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!

Polling in class

My students and I are trying a new version of use of the "Clickers" in class. The iPad adds a further function to the polling concept.

First of all, the students log into the site Poll Everywhere (http://www.polleverywhere.com). It lets you take live polls from your students by using the web or a cell phone. Most people have used it with cell phones, but we decided to push the iPad to its limits by responding through the web browser on the iPad. Students could watch the results build on their own iPad screens.

So far, all of this can be accomplished through cell phones and an instructor computer attached to an overhead projector.

The next step is where the iPad shines in this activity. Now that my students have voted based upon their opinions, they research the topic through newspapers and sites like Lexis/Nexis. Once they have spent 15-20 minutes looking up information, we take the same poll and see if an "informed society" (or in my case, a room full of students) has a different view of topics from those who simply voice their opinions without basing them upon facts.

My student journalists learn that not all words that come out of an interviewee's mouth are based upon facts. Great revelation :-). However, it brought the concept home as many felt their own views change once they got the facts.

We then talked about nationwide rumors that began from an individual's opinion without the research done first. It created a lively conversation because there are  many times in our society when rumors were accepted as facts. It was then the responsibility of good journalists to uncover fact from fiction and report it to the public to verify or negate a rumor that may have gotten out of hand.

It was a great practical lesson for these future journalists. This class lesson can be applied to many other disciplines. Give it a try. You will have very dynamic dialog in your classroom.

Classroom polling use

I write this from my iPad on a ZAGGmate keyboard. This is not an ad for the company, but I can tell you that it raises the level of use for the iPad immensely. I am hoping I can test it with my students in the fall. It is a Bluetooth keyboard that also functions as a case. I can type much faster yet not have to cart around a cumbersome keyboard in a backpack. My students who opted to check out the keyboards that we purchased with iPads loved them. However, I could see my students across the campus by spotting the familiar keyboard sticking out of their backpacks. Lest you think this is the ultimate solution, the keyboard is only the length of the iPad and because it also acts as a case, it has a small ridge below the spacebar that sometimes gets in the way.

Now to the main focus of this post: I have begun to use the iPads in my classroom to function as "Clickers." Sure you can have them use cell phones to do that, but my students love watching the poll responses through their iPads instead of passively watching the screen as I, the instructor, decide when I will show responses. It is much more interactive and costs nothing.

The use goes beyond the clicker experience. After they have voted, we discuss their immediate responses. Then I ask them to research the topic on their iPads. We take another poll and discuss why they voted the same way or changed their votes. It becomes very lively as they, after responding to the second poll, not only tell why they "feel" the way they do but they back up their thoughts with their research and facts they discovered. It really teaches critical thinking skills to my future reporters who will spend much of their careers interpreting/analyzing the news for readers.

Reflection on iPad Focus Groups

Between March 8-10, I piloted three focus groups that interviewed students in the ENG 102 Honors iPad cohort. The purpose for the pilot focus groups was to inform how best to collect data (iPhone vs iPad), test my "role" in the room, sample the questions, as well as acclimatize students to interact and articulate their experience in a small group setting. While I am still processing the results for a more formal analysis, I can offer a bit of reflection....

You can definitely read and study the concepts and theory of Qualitative Research Methodology, but you may never really know what it is until you apply it to your practice. At least, that was the case for me. For those who may not know, qualitative research, first and foremost, positions research participants as the experts and uses their perspectives on and articulation about a phenomenon as data to be formally analyzed.

I certainly had my perspective on the success and failure of the iPad as a classroom tool. However, I openly admit that I may not have been as innovative as the iPad should merit. Looking back, I tried to make the iPad work with what I already knew and did. I wanted it to function similarly to a computer, really.

But, research participants' (students') perspectives were much different, much more positive than mine. During the focus groups they began to reveal how the iPad actually works for them as an educational tool and how they integrate it into their academic lives.

One participant revealed that the Notes app was the most beneficial. He stated he could take much "neater and organized" notes now that he could type as fast as he could think. His handwriting couldn't keep up, and regular "pen and paper" notes were practically illegible. He stated that this lead to better quality studying.

Several students spoke to how much faster they could accomplish the more mundane educational tasks like emailing faculty or classmates, "googling" an example or reference, and accessing articles and websites. Without the iPad these tasks normally would be completed after work or hours later. Many expressed that after a few hours they may forget to complete the task or opt not to complete it as they were too tired or too busy. With the iPad they could complete it right "then and there" when they needed to.

A couple students spoke to how an iPad in the home increased family time. One participant stated her father bought an iPad during the initial release but returned it after a week. When she brought the iPad home, she spent teaching her father the various applications, and he even borrowed several times to make presentations at work. Another stated that she and her daughter would trade the iPad to conduct research on the couch during family time. Even though the household owned a WIFI laptop, it never moved from the computer desk, and when someone did use the laptop for homework, he/she was separated and isolated from the rest of the family.

Lastly, one student self-identified himself as "not a technology person at all" but is now a "convert" as he has seen the benefits in efficiency the iPad offers. He can get some of his homework "out of the way" thus giving him more time to "do other stuff." He is trying to figure out how to buy an iPad after the pilot ends.

However, (and the caveat is...) almost all stated that when it came to typing and researching longer, more involved papers, they still opted for a traditional laptop or PC; the iPad wasn't quite there yet.

In spite of my perceptions, as the "class room expert" I learned a very important lesson--teaching and learning is about students first, and the iPad seems to be a viable tool that helps them manage their busy, busy lives in a complicated, modern world.

Using the iPad with special needs students

In the fall semester of my newswriting class, two students signed up for the class who had special needs. The first semester I wanted a gentle start with the iPads, but as teachers, you know that it usually doesn't occur. Two students walked through my door who were going to challenge the iPad Project. One was hearing impaired and the other was sight impaired.

I had selected the iPad because other portable reading devices were not disability compliant and lawsuits were pending at some colleges. The iPad is compliant and we tested it through the fall class. If you go into thw Settings app on your iPad then click on accessibility, you will be able to adjust the font size for a student who needs the larger type to read and you can tell the iPad to read aloud written items displayed and set the volume as needed. Neither of my students were challenged enough to qualify for a classroom tutor, but both would have struggled in my course without the iPad. One has now joined my newspaper course.

While I didn't set out the first semester to test the accessibilities of the iPad, I was glad that I did. I was sold on what it can do for students who might need the playing field leveled in ways we hadn't considered as directly as those without computers.

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