End of the semester

As we closed out the semester last week, the students begrudgingly turned in their iPads. I have to make it a condition of passing the course to make sure they all walk in with iPads, keyboards and chargers. They love them that much.

We had so many goals and changes in approaches this semester. Not only did Larry and I incorporate new approaches to learning in the classroom, but since 92% of the students said they would carry an iPad versus a laptop to class due to weight, convenience and quick response, I used it truly as a laptop replacement. We worked out the bugs on our wireless network and it usually ran smoothly. In the fall, we had an interesting time when I asked the students to log onto the same website at the same time. It looked like that commercial where the phones weren't reaching the network so everyone starts moving their mobile device around in the air. It was a strange scene to watch but frustrating to the students.

Lessons learned?
--Plan to lose about a week out of instruction due to training and questions.
--Make sharing time once a week so students will talk about what apps they tried out and their successes and drawbacks. This really only takes about 5 minutes.
--Get your school to by you, the instructor, an iPad 2. It will mirror the screen for all apps. The iPad 1 would only mirror Apple products unless you jailbroke it. And we don't want to do that, do we ;-). By the way, it does void the warranty if you do it.
--Let students know ahead of time that they will be using the new technology in the course. We did that through our advisement office in the fall, but they forgot for spring. I had two students who were not comfortable with technology at all and were extremely uncomfortable. One switched to my traditional class and the other didn't admit her issues so we ended up setting up new passwords, etc., and often during quizzes, I would have to loan her my iPad because she would forget logins. She would just become flustered, so I got her through and she was an excellent student otherwise. You will run into both types: those who run TO your course because of the technology and those who hang back for fear of it.
--Be willing to try out new styles of learning. I used the iPads occasionally as "clickers." I took it further by having students research online before and after voting. It married the best of both worlds through instant response and additional research. Without using one of the two labs in my department, we wouldn't be able to do that.They also monitored emergency bands to check on police and fire status for stories. You can't do this for journalism students without strapping police radios to them at $200 apiece. This is course specific, but there are other apps out there applicable to your study.
--Finally, above all, enjoy the experience with your students. It can be funny, innovative, exciting and it can add a depth to the classroom experience you might not have been able to do before.

Next year, we will take another run at it. This time I hope to combine an academic experience with a certificate program course. Stay tuned!