Sandy Jordan recently sent the following note to the technology department:
"Today was my first day with JH math students, and rather than dive right into the boring organizational stuff with the kids, I decided to start off with a discussion about what math is, how it has developed, why it has developed - the more philosophical side of it. In each class, the discussions have been great, but an interesting thing happened last period. This group (Jennifer and Tony's class) all showed up with their iPads. As different questions came up I realized the kids were looking up information to add to the discussion as fast as they could. From "when did zero first appear" to "what were African cultures doing mathematically hundreds of years ago," they were generating and trying to answer questions in an incredibly engaged and active way. It was fabulous. That immediate access to information kept the conversation going, made them more involved in the lesson, and helped them dig deeper faster. They were looking for facts, but that opened the door for ruminations and discussion about the "whys" behind the "whats." It was a great experience for me (and I hope for them!), and really illustrated some of the many, many ways this kind of technology is going to change how we teach."
For assignment #6, we would like you to assign a class researcher each day for a week in at least one of your classes. Let the Daily Researcher(s) use the iPad and be in charge of answering any questions that arise in your class. Write about your experience in your comment.
I tried assigning a researcher for 3 days. I had mixed success.
ReplyDeleteDay one: The first day, the child didn't understand what I was asking him to do. I was a bit surprised as the kids regularly keep a "Book of Wonder" notebook that does just whatt you spoke of above...the kids write up questions and research one of them to share with the group. Instead, the child used it as a notebook to take class notes from the board using penultimate. It was a good use of the ipad for note-taking. It was at this point, in having to reprint it for him (since he had no written notes of his own) that we learned it is NOT a great shared device for note-taking. (Given the size of the child's handwriting, transferring it, even in book layout format, resulted in an 8 page (then 4) document that I had to print out for him.) It didn't save paper, as I know he wouldn't have used that much to take actual notes. If it was his personal device, it would have served him well as a notebook. (There was also the side issue of having only one for the kids to use...it immediately because an "can I have it next?" bevy of questions...it then took a long time to refocus the class in general. If all the kids had one or even shared as a pair, not so much of an issue.)
Take 2: This child was actually really comfortable with the ipad....enough that he informed me that he didn't like penultimate, or my stylus...and that he was otherwise up to the task (but he'd rather type). I got my directions clearer this time. He "got" it was meant to be used as a Book of Wonder. He did. I gave it to him during Science time. He wrote down a lot of questions generated by an observation experiment the kids were doing. This would have been a FABULOUS use of the ipad, especially with a quieter kid. I could have easily seen/heard what that student was thinking. Again, the ipad attracted attention.
Take #3: I got it out during Math time. Since we're doing steps like PEMDAS, there aren't yet so many whys as there are HOWs. The conclusion was that my math class (which is used to extra puzzles as a bonus at the end of hwk time) really wanted it for puzzles or practice rather than a book of wonder.
Here's part of problem with this assignment: Not all of the discussions/classes right now warrant a researcher. A lot of the class is already hands on, especially now, at the beginning of the year. Our class already has a Book of Wonder...so I'm not sure they saw this as a challenging assignment. In addition, I had to be careful who I could pick as a researcher...I could see some kids falling into the abyss of questions and answers and tuning out of the whole class discussion/information as a result. I think that's a developmental/attentional issue...being able to split your focus that way. I'm not always good at it myself, but I can self monitor enough to pull back my focus. Kids are still learning that skill (which is another topic for a discussion).
So.....I am just not sure about whether this assignment fits....
I had a similar experience. In the upper elementary, this approach is just plain hard to implement consistently. I'll note here that Sandy's wonderful experience was a spontaneous discovery with, if I recall, a mighty wonderful, insightful bunch of students.
ReplyDeleteAt my level, questions mostly need to be addressed as soon as possible. Delaying risks losing the meaningfulness of the query. Sometimes further research and inquiry is called for, but it's generally better to get the question out there.
As above, a class researchers might only have occasional or no duties during some classes, disappointing many. On the other hand, I watched some researchers get completely caught up in their work and miss the main content of the class or even potential questions. Others were distracted by other apps, especially anything resembling a game. This might or might not decline with greater familiarity with the iPad.
Again, if every kid had an iPad, this might play differently. I'd be interested to hear what the classes with full sets have discovered in this experiment.
I had similar experiences to those listed above. When a kid asks a question, I can usually answer it. If not, it is because it is a question that is completely off topic from what we are studying and does not warrent an answer anyway. I tried using a researcher in my anatomy class and it went downhill quickly!
ReplyDeleteI have no use for a researcher in Ap and honors bio and, I prefer that the kids take their own notes so a scribe does not work either.
What does work is, as I mentioned above, my anatomy classes do ask tons of random questions. So, one day a week, we will take 10 minutes of class for random question time. Then it might just work!
Since students often come to me for a quick solution versus researching an answer I've realized the need to modify this assignment. For me, I've found that I'm able to use my iPad as a quick app reference for students needing note and/or study support. The students benefitting from this approach the most are those participating in the pilot. I've been able to identify the apps that will meet their specific need as well as receive feedback on how useful/practical the app is.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed during my class observations that I'm not as fluent as I'd like to be with the use of some apps. There is definitely a learning curve that should be taken into account as we incorporate the iPad into the classroom. Lecture pacing will need to decrease as we all shift from pen and paper to stylus and iPad.
In my AP environmental class, we often discuss current issues and the ability to access information quickly is useful. In the past couple of years, I have been letting the students use their phones to quickly look up info, which is similar to using the ipad.
ReplyDeleteThis year, even before this blog assignment was given, I have had students using my ipad to look up answers to questions. I use my ipad to read my notes from dropbox and one day, during a discussion, a student asked if they could use my ipad to look up the answer to a question that came up in class. I handed over the ipad, they looked up the answer, and then I continued using it for my notes. Since then, I have had a number of students ask to use it.
So instead of one official scribe, I let various students use it as needed to quickly look up answers. I also still let them use their phones!
I have bene using the ipads as research tools this month and they are a great way to get instant information as well as use kids who may need an attention distraction in a productive way. The ease of use in both the apps as well as the speed has made instant fact checking and information gathering awesome. I am also impressed with the note taking apps and there ability to help the kids when they are listening to lectures and scribing from the board.
ReplyDeleteIn the same math class referenced originally that had such success finding quick answers to factual questions, we've had far less use of iPads since then. Mainly, it's because most of our class time is spent on practicing problems rather than researching facts. However, I also think the novelty factor has worn off a bit, and more than half of the students have found that free writing on the iPad, even with a decent stylus, takes us too much room on any given page. Most have gone back to paper and pencil, although they love having the textbook available on the iPad (it takes up less room than the book). When I did a notebook check of homework last week, only two students (both male, which was interesting) turned in a iPad version. The other 20 or so students who have iPads turned in traditional paper notebooks.
ReplyDeleteIf I wait for the kid to look up something, it kills the rhythm of the class. I usually ask a kid who has trouble paying attention to look up more information about a topic, continue with the lesson and eventually come back to the kid for his/her report. I've found that it is much more effective to target a kid who is independent and who has experience with or ownership of an iPad.
ReplyDeleteI've had more success with the iPads when kids are doing more independent, project based work. Garageband, Photoshop, and even Puppet Pals are all options for engaging kids and enriching their understanding of a given topic.
I had a mixed experience using a student as researcher with the ipad. Two days I forgot to hand the student the ipad. I don't want them walking around with it, so I keep the ipad on my desk. Three days we did have a researcher. The students definitely were interested and undaunted. Here's what we learned. The researcher has to be an older student who can type and read well. Quickly typing a topic into Safari takes skill. Reading the wikipedia document (which is what they found) is tough at our level. Then summarizing information and reporting it back to the class is pretty high level for us too. We did learn some information about Greece and the Mexican Revolution. But this did not seem like a practical use for ipads right now in our class. In the spring we'll have better skills for research and typing.
ReplyDeleteI have had a rough time using the iPad in chemistry. There was one student using his own iPad to take notes and it did not go well. I did suggest that he get a stylus but there are still too many numbers/notes, etc. to use it. I have given it to students to look things up every now and then.
ReplyDeleteTwo times I have used the iPad successfully. One time I took a picture of the answers to a worksheet and then emailed it to a student. The other time I used the app PaperView. With that app I took a picture of some old overhead projector transparencies that I used to use and then projected them onto the active board. It was very cool even though the resolution was not great.
I am not convinced that the iPad is the way to go in chemistry classes.
I took a bit of a different aproach.
ReplyDeleteEach day, I display a brief synopsis of a mathematically influenced event to acknowledge its anniversary. Interested students are encouraged to look up the topic. They can either use their own iPad, a peer’s, or my iPad. On some occasions, interesting discussions develop.
Word problems are a prevalent part of Jr. High math. I design sample problems to encourage iPad research and problem solving. For example we were doing conversion factors in Pre Algebra and I introduced a rollercoaster themed problem. Students would look up various coasters and convert their lengths from feet to miles, inches, …
I want to add a note on here that it is okay if you do not have positive experiences for any of our assignments. We do want honest answers. Part of the pilot project is to figure out where the iPads have a place and how they can be used here at Paideia. If something doesn't work in your setting, we need to know why. Your feedback is so important. Thanks again for all of your comments (good and bad) and participation!
ReplyDeleteThis project was difficult for me. Very difficult. The assignment seemed to not fit the way my class functions. Except for math, I don't have the same class every day, and math does not involve daily philosophical conversations that invoke deep questions to be researched. There are moments, but they are not constant.
ReplyDeleteSo...I amended the assignment a bit to better match our classroom style. Basically, I had the i-pad available and accessible, but I kept it at my desk unless a question came up. When there was a good moment to have a bit of side research, I would hand over the i-pad to kid who came up with the question. This had varying results. In math, I have a fairly small group, and the kids are spread out, so it worked quite well in that subject. When I tried it in the full group, it was much more of a distraction. The kids with the iPad stayed fairly on task, but the draw of the ipad was too much for the kids around them to handle. The entire couch of kids would be lost to the discussion.
It would be different if it were a class set. There is a high potential for distractibility with this age group, particularly with a new and exciting technological device. It is hard to keep neighbors on task if an iPad is in use anywhere nearby.
The times it worked well were very cool because the kid involved could physically stay in the group, and was (depending on the individual) then able to stay part of the discussion, rather than leaving the circle to go to a desktop computer in another part of the room. Those times, it was an integral part of a lesson.
The three students in my class who are in the iPad pilot project use the iPad spontaneously and effectively to research topics as they arise during lit discussions. Although one of the students has a tendency to get distracted, he seems to be able to retain focus in the discussion while doing this. I would not assign a class researcher unless the entire class had iPads, and even the I'd have to think about whether the management challenge would outweigh the usefulness.
ReplyDeleteIn my class, I assigned this to one student who volunteered. He used my ipad and took notes on Noterize. Though he does not have an ipad and is not involved in the project, he used it with ease. It only fit with what we did on 3 of the days requested.
ReplyDeleteHe indicated that he liked doing the note-taking by compiling the answers to questions students raised in class. He also said it helped him with his notes. He acutally came by my office to get the notes sent to him as a google doc after it didn't appear after he had sent it from class.
The notes indicating answers to questions on the Troy Davis execution from students and I providing details of the issues leading to the sentencing, to what is involved in an execution.
The discussion of Mandela's life was very well documented by Adan. He had detailed notes that had extensive answers. The result was that he earned an "A" on the exam. Well, maybe it wasn't this process, but it did seem to help a great deal. I had seen his notes at other times and they were not as detailed.
Overall: this would work better if all students had the opportunity to use the ipad in class.
I'm going to they another "class researcher" experiment. In this case, I'm assigning all 31 students in my lit classes different brief research topics, the results of which I expect to be posted on a blog site. I only have three students with iPads, but hope to check out a few more from Technology for this purpose.
ReplyDeleteStay tuned for results.