Hon. U.S. History II
iPad Program – List of Apps
Free:- Schoology
- Google Drive
- Apple Apps (Pages, Keynote, Numbers, iBook, iTunes U)
- TED
- YouTube
- Nearpod
- To the Brink
- Countable
- The Presidency
- DocsTeach
- VoiceThread
- Popplet Lite
- iBrainstorm
- ThinkLink
- TouchCast Studio
- Adobe Spark Video
- Doceri
- ShowMe
- Plickers
- Padlet
- Haiku Deck
- Tellagami
- Explain Everything
- Animation HD
- BookWriter
- Silent Film
- Notability
- Paper by 53