West Prairie ag classes learning with iPads

West Prairie High School student Jacqueline Heaton, a freshman, uses an iPad tablet computer during a recent lesson on the universal swine identification system in agriculture teacher Corinne Galvan’s Orientation to Agriculture class.

Sciota, Ill. —

In a move toward West Prairie School District’s plan to provide each student at the high school with their own digital device by as early as 2013, agriculture teacher Corinne Galvan’s students have been using iPad tablet computers since January. Three or four times per week, students use the iPads to enhance a classroom lesson, study for a quiz, or read a digital agriculture-related article for class.

As the experimental class of sorts for the district’s future technology plan, they’re also discovering, along with Galvan, what they find most and least beneficial about a digital elearning environment.

During one of her recent morning Orientation to Agriculture classes, Galvan conducted a lesson on the universal swine ear notching system using the iPads. Students used their finger to draw a pig ear on the iPad’s touch screen, then added numbered notch marks.

That’s one way the iPads are being incorporated into the class, but Galvan said the devices have been most beneficial in preparing students for quizzes. The use of digital flashcards, which include graphics and immediately let students know which answers are incorrect, has boosted quiz and test scores.

“They’ve gotten a lot better and we’re having some serious conversations about how is that going to change what we’re doing, how we’re studying.” Galvan said.

One student, freshman Jaqueline Heaton, said she likes using the iPads because all of her class materials are in one place-on the device.

“Everything is right there on the computer,” she said. “You don’t have to go search.”

Galvan is using a number of free apps with her agriculture classes, including Flipboard, which allows her to create an interactive, digital book of class materials for the iPads; MarketWatch, which lets her Agriculture Business students create and monitor their own mock stock portfolios; Educreations, an interactive whiteboard used for the lesson on the swine ear notching system, and others.

While she is pleased with the iPad experiment so for, Galvan acknowledges that using iPads a few times per week provides only a glimpse of what might happen when students someday arrive to class their own devices.

“It’s a little different than having nine iPads in your classroom,” she said. “That’s a little bit more manageable than having 25 children come into your classroom with their own laptops and you wonder how you’re going to do things with integrity.”

For Galvan, maintaining integrity in the classroom means recognizing that digital learning cannot replace the real experience gained hands-on learning, especially when it comes to the science aspect of her classes.

“It’s not like we do everything on the computer,” she said. “We still do activities in the greenhouse and cut stuff open because I think we need that.”

Galvan also recognizes that using a digital device doesn’t fit the learning style of all students and so she incorporates different activities, such as kinesthetic movement or group discussion, into a lesson using a digital device.

“The whole idea is we’re not just opening a Word document and typing all period,” she said. “Like today, the activity we’re going to do is going to require them to do partner work and get up and move.”

When it comes time for the school district to chose a device that will be given to each student, Galvan’s students already have a suggestion: laptop computers. Several students noted the full keyboards on laptops make the devices more useful for academic purposes than iPads, which have touch screens and lack keyboards.

Galvan said she is concerned about the potential cost of apps that would have to downloaded onto each device. All of the apps Galvan currently uses are free downloads.

“What if I spend $5 on it and don’t like it?” she asked. “Then I’ve kind of wasted $5. I wish there was something like ‘Try this free for 10 days.’ I wish that was there for the educator.”

While uncertain about the drawbacks of the iPad, Galvan is pleased with how the digital devices have enhanced her classroom and she been comparing this year’s test scores with those of last year’s students.

“Test scores are considerably better,” she commented. “Means on tests are way higher than they were a year ago. We will continue to reflect on how we’re using them and what works.”

This article was originally posted at http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/news/x1644232919/West-Prairie-ag-classes-learning-with-iPads?zc_p=1

School district seeks shift to digital textbooks

The Oshkosh school district doesn't want to fall on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Everything the district has done for the last 18 months has been aiming toward a shift: putting smart devices in the hands of every student and incorporating digital technology into standard curriculum. From infrastructure changes to setting up wireless networks to buying rights to electronic textbooks, the district has taken steps toward achieving this goal — a goal that several nearby districts have already reached.

The Oshkosh school district made a foray into teaching with smart devices this year. With grant funding, the district has bought more than 400 iPads in the last year — a small step toward one for each of its 10,000 students. Most of them are in Jefferson, Merrill, Roosevelt and Washington elementary schools — schools given the "School of Recognition" title because their students test better on state standardized tests than would be anticipated based on their poverty levels. A handful of the devices are also at West and North high schools.

"Are we going to be a district that is competitive or not?" said Deputy Superintendent Dave Gundlach, as he ran through a list of local districts.

Menasha's middle school has one device for every student. Neenah will soon have the same ratio at every grade level, and Ripon and Rosendale are already there. The Fond du Lac school district is buying 3,000 Chromebooks for its high school students.

"If you're a parent coming into the community, that's probably going to be part of your consideration of where you want your kids to go to school," Gundlach said.

The shift is occurring at a national level, too. Earlier this month, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski challenged schools and companies to get digital textbooks in students' hands within five years — a call that came just two weeks after Apple Inc. announced it would start to sell electronic versions of a few standard high-school textbooks for use on its iPad tablet. Florida, Idaho, Utah and California, as well as individual schools and districts throughout the country, have already embraced digital learning environments.

The process is not an easy one, and it doesn't come without cost. The district needs to work with textbook companies to set up an "institutional license" when purchasing digital books. The most fiscally challenging aspect is making sure students have access to devices on a permanent basis so they can actually read the books. There are also policies to rewrite. Relatively new "acceptable use" policies outlawing the use of cell phones and other electronic devices during class are already antiquated, as the district will soon encourage students and staff to bring personal technology to school.

Those leading the charge believe the payoff will be significant. Gundlach said current discussions of the achievement gap use measures developed 10-20 years ago, but the digital achievement gap will be even starker. He compared districts using digital textbooks, which can be updated immediately with new information, to districts using five-year-old textbooks as an example.

"This isn't just a digital version of a book," Gundlach said. "What's really useful is when you can embed different types of media in the books. That totally changes what you're trying to explain to the students. You can link out to the most up-to-date resources."

Integrating technology

Merrill Elementary has 90 iPads for its 267 students. Teachers received professional development training to learn how to use the devices effectively, and the school uses them at every grade level.

"I think it is the direction schools are going, because at school it's really our job to try to make that connection as seamlessly as possible," said Merrill principal Sarah Poquette. "There are so many digital pieces of technology out in the real world, and we need to keep up with that so we're preparing 21st century learners."
Students use the iPads to create multimedia presentations and to facilitate discussions about class readings, along with practicing basic math and reading skills with educational apps. Poquette said the more experience teachers have with the iPads, the more ideas they come up with for how to incorporate them into learning activities. The school is currently planning a "family technology night" to bring parents into the loop of what their children are doing at school.

"I love infusing technology in the classroom," said kindergarten teacher Rocco Marchionda. "IPads bring rich, dynamic content in front of students at an affordable price. It's all about getting kids interacting with dynamic media."

Marchionda has used iPads with third-graders and kindergarteners, and said the constantly developing content allows teachers to target specific skills and concepts for every grade level.

Other schools are exploring the possibilities of other devices along with iPads. Teachers at Oaklawn Elementary have received grants for iPads and for Kindle Fire devices. Oaklawn principal Scott Johanknecht said digital devices are another tool to be used, adding that it's up to teachers to seek opportunities.
"It's a fun way for us to learn," said Juliette Mattair, a fifth grade student at Merrill. "It's like super technology."
Mattair, who had never used a smart device before, said learning to use the iPad came naturally to her. Her favorite apps are a math game called Hungry Fish and a painting application called Kids Doodle, despite the fact that her favorite subject in school is writing.

Poquette said students received instructions, as with any other school-issued equipment, to take good care of the iPads, and there have not been any damage issues so far. The only problem is that she wishes they had more — and she plans to apply for more grants to try to make that happen.

Budget issues

Despite that, current budget restraints leave the district with no concrete timeline to pursue the plan. The money has to come from somewhere, and right now, Oshkosh doesn't have the revenue stream to make it a reality. Some districts have reallocated money spent on other resources, while others have had referendums to fund a sustainable technology budget. The pros and cons of different approaches, including a "bring your own technology" plan or leasing devices, are being considered.



Gundlach said the districts that have succeeded with similar initiatives have provided extensive training to staff, students and families. Providing professional development opportunities is key. Gundlach said the district hasn't done a good job of spending professional development time on technology until recently.



"You can't expect teachers to redesign what they do without having the tool in their hand," Gundlach said.
Right now, the district is putting all of its energy into the referendum to rebuild Oaklawn Elementary, Gundlach said, adding that there haven't been discussions about any other options after that. Since so many pieces of the technology plan have been put in place, the district would be able to plan for the shift very quickly, Gundlach said.



"It's a retooling of education," Gundlach said. "And it's a retooling that other districts are already done with and are beginning to see their benefits."

Blended learning as future of education

Much like everything else that worries the enhancement of world and development of lifestyle and understanding, the area of education has certainly seen several advancements and improvements with regards to how to better train a student, make better the deliverance of the correct knowledge, and assist in better conception and understanding of knowledge application. There have been many attempts into new methods like the digital learning and online learning and incorporation of these new techniques with the traditional techniques in order to come up with a better way to enlighten the education of the students. Various research and tests have been done in different educational institutes around the world on these new techniques, which is now known among all the people as "blended learning".

Blended learning is a combination of classroom training along with online learning. Training that takes place in the classroom is done with the help of a teacher. In this type of learning the student –teacher interaction is direct and face to face and the teacher handles the content and the speed of the class going on. In spite of many misunderstandings, online learning can also be directed by the teacher.  Through the online learning or digital learning the teacher can instruct her students through the webcast where they can see and interact with their teacher through the projector screen or the computer screen. Teachers can also post classes and make projects that learners complete on their own. The trainer still handles the content of the lessons and sets up the final time limit, but in online learning students are independent to choose how, when and where they want to learn.

Through blended learning, students get the opportunity to benefit from the type of learning i.e. classroom learning and as well as online learning. In classroom learning student gets direct training, he/she participates in various activities and learns to socialize with other peers in the class.  At the same time in online learning, students have the opportunity to work in relaxed surroundings of their choice, they can learn at their own speed, and they even learn the importance of managing their own time. Thus Blended learning allows students to get personal attention through eLearning or digital learning and learns the importance of discipline in classroom training along with this they become independent through online learning.

The most reported benefit of online learning is that it allows learners to learn place. It has helped many universities rise who are offering online learning solely.  There are many more traditional universities that are offering their health science classes and management training through the online learning strategy. As a result, online learning or digital learning courses help save money   by avoiding travelling for the classes unnecessarily. The best part of online learning is that students have the freedom to study the material provided as per their convenience. The students can schedule his class as per his personal, academic or professional planning for the day, week or month.

Thus Blended learning gives students the exposure to work online and allowing them to enhance their computer skills. With the help of the syllabus, students are able to use the computer on regular basis to be a active part of the class, quiz, exams and be able to communicate with their teacher and other students of the online learning class. With the help of such tools students learn the course book but also the computer skills that is very important part in building their future.

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Give Students Mobile Devices to Maximize Their Learning Time

The Education Department’s 2010 National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) presents a transformational vision for 21st century education, depicting how new technologies can help people learn lifelong and “life-wide” - in libraries and museums and their homes, and through interactions with people in their neighborhood and community.

In particular, mobile devices enable elearning anywhere and anytime, moving education beyond the industrial era model, where classrooms are the primary place of learning, the school day is the primary educational time, and the teacher is the primary source of information.

We know that students’ lives outside school are filled with technology, giving them 24/7 mobile access to information and allowing them to participate in online social networks and communities where people worldwide share ideas, collaborate, and learn new things. Our education system should leverage students’ interest in technology and the time they spend learning informally outside the regular school hours to extend learning time in a way that motivates them even more.

Mobile broadband devices now have six senses:

1. Knowing where you are

2. Interacting with networks

3. Sensing local content and services

4. Discovering relevant things

5. Enhancing your surroundings with information and simulation

6. Learning your interests, as well as how and with whom you like to learn

This new capacity for learning, which is infused with global information, is a powerful way of complementing the traditional model of learning, which is isolated from the world in classroom settings.

Cellphones, tablets and other mobile devices now provide access to a much broader and more flexible set of learning resources than is available in classrooms. They also create connections to a wider and more flexible set of “educators,” including parents, informal educators, and community-based coaches, tutors, and mentors. And, learning experiences can be customized for individual learners with content and instructional styles designed to fit the interests and experience of each person.

For example, when students are learning online, there are multiple opportunities to use technology for assessment. As students work, the system can capture information about their problem-solving sequences, knowledge, and strategies, as reflected by the information they select or input, the number of attempts they make, the number of hints and feedback given, and the time it takes them to solve a problem.

But there are some limitations. Four key areas must be resolved to realize the power of mobile broadband for ubiquitous learning:

Devices and infrastructure: How can we best balance educational investments between wired computers and the emerging infrastructure of wireless mobile devices?

Safety and privacy: How can we use internet access and digital student data to enhance education, while preventing various forms of abuse?

Digital assets and assessments: How can we drive innovation in digital learning materials and services when the education market is notoriously fragmented and slow to adapt, and when the strengths and limits of mobile devices for learning are not well understood?

Human capital: How can we empower educators and other stakeholders to realize the potential of anytime, anyplace mobile learning through evolutionary, revolutionary, and disruptive transformations that move beyond the model of industrial era schooling?

And, barriers in each of these areas create difficulties for progress in the others.

A ubiquitous technology infrastructure that supports anytime, anyplace learning is the hallmark of a 21st century educational system. I believe that every student and educator should have a mobile broadband device, with training and support for its optimal usage to empower learning. As discussed in the NETP, policy makers should systematically explore mechanisms to fund such an infrastructure for every district, school, and student, regardless of economic status.

Chris Dede is the Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. Each fall, he co-hosts a major conference for Qualcomm on mobile learning.

Smartphones, E-Readers Replacing Textbooks

What's the Latest Development?

Portable digital technology is forever changing the face of eduction. Smartphones and e-readers enable learning anyplace, anytime so teachers can better immerse their students in the day's lesson. And compared to a textbook, a tablet computer seems like magic, summoning up unfathomable amounts of information while displaying colorful and easy-to-read graphics. The interactive and entertaining qualities of new smart devices are inspiring students to take more control over their education.

What's the Big Idea?

Never before have schools faced the question of whether or not to buy textbooks. When electronic information is so readily available, so up-to-date, so much cheaper than buying hard-bound copies, textbooks become difficult to justify. The trend in education is reflected in society at large. The number of e-books sold online has seen a six-fold increase in the last year; Amazon now sells 2.5 e-books for every hard copy. The loss of textbooks will forever change the feel of education but it opens up many new opportunities.

Making Education Fun Through Game-Based Learning

Proponents say the nascent technology already is transforming the educational experience. Here’s how.

Like a lot of teachers, Lucas Gillispie had no problem with the textbook material he taught to his high school students. His biggest challenge during his seven years in the classroom was connecting with the teenagers in his classes.

His solution, it turned out, was right in front of him. Or, rather, on his own computer. “Video games were always a point of connection between me and my students,” Gillispie explains. “It was an easy topic of conversation — the spark that got things started for me at school.”

So when the game-loving teacher became the instructional technology coordinator for Pender County (N.C.) Schools three years ago, linking his two worlds in the curriculum seemed like a no-brainer. “I started looking at game-based learning [GBL] research,” he says, “and for ways to leverage video games in the classroom.” The district had already integrated technology, including interactive whiteboards, in its 16 schools, so energizing the elearning process via gaming wasn’t that radical an idea.

By May 2009, Gillispie was seeking buy-in from his district’s manage­ment team to give 15 Cape Fear Middle School ­students a chance to get ­together after school and play World of Warcraft (WOW), a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) with more than 10 million ­subscribers. The idea was to link the game to things the ­students already were learning in their language arts classes. For example, one teacher related one of the students’ “quests” to The Hobbit, which they were reading and writing about in class. The team “understood the goal to reach disaffected kids,” he recalls. “They said, ‘We don’t ­understand the gaming jargon, but the focus is good for kids. Go for it.’ ”

Together with teachers and the school’s principal at the time, Edith Skipper, Gillispie identified students to invite and launched the program in fall 2009. Participants linked in to the game using school computers and quickly strengthened their language and problem-solving skills.

“We saw amazing things,” Gillispie says. “We had kids who increased their attendance and ­actually wanted to go to school so they wouldn’t miss the club [meeting]. We had kids with social communication issues improve through the program. The kids owned this project, and we encouraged them to set the direction.”

The program was so successful that at the end of the school year, the principal suggested expanding its reach. “She would come observe the students playing WOW and was amazed” by their enthusiasm, he says. “These were students who used to ‘check out’ in the classroom. She asked what we needed to do to take this to the next level and make it a part of the regular school day for more students.”

That summer, Gillispie and teacher Craig Lawson developed a curriculum to incorporate the game into eighth-grade language arts, reading and writing lessons at Cape Fear. Today, students play WOW every day.

Gillispie says the results have been just as remarkable, with ­students showing demonstrable ­improvement in these subject areas and in their leadership, teamwork, communications and citizenship skills. “I call it ninja teaching,” he explains. “Kids are learning, but they don’t realize they’re learning.”

97% Percentage of American children ages 12 to 17 who play video games SOURCE: Pew Internet & American Life Project

Embracing Gaming

Schools around the world are introducing computer-based GBL in the classroom, and for good reason: It’s a great way to engage students with something they participate in by choice during their downtime. “It’s a growing trend all across education,” says Larry Johnson, Ph.D., CEO of the New Media Consortium, which spearheads the annual Horizon Report: K–12 Edition. (In both 2010 and 2011, the report identified GBL as an emerging technology that will impact teaching and learning in the next two to three years.)

“Games are really ­effective for ­increasing the engagement level of lots of people,” Johnson explains. “We’re no longer ­thinking of games as something only kids do — we’re in our third generation of people who have grown up with these games.”

Quest to Learn, a New York City public school that’s based on the principles of game ­design and integration in the classroom, is one such example. “Each trimester, in each class, students are given a mission — a complex problem they can’t solve at that time,” Co-Director Arana Shapiro says of the 3-year-old school’s ­unconventional learning model, in which students play games to introduce and reinforce skills.

The designed quests that students embark upon are very sequenced, Shapiro continues, with each one giving them “a piece of information they need to solve the complex ­problem. Students ‘level up’ only ­after they complete each quest.”

The approach mirrors how many video games work, and is a natural way for educators to think, set and achieve goals for students who have grown up playing on their computers.

“The idea of play in learning has been around for a long time,” Shapiro says. “For some reason, it ends after early elementary school. What we’ve seen is that [GBL keeps] kids much more engaged than traditional ­learning. The ­content is the same; it’s a different vehicle to get them to the same place, and they get there with a deeper understanding.”

It’s not always easy, though. “We get push-back from people who think game play is too challenging or see it as entertainment, not education,” says Atsusi “2c” Hirumi, Ph.D., co-chair of the Instructional Design and Technology program at the University of Central Florida. “They worry that students may focus too much time on figuring out how to play and beat the game, rather than the educational content.”

But play is an ­important method for learning, Hirumi adds. “We play with objects and ­concepts to see how they work. If we mess up, it typically doesn’t hold serious ­consequences. Making failure fun is an ­important part of games and should also play a role in learning.”

There are other obstacles, though. One is cost: Game subscriptions are expensive. Teachers who don’t under­stand the technology’s learning benefits also can hinder its expansion.

Game On

Yet, GBL proponents remain hopeful about its future. Gillispie hopes to extend the curriculum he developed for Pender County middle schoolers to Heide Trask Senior High School, one of the district’s four high schools, this semester.

To maximize the benefits, gaming “needs to be embedded in everything we do,” he says. In Pender County, for example, students finish their quests and then journal about them during the school day. The teachers then grade or edit the journals and incorporate their comments into grammar and writing lessons.

“It’s fascinating to hear the kids excited about this,” Gillispie continues. “We have kids asking teachers if they’re going to take time over the weekend to put the next level up for them. We have kids logging in on Friday nights to finish their quests.”

Every once in a while, Gillispie is floored by the impact his efforts have had on students. “Our assistant superintendent recently got a phone call from one of our parents,” he says. “I thought the jig was up, ­because he said she had some ­concerns. But the concern was that her child is moving up to the high school next year and won’t have this program. She wanted to know what was going to keep him anchored and passionate about school. It broke my heart.”



Defining “Good” in Gaming

Acccording to research summarized by the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College, the best educational games share these five qualities:

1. Continuous challenge: The game must present ­challenges that lead to other challenges to keep ­students hooked and moving forward.
2. Interesting story line: This livens up the competition and makes players more motivated to succeed.
3. Flexibility: Offering multiple ways to achieve each goal lets students work out their own strategies.
4. Immediate, useful rewards: At the end of each ­challenge, successful players should be rewarded with new capabilities, a new area to explore or a new task. Such benefits are “surprisingly motivating,” experts say.
5. Combining fun and realism: Good games incorporate fantasy with realistic qualities to keep kids engaged and thinking.

This article was originally posted at http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2011/12/making-education-fun-through-game-based-learning

6 Apps for Creating Outlines on the iPad:

Capturing information quickly and efficiently in a classroom is an important skill. So much of what we do in the classroom needs to be documented either by you, the teacher or by the students. Apps that make this process quick and easy are therefore vital. Here are a quick list that might work in your classroom - some are quite expensive but they do offer a vastly different product depending on who will be the primary user.

Notability: $0.99

Notability 4.0 is the first truly integrated note-taking app for iPad. Standing on a framework that automatically links notes with audio recordings, Notability supports all of your note-taking needs -- handwriting, PDF annotation, word processing, and more work together seamlessly allowing you to create comprehensive, beautiful notes, quickly and simply. Auto Sync ensures your notes are backed up safely.



http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/notability-handwriting-note/id360593530?mt=8

OminOutliner for iPad: $20.99 AU

OmniOutliner starts as a blank page. But as you collect, compose, and rearrange text, its powerful outlining features emerge to organize your ideas. Hierarchy, columns, styling, notes — use them all in concert or keep things simple, depending on the project at hand. From basic lists and tables to serious writing and data wrangling, OmniOutliner understands how to keep your work structured and tidy.



http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/omnioutliner/id430118869?mt=8

iOutline for iPad: $0.99 AU

An outline editor is an essential tool. Point lists and numbered lists, which predate computers, are themselves essential tools. Being able to keep these lists on an iPad makes them cleaner, more useful, and easier to modify. iOutline is an outline editor for the iPad, in which you can build lists of single-line items. You can add sub-items and items at the same level of indentation.



http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/id401884533

Outliner for iPad: $5.49 AU

CarbonFin Outliner for iPad allows you to organize your thoughts, tasks, and projects. Easily create a todo list for today, or track an entire project anywhere you are. Share your outlines, edit them online, and collaborate with other Outliner users. Create outlines for structured notes, lists, tasks, tasks with subtasks, projects or search through all your outlines, or find text in the current outline.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/outliner-for-ipad/id360659928?mt=8

Simple Outliner: FREE

Simple Outliner is an outline processor which can be operated easily. To pop up the menu, tap the bottom of the main screen. Edit an item by double tapping it. To show a note wipe the item left or delete or copy an item by wiping it right. To change an item into folder, double tap the dot at the left of it. To change the outline level of an item, shift it horizontally.

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/simple-outliner-free/id357042200?mt=8

Circus Ponies Notebook: $31.99 AU

Ever wonder why note taking apps don't let you bold, underline, color text, or use multiple fonts? The answer is because it's HARD. Problem is, bold and other text styling are super important when taking notes. Sometimes you need to scribble, sometimes you want to add a diagram. It's a rare app that allows all three. Add to this the ability to sync your notes between your iPad and Mac via Dropbox.


http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/circus-ponies-notebook/id405636065?mt=8