iPad Classroom Project, Year End Review

1) A general description of the project – who was involved, what were the goals, what were the anticipated outcomes, what curricular themes/activities took place, what specific technology was used?

This project started off with Jason Kemp, the Resource Teacher, Erin McAstocker, a Social Studies 7 and Science 8 classroom teacher and our students. Part way through the year Erin took on role as Acting Vice-Principal at our school and Cara Boerner was hired on as the new Social Studies 7,  and Science 7&8 classroom teacher.

Our goal was to help students develop their critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills. We felt that iPads would greatly increase student engagement, promote personalized learning opportunities, and allow students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. Students accessed and evaluated information, while creating projects at his/her specific level and interest.

Some specific projects included using the poplet app to create food webs and food chains for the Ecosystems unit.  These were then incorporated into a larger Explain Everything presentation on Ecosystems.  Students recorded narration and information and then presented them on the Apple TV.  Explain Everything is a great tool for app smashing.  Another project was the NFB Stop Motion app to create tectonic plate animations.  Claymation was used to show how plate tectonics are responsible for the creation of different landforms. 

An example of Social Studies project was an iMovie Newscast created to explain different historical artifacts.  Some students used the DoInk Green Screen app as part of their newscast.  They created a script then recorded their newscasts and presented them to class.to class. 

In Science 8, a major project was the Water Systems project.  Students were given a choice on their method of presentation. Some used Explain Everything, Prezi, Keynote, and iMovie to create projects explaining how water and ice change the landscape. 

Along with many major summative projects, the iPads were used daily for research, note-taking and creating graphic organizers for students.  They were an invaluable resource and allowed for differentiated representation of learning.

The team also shared the devices with other classes, so they had the opportunity to integrate them into their classrooms. The Foods teacher had her class study yeast bread recipes. For a project they created videos using iMovie describing the process of making the yeast bread, the functions of each of the ingredients and the nutritional values of some of the ingredients. One of the groups decided to create a video documenting their learning process of baking a pizza.

2) A description of how the project proceeded – what, if any, training took place, how was the technology introduced to students, how was it used during the project by the teacher(s) and the students, how were the project activities completed?

We used iPads with a variety of apps for students to create movies, e-books and other products to demonstrate their learning. We were given keyboards, but the students rarely chose to use them, as they were comfortable with the on screen keyboard. Sometimes we had difficulties with background noise when recording on the iPads.  We also used the Apple TV as a means of instructing students on how to use different apps

Erin and myself had some experience using iPads and other iDevices, so minimal training was needed. We did a lot of researching on the internet finding apps that would work for us and giving us some hints as to how to set up the devices.  Cara was a new teacher and had no experience using technology in the classroom, but she was more than willing to learn. Jason sat down a couple of times after school to give her a basic knowledge of using the device and then she took one home over the winter break to learn more. She came back feeling comfortable using the devices. We handed the devices to our students and allowed them to play. The students were able to learn and share tricks with their classmates.

The plan was for the students to use the devices to develop a final product to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts. Not only were the devices used for this purpose, but also they allowed students with different learning needs to access materials at their level. Some students used the speak function to listen to written materials, while others used the Siri to convert their speech into text. This allowed students who struggle with written output to get their ideas on paper.

3) A description of the main challenges encountered during the project and how they were overcome.

The main challenge with the project was not having enough bandwidth when creating multimedia projects. Some videos took a long time to upload to the students' accounts. Patience was the best way to overcome this challenge, but our district has recently updated their Internet provider and has increased the bandwidth at our school.

4) A description of the main successes of the project and what was achieved overall.

Watching the engagement levels increase for all students when using technology. The ones that regularly struggle with getting their ideas down in written form, often have the most success when creating movies or other items.

5) Any recommendations or advice for other teams or educators conducting a similar project – what might you do differently next time?

Research, research and research some more. Have a solid plan before you set up your set of iPads and connect with your IT department. This will save you lots of time in the end. Watch and learn from students and they way they discover how to use new apps.  For many of them technology is intuitive.  Play and experiment, as it is much better than trying to watch or be taught. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.

March - Classroom project Update

This past week our Science teacher shared the classroom iPad with the Foods and Nutrition teacher at our school. She wanted her students to create videos to document their learning.

Her Foods 9 class has been studying yeast bread recipes. For a project she had her students create videos using iMovie describing the process of making the yeast bread, the functions of each of the ingredients and the nutritional values of some of the ingredients. One of the groups decided to create a video documenting their learning process of baking a pizza.

Her Foods 7 class competed in an apple challenge. Each pair was given an apple, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and could add one additional ingredient to create a dish. Flavor and presentation were key to winning this presentation. The class then created a video to demonstrate their ideas and learning.



Our school will be on spring break at the end of next week. We have been discussing how we will be storing the iPads during this 2 week break. How or where does your school store their devices? Especially during longer breaks? Do you leave them plugged in to charge the entire time?

February Classroom Project update - Term End Marking

It was the end of term for our middle grade classes and this usually means collecting large numbers of unfinished or not handed in assignments. Often this is done to ensure the students will receive a passing grade in the course.  This year things were quite different. We only had a small number of assignments not handed in on time. Most of the major tasks this term, students were given the choice on how they were going to demonstrate their learning. Some students chose to complete their assignments using paper, while others completed their assignments using the classroom iPads. We noticed the engagement level in class has increased, which has also increased the completion level of the students' work. 

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Another benefit we found using the iPads, was students were not losing their work. In middle school it is not uncommon for a student to misplace their assignment in the black hole known as their binder, locker or backpack. We have a school Dropbox account, which is linked to the iPads. When students complete their assignment, they then create a copy with their name in the title in their teacher's folder. This allows the teacher to access this assignment from her personal device anywhere. The teacher has been able to mark at home without taking a large stack of paper with her.  Students also have their own folder and save a backed up copy to their personal folder. We were hesitant to use this method, as we thought students might delete someone elses assignment, but this has not happened. 

January Project Update

Over the last 3 weeks our team had the opportunity to meet and prepare a couple upcoming projects for our students. Our new Science 8 and Social Studies 7 teacher had an opportunity over the winter break to take an iPad home and play around with the different apps. She felt this was a good chance to test out an iPad as she had never used one in a classroom setting before, especially not with her students. We decided we were going to co-teach and have students create different presentations using the information they had learned while researching their topic. The students were going to choose how they were going to demonstrate their learning, whether it be by creating a movie, ebook, podcast or some other type of presentation.

In Science 7, students were researching different Biomes located around the world. Students needed to create a map of the area covered by their chosen Biome, discuss some of the species native to the area and create a food web as well as a food chain. Students enjoyed learning more about the different Biomes. For the projects, students determined how they wanted to present their learning to the rest of the class. We showed the students a couple of examples from previous years, but unfortunately, this caused the students to move away from their own ideas and use the same or similar formats from the examples to create their project. I find this common when giving students choice, but showing them examples of other projects. Students are less likely to take risks and more likely to copy the format of one of the other projects that have been deemed successful. Most students choose to use Explain Everything to complete the project. Another skill, our students will continue to work on when creating presentations, is not using too much text. Often in their presentations, they will type out a paragraph on their slides and then proceed to read every word while presenting. This is not an effective presentation and we will continue to work on this skill.


Here are a couple of examples of presentations created by our students:

Accessibility Features on my iDevices

Using the accessibility features on my iDevice to complete assignments for my Masters course.

When I started this term I decided I wanted to use my iPhone to listen to papers using the text-to-speech feature in iOS. I did this by downloading the PDF version of the document, then uploading it to my Dropbox. On my phone, I then opened the PDF in iBooks and used the VoiceOver feature to listen to the document. This allowed me to listen to the papers while driving to and from school. This worked well for getting a general understanding of the topic, but did not allow for solid comprehension. The computer-generated speech was distracting to say the least, and hearing all of the citations also became annoying.

Next, I attempted to read the articles on my iPad using the highlighting features to mark important information that I could come back and reference as needed. Again, I had difficulties focusing while reading the papers on my iPad. The sound and banner notifications drew my attention away from my readings into emails, tweets and messages. These were difficult to ignore and I often found myself losing track, needing to reread sections in the paper. I ended up having more success when I printed off the document and highlighting using a marker.

Finally, I decided to use the voice to text feature to "write" this reflection. I have used dictation software before, with minimal success. Dictation is a skill, very different from writing. Needing to communicate punctuation can be difficult and cause you to lose your train of thought. Seeing the words appear, often incorrectly, was very distracting. I constantly wanted to stop and edit my piece of "writing." I found more success by not looking at the screen and dictating my ideas down and then going back and editing as needed later on.

These processes made me reflect on my current position as a Learning Support teacher at our school. We often use assistive technology as an adaptation to allow struggling students to be successful in their classes. Too often we have the students these tools with little to no training. Our district decided to purchase a district license for Dragon Speak, hoping that it would replace Educational Assistants as scribes for high school students during their Provincial exams. We did not have a lot of success with this process as the training piece was left out. The staff and then the students were given this piece of software without training them on how to use it. The students who had the best success with this program practiced using it for personal use first and then started using it in the classroom. As with most skills, practice allows the user to become more proficient.

I feel these tools, with the right training, could allow students to be more independent. Especially the students who struggle with reading and/or getting their ideas down on paper.

Text-to-Speech Feature

Speak Screen Feature

December 12th, Project update

This week started with a bit of a set back in our project. Mrs. McAstocker, our Science and Social Studies classroom teacher took on the role as acting Vice-Principal. This meant we needed to fill her teaching position. Her replacement, an excellent teacher, does not have any experience using iPads in the classroom. So now we are back in the training stage, while students continue to work on their body systems and biomes projects. Our students are starting to become proficient in using some of the apps, especially Explain Everything, to demonstrate their understanding. The new teacher is taking this opportunity to learn from her student how to use the iPads and apps. During the winter break, the new teacher plans on taking a device home to play with and learn how to use it while thinking of different ways to use it with her class.

We have noticed these devices have allowed our students who struggle completing written assignments to demonstrate their learning and are more willing. We have the keyboards available to the students, but they have been rarely used as the students are finding the on screen keyboard to be sufficient for their needs.

App choice

After some research, discussion, and some simple trial we have come up with a suite of apps to use with our students. We decided, we wanted apps which the students could use to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. Many of these apps, allow the students to either save their project to the camera roll on the iPad or by using a cloud based storage solution. Unfortunately because of FOIPPA, we must get written consent from parents to use storage options hosted outside of Canada. We have sent forms home and with most returned with full permission granted. We decided to choose GAFE (Google apps for education), as this allows the students to use email, blogs, and store their assignments, while collaborating with their classmates. The best part about GAFE is it is free. We purchased a web domain, and this allowed us to have personalized accounts for our school. After playing around with the admin account for a short period of time, we were able to create accounts for all 210 students participating in the project. Each student now has their own email address, blog and Google Drive account with 15 gb of storage. Here is a screenshot of our front page on each iPad.

Dropbox - many staff members have accounts which are linked to a school account. This will be where teachers can share their assignments and rubrics with the students. 

Docs - this is an app that will allow students to create a Google doc and share with partners or classmates and the teacher. They will use their GAFE accounts to login. 

Google Drive - this Will allow students to save their assignments to the cloud and then access them to complete the project at a later date. One issue we that potentially could happen with shared devices is students deleting other students projects. We wanted to prevent this from happening by giving the studio another way to save their project. 

I-nigma - this is the QR code reader that we chose, as it is quick and easy to use. Teachers will be able to create QR codes, which will give students easy and fast access to websites they would like to share. 

Notability - this app will allow students to hand write notes, type notes, as well as annotate PDFs and other documents.

Pic collage - this app will allow students to create posters. 

Popplet - this app will allow students to create webs and my maps to help organize their projects and ideas.

Stop motion - this app will allow students to create stop motion videos. We had lots of success using this app to create claymation movies.

Tellegami - this app allows students to have an avatar read or speak their typed out or recorded ideas. 

Book creator - this will allow students to create e-books. They can add pictures and videos to explain the written content in their book.

Doodle buddy - this app allows students to draw pictures. 

Explain everything - this app allows students create screencasts. It is a very versatile and can be used to annotate documents and videos while recording their voices. You can also be used to create presentations.

Green screen - using a green background students can place themselves and record video of them located anywhere they want. Students enjoyed pretty newscasts, while having their background being the moon or another crazy location. 

Stick around - this app allows students to create puzzles and share them with their classmates for them to solve. This works well when creating diagrams to label. 

iMovie - this app allows students to create and edit videos. Students enjoyed using the trailer function in iMovie. 

We will post as students create examples with each app.