Feb. 21-24 Journalism

My students and I only had one day this week to work on the iPads since Monday was Presidents Day. We are planning to use the iPad in two weeks as "clickers" for taking polls in class. They will also begin AP Style contests and more current events quizzes. Last semester, we didn't realize until it was too late that the student versions of the textbook could be downloaded. This became a problem for students who didn't have wifi access at home or in places they frequented. This semester, my students downloaded their textbooks so that they can use the books anywhere and at any time. I recommend it if you have your students use iPads and ebooks.

Educause presentation

So many people have been interested in what Larry's and my students are doing. They aren't simply using the iPads in the expected ways of ebooks, web surfing and notetaking. We have a system called MySCC that runs on Citrix. Through this, our students on iPads can run over 200 applications. Some have limited tools and therefore only allow minimal usage such as the Adobe Design Suite. The students are able to use Microsoft Office easily, however, and can even access Flash-based pages and videos by using the Citrix platform running on our servers because they can use the Firefox browser on MySCC instead of Safari on the iPad.

The presentation was a hit because instead of a Powerpoint, we ran the presentation off a web page that looks and acts like an iPad. You can view all of our data and presentation at http://www.scottsdalecc.edu/ipad

Who Am I/Animoto Assignment

Instead of the standard introduction essay that I assign to all of my students in all of my classes, the ENG 102 Honor iPad Pilot class was asked to describe themselves with three brief paragraphs answering three questions: 1) Who are you culturally? (Think: Race/Ethnicity, Religion, Socio-Economic class etc.); 2) Who are you subculturally? (Think: Hobbies/Interests, Extracurricular Activities, Music/Artisitcs Tastes etc); and, 3) Who are you professionally/academically? (Think: Major/Class Interests and Career Aspirations).

Once students drafted the paragraphs they were asked to sign-up for an Animoto.com free account as well as a Youtube account using their maricopa.edu email addresses. After a some instruction on how to work with the Animoto program as well as a demo of my own Animoto video, students were asked to create a 30 second video that used a mixture their personal pictures and some flash art that visually represented their three paragraphs. By the next class, each student was to stand in front of the class and discuss their three "Who Am I?" paragraphs, then show their 30 second video on their iPad (using either their Animoto or Youtube accounts)

Wow! What a success!

It was great to see them so enthusiastic at the beginning of the semester. The students really enjoyed working with the simple but effective functions of Animoto as well as the challenge of trying to fit everything they wanted to represent about themselves in a very efficient and concise video. There was 100% agreement that this was an enjoyable and stealthily challenging assignment.

One student even asked, "Can we make a video for all of our writing assignments this semester?"

End-of-Semester Reflection/New Semester Anticipation

First of all I must say that it was and is quite exciting to be part of the iPad early adopters--in Higher Education in general, but also one of a very few (only perhaps?) at the community college level. (Thanks to Julie Knapp, Lisa Young, Dustin Fennell.)

When I first heard about this technology, the tech geek in me responded with a resounding, "Meh." (I already had an iPhone, and didn't see much of an advantage in the iPad). However, the educator in me immediately saw a cost-effective tool for typical student computing needs (i.e. web/electronic-based research, word processing, eTexts). If the iPad could live up to its potential, students would be able to meet their books and supplies as well as technology needs at almost half the cost.

After one semester of piloting the iPad with an ENG 101/102 Honors cohort, I started doubting. The iPad proved to have limitations when I attempted complete curricular integration in the classroom. (Well, it wasn't all the iPad's fault.) Bandwith was an issue. I don't think our campus has ever had 19 wireless devices attempting to access the network in such a concentrated space at the same time. So, certain web-based activities proved problematic as six to eight students would not be able to log on. Blackboard functionality also proved problematic and inconsistent in the classroom. Lastly, and in retrospect, I believe I misapproached the tablet technology: 1) I really wanted it to be just a computer in a slim and stylish package, and 2) I really just expected to convert my standard, computer/internet enhanced curriculum over to this new technology. So, really the limitations were just a manifestation of my limited approach.

Now it's a new semester with a new approach. After spending sometime researching the theory and practice of mobile learning, the mixed feelings my students had at the conclusion of the fall semester seems to have been replaced with the same excitement they had when they first found out they would be assigned an iPad. Some of the early iPad activities this spring have been very successful, and we are looking forward to more. We are using this innovative mobile technology to reconceptualize the classroom, enhance collaboration, increase engagement, as well as introduce the analysis and production of visual rhetoric. We cannot just do what we have always done with a new tool. Innovation needs to be reciprocal in this case.

Stay tuned.

Week 2: First Exam

The students were able to access Blackboard by using MySCC, our access point for students to get to over 60 applications including powerhouses like MS Office and the Adobe Design Suite. They signed ito MySCC, a Citrix-generated site, and accessed Blackboard there. There was one problem: once a test is opened on Blackboard, the multiple choice work fine. When the students were asked to write a paragraph or more, the typing function worked, but there wasn't enough screen left for them to see much of what they were typing once the keypad popped up.

My fix? Give a paper test but have the students look up answers and research concepts through the iPad. It worked and it gave students more time on learning how to analyze websites for accurate content. It was their grade that depended on the accuracy after all.

The students are starting to load apps on their iPads for personal use. We spend just a few minutes once a week talking about it and trading app advice with one another. I do have two students who are really struggling with technology in general so it affects their uses of the iPad. Once struggles to get passworded sites to work because she clicks before she reads, which is something that is frequently the case in a generation of speed-clicking on cell phones. The other is just not comfortable with technology at all. The rest of my students are cruising through the experience and enjoying the ride.

Week 1: The excitement of receiving an iPad

Over the past week, I assigned iPads to 13 new students and Larry returned his to a cohort of 15 students who were taking the second semester of Freshman Comp as a continued experience as a cohort together.

Needless to say, the students were excited. Since these were now used iPads from last semester, we had a failure of one within a few days. I will "hard boot" the iPad to see if it is really gone.

One thing both Larry and I have discovered is that the iPad can affect student grades a bit if you aren't prepared for it. It is simply a matter of needing a couple of class days to get students comfortable, thereby removing a couple of days from content instruction. As we monitored are students in standard classes versus those on iPads, we noticed a slight dip in grades and, after looking at where that was occuring, we realized that it was due to those lost days. This semester, we have planned our instruction to alleviate that issue (hopefully).