Project+Year+1

Term 3 2010
media type="custom" key="10201419"



... From Apple's marketing department. I agree it is poised to change the learning landscape. These kinds of mobile, tablet, touch screen, intuitive, reliable devices are just around the corner and Apple has got SO much right with this first generation iPad. BUT ... is the ipad the device to replace our current laptops in **Junior Primary**? Unfortunately NO. But I wish the answer was YES ...

To the point


 * YES**
 * 10 hour battery life
 * on and ready to use in 1 second
 * intuitive, simple interface - it takes the technology skills out of using technology
 * Apple's tightly monitored apps store (walled garden) makes it virus, spam free - safely networked
 * Apple has the best edu apps at this stage
 * The ultimate consumer device - audio, images, text, video
 * Voice recorder
 * Screen capture
 * Online sync of apps
 * Students can own it - buy and manage their own apps and bring it to use at school - connected easily and safe on the network


 * NO**
 * No Flash - this means no portal links, Scootle, Mathletics or Reading Eggs
 * Needs some ICT savvy to utilize productivity apps
 * Apple's tightly monitored apps store (walled garden) makes it hard to develop and deploy own apps
 * Sharepoint collaboration tools won't work

[|designer-case.com] Counting the fors and againsts it would seem the iPad gets a tick. BUT the NO FLASH is such a huge deal for us in Junior Primary that it is enough at this stage to be a deal breaker. We currently have so much invested in our portal links, Scootle, Mathletics and Reading Eggs that investing in a device that cannot access these online educational web games/sites would be unwise. The educational games we have orgnaised on our Portals for Literacy, Numeracy and Inquiry units have become an integral part of the way we do things in the Junior School at Trinity. Another NO FLASH related negative is it's inability to access/edit Web 2.0 tools and I believe these tools will become more useful for young students in future years. Is the iPad the device to change our learning landscape in Junior Primary? With Flash - Yes, without it - No.

The iPad ... A review of the apps is in draft
 * The iPad used as an educational gaming device**

The iPad has huge potential as a device for reading and viewing media. Apple is marketing it as, "the best way to experience the web, photos and video!" and except for the big NO Flash issue I would agree that the touch experience is a great way to navigate the internet. The double tap to enlarge and pinch to see exactly what you want is brilliant. In the Year 1 trial students used the internet to locate pictures, copy them and upload them into the StoryKit app. It was not trialled as a reading/viewing device enough to reflect on this part of it's functionality at this stage. In the older year levels this could be it's greatest strength as an educational tool. In Year 2 a number of students used the iPad during a research project to access a teacher made fact site about a food and how it gets from the 'field to the table'. The iPad made the experience very much like a book and after they got over the novelty of the new iPad, I noticed it was a far more natural way to read and take notes with the technology device behaving more like a book. The absence of a keyboard and mouse gave the student far more room to organise their notes and focus on the reading and note taking. I can certainly imagine 10 iPads in a classroom at students' desks being used with a Keynote/PowerPoint, web site, video or educational app as a research tool far more effectively than a book, netbook, laptop or PC. With pencil in hand they merely need to touch the screen to move it to the next block of text or tap a video to start, pause or rewind. The 2 main positives for the iPad as a reading/viewing tool for research are: 1. The 10 hour battery life - it works all day; and 2. The quick start and connection to wireless - 1 second!. Nothing matches the iPad on these 2 things and it's these functions that would make teachers not have to think abut the technology before using it - IT JUST WORKS. [|Web Content Strategy]
 * The iPad used as reading/viewing device**

By Mandi Traecey - Year 1 We trialled using the StoryKit App on the iPad to write a procedure. I gave the iPad to a group of 5 students and showed them how to search images using Google, save images and then how to use the StoryKit app. After about 10 mins I handed the task over to them telling them to write the procedure first on paper and work together to create the eBook. The students needed some reminding of the structure of the text they were writing but then created lists of pictures they would need and began to search the internet on the iPad for them. The students were also asked to use the camera to record the process. Yes, these ARE Year 1 students!
 * The iPad used as a productivity device**



The students needed some reminders on how to use the StoryKit app when creating new pages but on a whole the assistance was minimal and I am sure after another 2 turns they would competently complete the task independently.

The iPad was great for this task as the app is relevantly simple and it is so easy to save images and insert them onto the page. The voice recorder adds another dimension to their work and allows them to demonstrate their reading skills and their speaking ability. It was interesting that students, when listening to themselves, decided they needed to be louder, use more expression, etc and asked to re-record their voices.

Here is the [|Milo Procedure] these 5 children created with very minimal adult assistance in just 1 ½ hours! Amazing stuff! Click the audio link to hear the students readbg their instructions. What a fabulous e-portfolio worksample eo share on the Year 1 Portal! Also, see this [|Information Report] done in 1T last term as a practice run.

Some funny anecdotes from the morning session. Students created a procedure on how to make Milo and as part of the text they had to do the title, goal, materials, steps and evaluation. When asked to evaluate their procedure (on making Milo) they were heard saying; //“We really all need our own iPads” (Fletcher Day)// //“It would be easier if we all just made our own procedure then we wouldn't have to waste time talking about which picture to get or what to do”.// What was funny was that they were evaluating the use of the iPad to create the procedure rather than the procedure itself.

I think the iPad will be great if we could have school image and access to intranet they could replace laptops. We also like it if we could print from them?

My Reflections
//June 21// The iPad as a personal device for my use is amazing. I have used it primarily as an email tool, to draft documents (with simplenote), read my RSS feeds, surf the internet and read PDF files (dropbox and goodreader). As a teacher I have found it to be an extremely powerful device and will be certainly buying one for personal and professional use at the end of the trial. The absence of Flash is a huge issue for me as I rely heavily on Web 2.0 apps. I cannot edit them on the iPad as they run on Flash.

The iPad as an educational tool for students is also amazing. There are 4 main reasons why it is an amazing tool for education: 1. It has a 10 hour battery life, 2. It turns on and connects to wireless in a second, 3. Apple's tight control (walled garden) makes it a reliable and safe tech tool for kids and non-tech teachers, and 4. It is SIMPLE to operate - it takes learning technology out of using technology. The absence of Flash is also a huge issue for education. At Trinity the teachers rely heavily on Flash based games and Web 2.0 tools and these cannot be accessed on the iPad.

//June 30// With just one iPad on a table you can have 4 students working together on the one device. This is not as easy with desktops and laptops. We would only need to purchase a small number (6-8) per class to have 1-1 small group access or the whole class working cooperatively. Would they replace the laptops we have? I think in P-2 we could easily do it as long as the apps loaded on the iPads were able to replace the online games we currently use ... Or we could run the virtualization to have a windows environment on the iPad.

//July 10// There are a lot of exciting things being done with the iPod Touch in education. There are already heaps of educational apps made for the iPod Touch that can be used on the iPad. The iPad is a much better tool in the classroom because the larger screen allows for more content creation than the iPod Touch. As a consumer device it is much easier to read web sites, watch videos and view pictures. "The larger screen doesn't just offer more space to work with—it opens up a different and more immersive user experience. Because of this different experience, though, the closed nature of the platform can get under some users' skin in ways the iPhone and iPod touch do not." Jacqui Cheng

//July 18// This tightly closed, no Flash, iTunes, Apps Store platform on the iPad is certainly a huge negative at this stage. There are not enough educational games, productivity apps and whole web access for the iPad yet and for me the biggest problem is no web 2.0 editing (wikis, blogs, etc). However it is the controlled environment by Apple that makes the device so stable and easy to use. All apps must go through testing before being available on the Apps Store and that ensures they work well and work the way they should on the device. The user interface is consistent and intuitive and this is always the biggest positive in reviews for the device. In the school context that means the device works and teachers can be confident the students won't have any problems that will disrupt the lesson. Students can use them with minimal front-loading of skills which means the iPad is a real tool for learning rather than a tool we need to learn how to use. Compared to a program like PowerPoint we have to teach students over a number of years the skills to use the program. The Apps Store is the central place to get apps so you do not need to have multiple accounts to purchase the Apps from different vendors.

//July 31// I've been thinking a lot about how technology is getting easier and easier to use and I believe that in not the too distant future we will be using technology in our homes and at school that will be more reliable, intuitive and functional than we have now. The iPad is the beginning of this. I say this to everyone that's happy to listen to me rant about it. I don't think the iPad is the right kind of device (yet) to replace laptops or netbooks but it is the KIND OF device that we will see more and more of until it is the choice for many people instead of a laptop, netbook or PC. If you need to use specific programs then you will always need a computer but if you surf the net, email, type documents, read digital books, use social networking sites, share/view pictures and videos, etc then a tablet will be the only device you need - one with Flash though at the moment ... maybe that will change and someone will find a way to deliver what Flash currently delivers using HTML5 or a similar. The big question for us at the moment is - **Does this CURRENT iPad offer enough to replace the laptops in junior primary?** Kelly's question keeps coming to mind. Mandi believes we still need access to Flash based games and sites. Access to Mathletics, Reading Eggs and our links of games is essential and we can't use the iPad for that ... Citrix is the key to that so we can run the iPad using the school's Windows image. BUT this makes the iPad an expensive device with virtualization needing a hard drive to run the Windows image with the iPad as a mobile monitor ... sounds great but is it realistic now?

What this trial has also done is made me reconsider netbooks for the younger grades. My thinking is: they are much cheaper to buy (we could have more devices in each class); the younger students don't need RAM hogging apps and will do most of their consuming and producing online using Web 2.0 and games; netbooks support Flash (HUGE positive); they can be imaged for junior primary and the log on give students access to the LCMS and the online tools without logging on again (comparable to the way the apps 'just work' on the iPad); BUT the iPad has a 10 hr battery life and 1 second turn on and connect time is SO good .... decisions, decisions.

//August 1// Here's an excellent teacher reflection - using iPads in primary education ... sums up the real strength of a device like the iPad - //"I choose the iPad over other devices (such as netbooks) because it is an intuitive device (particularly for the elementary level) that puts the focus on the journey unfolding. Other devices may be cheaper, or offer Flash, or allow multi-tasking but these devices get in the way of the journey because they must be learned before the journey can even begin. These type of devices can end up being THE journey because there is a learning curve for using the device. The iPad is brilliant in its simplicity. Students can pick it up and immediately understand how to navigate and use the device with little guidance. The iPad offers portability not available in other devices. It is the go-anywhere, all day learning device that allows students to explore, communicate, and collaborate at their own pace and in their own way."// [] Not sure if it is enough just yet t replace laptops but the idea of students using technology that doesn't take over from the learning is where the future of integrated ICT should be .... IMAGINE - using engaging, intuitive technology that enables students to explore and realise ideas without teachers having to teach more skills. mmmmmm .... maybe in 5 years and then I'll have the easiest job in education because every teacher will want to use it.

//August 4// Here it is summed up by the man himself, Steve Jobs ..... //**"People shouldn't have to understand ... just use it as designed, and you'll be happy ... the best option is not to think about it at all. iOS 4 knows what's its doing, so just leave it to its business."**// This is why some people hate apple mobile devices - there is no need for nerdy modification - it just works the way it should and there is no need to question it. Does that come with a price? - yes. But the end result is a stable, intuitive, safe digital tool. Flash, Flash, Flash Flash ...

**Key Questions**
 * Does this CURRENT iPad offer enough to replace the laptops in junior primary?
 * If we cannot access Flash - will the game and productivity Apps currently available to us be enough to replace the Flash games and Web 2.0 apps currently used?
 * How much would virtualization with Citrix cost? Is it cost effective compared with PCs, laptops and netbooks?
 * If we do get access to Flash games (Cloud Browse or Citrix) will Mathletics and Reading Eggs work as well on a touch screen?
 * How would we organise and monitor the iTunes account for purchasing Apps. Would it be the same account for all iPads?