Living on an iPad.

I have tried very hard to just use my iPad as my computing device for the last two days. It really is challenging. I dietary and prepare by enabling print sharing the night before. It configured at home but not within the district network. Took some MacBook time to try tweaking but to no avail(I have submitted a service page and will see if that provides an option)

I needed to break from the plan to:
1. Try tweaking a printing solution
2. Create a fireworks logo that needed printing. Since I had one that needed editing it was easier than creating a new one in a new software.
3. I also needed over the last two days to print.

Printing is not going away. When I work with teachers new to iPads I ask why you would need to print. I have now got several answers..
Printing posters for bulletin boards
Printing expense claims ( that I have to attach receipts and submit))
Printing a document requiring a signature
Printing an attendance sheet for a workshop. (I could have used an app and have them sign in on my device; however I would then dedicate a 500 device to act as a $0.05 piece of paper and not be able to use it myself while they sign in.)

Beyond the basics...
Multitasking
I am trying to be true to the concept; however, I find myself wanting to 'quickly' do some multitasking work while I was on my laptop to print. It brought to my attenttion that I multi task heavily. If a website takes time to load, I move to another task. If a file is uploading, I switch and do something else. If I am answering email, I like to have my calendar open at the same time (without switching)

Creative work ...
I haven't had time to do any today... My IPad is being used as a small laptop without a tactile keyboard. I am doing quite well atyping and allowing autocorrect to do its magic. Still slower than using a keyboard (when I am focused on typing I can type 60 wpm). Currently I am able to type about 30 wpm on the iPad. The iPad is not the best typing device. I personally miss the tab key, the underscore on the main keyboard, and cursor keys

Internet ...
Most websites are working fine. You learn some quirks like entering dates on calendars that are not optimized for mobile devices - zoom and slide etc. We are doing a pedometer challenge in our building and that site must use flash as it just appears blank. If it was just me, I would use a different site, but I have to use the site provided. (and they dont have an app).

I needed to edit a web page but the wysiwyg editor did not show properly on the iPad I managed to accomplish it but not as easy in a full browser.

I didn't realize just how much I did in emails / paperwork in a day. It was harder to be as efficient getting my regular work load done. That is real aha though.

I need to spend more time in the classroom. We have several key events coming up that require a level of productivity, but I will stick to using iPad. It will force me to think differently.

What if the iPad was the only device available to a teacher, a student, a class. Should it be wasted on productivity.... Perhaps there are other ways to get the desired result on an iPad by doing it differently or to quote APPLE Think different

Off to finish my emails today. Tomorrow I will do my blog without backspace for corrections...

iBook Author - Where is the real power?

I was very excited to hear the foreshadowed Apple announcement changing the textbook world.

http://www.apple.com/education/#video-textbooks

This has the potential to change learning resources in the same way that the printing press did almost 600 years ago.  The printed word became accessible to a broader audience.  Now the multimedia world will become accessible to a broader audience.

We already have access to the individual pieces of information and media; however, there hasn't been a crisp way to staple all the resources together.  Now there is

I have already read some criticism that the power of the multi billion dollar textbook industry will still remain with the publishing giants.  While I can see that as try for content rich textbooks that have every detail for entire courses, I see greater potential outside of the publishing companies.

I see the real power being brought to the students and teachers.  As a teacher I can now create custom content for the course I want to teach.  (Unfortunately, this is still living in the old paradigm of teacher experts but better than a business as the expert).  The most amazing power will be what students can create.

A huge frustration for me is when teachers create an awesome wiki with their students, then ask how to erase it all at the end of the course.  Why do we make students start their learning journey at the beginning.  All current innovation is built on previous innovations.  Why should 'textbooks' of the future delete those previous learnings?  Wouldn't it be better to create a 'textbook' resource with a class, then have the next class spring board to adapt old learning and explore new learning.

Please don't waste previous student's learning.  Acknowledge and honour the previous learning and move forward.  Textbooks are dead resources from a snapshot in time.   The content in a textbook is not the value; the process of learning and engaging with the content is the value.   Living iBooks can and should develop a life of their own

Apple Digital School - Session 1 - SD42

School District 42 Initiatives in the Classroom

Rory Payment and Peter Valbonesi

 This session is an overview of technology used to support the SD42 school district.

School District Environment

 - 22 elementary schools, 6 secondary schools

 

Moodle

Connected Learning Community – recently launched the front end to the service portal.  http://clc_online.sd42.ca  - working with MAMP – Mac– Apache – MySQL- PHP

 

BCeSIS – Teachers in 9 elementary schools have been given macbooks to support the needs of BCeSIS.  While they are used for that, teachers are also doing iLife and other productivity applications.

 

SMART boards

Implemented at 8 schools and the district office.  There is a great wealth of software bundled with the SMART board that allows for high interactivity in Math and Science.

 

SEED Carts

Teachers can book carts for a term.  It is designed for two teachers to work together on project based learning.  (MS Office is purposefully not installed)  Each cart set has a different set of software available.

 

One to One

400 students in grade 6/7 (20%) in 15 classrooms.  Classroom is integrated from September to June

In terms of results, it is not about the improvements in writing.  There are so many benefits to the students overall learning and the lives of the students.

Ah ha – some students do better paper-based. 

In some cases, the school decided to load all of the special needs students into the laptop class.  The results from teachers of those classrooms is that it is easier to teach than a class with less identified special needs students and no laptops.

Learning is differentiated as students can demonstrate their learning through Comic Life, iMovie, Podcast, WebPage and more.