Involving students in 1:1 planning

~ There’s a need for more student involvement in 1:1 planning.

This was one of key points I learned when I attended the Iowa 1:1 conference this spring – and during this past month I’ve had an opportunity to work directly on this task.

About a month ago, our school district announced that we would begin exploring a 1:1 iPad deployment specific to students enrolled in Chinese courses.  It’s a relatively small pilot, involving just under 100 students (more info at: http://wp.me/p1JF02-Bt).  But nonetheless, it’s our  first exploration into 1:1 technology deployment of any type and it was an opportunity to practice the details of John Nash’s (twitter: @jnash) session entitled , “How to include students as co-designers in your 1:1 program“.  (more details at: http://wp.me/s1JF02-i11i)

Although Nash’s session was based on individual student interviews, I needed to make some changes due to time restrictions.  After we announced the pilot project to staff, I set out to visit with each of the Chinese classes.  I wanted to get a better understanding of our students who are enrolled in Chinese, why they chose this language, and questions/concerns they might have about the project. Instead of individual student interviews, I interviewed them as a class, but yet allowed each student to respond individually via their cell phones (via polleverywhere.com, a web site that allows students to submit information via text).   Although the exact questions and discussions varied between each class, here’s the list of the primary questions we focused on – and how the students responded.

1. What grade level did you start in WDM schools? (for example, if you’ve lived here your whole life, you started in kindergarten. Or perhaps you moved here more recently)

Student responses:  About 35% of the students have lived in West Des Moines their whole life, the rest moved into West Des Moines at various elementary grades thru 9th grade.  In fact, the 2nd most common cluster was students who moved/transferred to West Des Moines Schools at 9th grade.

2. Why did you pick Chinese?
Answers ranged from….

“Because my parent made me”

“Because it is unique and it will set my college application apart from the rest”

“Because I love the Chinese language and the culture.”

“Everyone else takes Spanish – I wanted to be unique.”

“Because I have (or are planning) to visit China”

“I took Chinese because I needed to challenge myself”

3. What are your future aspirations?  What are plans for after high school?

Answers varied widely…. but as you would expect, most were college bound, including majors in…

Neurologist

World Language / Global Studies

History

Chinese / Foreign Relations

Veterinarian

mechanical Engineering

Of course, several undecided (as you expect from the younger students), along with those not so serious folks, including “I will go to college to become a my life long dream of being a Wal-Mart greeter”

4. What technology do you currently use in Chinese?

Listening Chinese DVD

Basic Microsoft Office for projects, etc

Google Translate

We produce short videos demonstrating our language skills

5. How might the iPad help you with learning?

It will allow us to practice more because it is more portable than a computer

With all the apps available, it will be easier to learn/look up characters.

Interactive apps to help me practice.

I would like to see us FaceTime or Skype with other students learning Chinese!!

It will help with video pronunciation recordings.. it will be easier to do recordings and allow to do them more often.

Having a chinese character dictionary would be awesome!

7. How would you prove the projects success?
If you were in charge of proving the projects success to others, what information, data, and facts would you collect to prove the success of the project?

Pre and Post Tests

Fluency tests

Grades

How could we measure cultural awareness?

More participation in class, and ability for the class to advance faster

8. Questions?
What questions, concerns, or scenarios do you have questions about related to piloting iPads?  Here’s the most frequent questions/concerns from students…………….

1. What if it gets lost or stolen? What would happen if the ipad would break? Would there be insurance? or do we pay the fee?
2. What  would we have to pay for?
3. What would we specifically do on the ipad?
4. What would the app and internet restrictions be? what safeguards are there?
5. Could it be used for an edmodo type thing?
6. Would it be used for just Chinese? Could we use it for other classes?
7. Who would be paying for the apps?
8. What if we don’t want to use the iPad? Could we opt out of using them?
9. What if some people don’t have internet at home and they can’t fully use the iPad to its potential?
10. Would we all have to have our own apple accounts? how would we get apps? can we not take it home or just leave it in class?
11. Don’t trust freshmen before drop date. Freshman need to earn them.
12. Honestly, why iPads as opposed to other mediums?
13. How will the school guarantee that the iPad will last?
14. How will the act of stealing be handled?
15. Suggestion: contracts to guarantee ipad safety.
16. Suggestion: graduated system where students earn the right to take them home and use them for other classes
17. Would we be able to take our dialogues from the cd and record them to be put on the ipad?
18. Do we get to keep them when we graduate?
19. Are there things that arent allowed to be used with the ipad?
20. How are we going to handle personal data and buying things for it like cases, etc?
21. Will the school put restrictions on it (ie facebook)?
22. Would it be illegal to use “personal” music on the ipad, even though it isn’t technically ours to put on it (riaa related technicalities)
23. Can teachers take it away from us if we’re using it in class?
24. How much memory will be provided with the ipads?
25. Will they be monitored?
26. Will we be able to have the iPads over the summer?
27. Will we have to provide our own cases for them?
28. Can we download whatever we want?
29. Will our ipads have privacy? will they be monitored?
30. Can we personalize our settings?
31. Can we jailbreak them?
32. Will we have Chinese textbooks online?
33. How often do we have to check the iPad back in to ensure that we still have it?
34. Is this a pilot program that has a possibility of expansion to other classes?
35. What if this idea gets so popular that everyone wants to take Chinese and we run out of ipads for everyone?
36. What if my dog eats it?

As you can tell by some of the questions, NOT all students were excited to hear about the iPad deploy. Of course, the clear majority of every class was excited and ready to move forward.  However, each class (5 total classes were interviewed) had at least one or two individuals who were still hesitant for any number of reasons including:  not wanting the responsibility of handling the device outside the classroom, worried that it wouldn’t make a difference and/or might become a distraction.  These concerns are legitimate – and it was extremely helpful for me to hear these concerns up front, as it will be a tremendous help to us as we begin planning the project.

What’s on my iPad: featuring preschool teacher Anna Brown

Phenix Early Childhood Center Preschool teacher, Anna Brown working with students.

What are your top 3 apps used in your classroom?

Magnetic Alphabet

I use this app differently for each student, some use it to find/learn the letters in their name.  I can also make a model of their name and then they can recreate it under the model.  We also use it to “mix and fix” the letters in a students name by scrambling the letters and then having the students put them back in order.  I purchased some of the additional pieces of the app and I have a few students who now use the picture magnets to create a story and then add letters to write the words. I keep the iPads out in the room for students to choose during our hour of self selected play each day.  There is one app open and it is the only choice that day.  I move them to different locations in the room depending on what app I want students to be using.  The Magnetic Alphabet is usually on at the writing center.  I also use this app with small groups of students to work on specific skills according to need.

My Story

We just started to use this app in our classroom as the preschoolers have become more interested in writing stories.  Students draw a story and then and adult assists them in adding the words.  The story can then be added to the book shelf in iBooks and we can read it to the class or share with parents at conferences.  I can also record the student’s voice telling the story so that peers and parents can listen to it as well.  I have used this with a couple of interested students so far as their choice at the writing center.  I’m also working on a project involving the whole class, where each child will do a page of a book.

EDM Monster Squeeze 

We start by playing as a whole class using the number cards and the monsters, and then move to where they can play in partners on the iPad, which gets them more practice. By the end of the year it was an independent small group activity they could do while I worked with a different small group of students.

If we asked the students in your class – what would they say are their top 3 favorite apps they use in your classroom?

1. Anything involving memory matching (shapes, numbers, letters, animals, etc.)

2. Gingerbread Fun… make, bake, and decorate your own gingerbread man!

3. Music Sparkle- who doesn’t want to play a drum set now and then!!

How many iPads do you have in your classroom?
I have four iPads.

You have more kids in your classroom than you have iPads, how do you possibly make that work? 
My kids love to share, so I often have three playing together at the same time.   I have so many other things going on in the room every day; some don’t really ever use them unless I have them for small groups.  I usually try to put a 15 minute time limit on them, just to limit the screen time at this age.

Interesting..   You mentioned sharing and multiple students using the iPads, but I’ve heard that getting students to “share” an iPad is really hard, especially with Pre-K thru 2^nd grade.  Tell us more about how and why you do this…
Preschoolers can do it!!  All of our students need to learn to share… adults too!!  Especially when playing games, iPad or otherwise, we have to teach students their roles as partners.  We play a mystery counting game where one student tips up the iPad so the partner across the table can’t see it and then  on an instrument app they play a number of notes that their partner has to count.  Then they switch jobs.  Same with the memory matching games… we expect them to take turns when playing memory with cards on a table, why wouldn’t we with an iPad too?  The iPads are like all things in our classrooms, they have to come with directions for how to use them and how to share them.  We talk extensively about how to put the iPad between two students so both can see, how working together and taking turns helps everyone in our class learn.  If sharing and everyone learning together is part of your classroom culture, your students will rise to the occasion.

What advice would you give to other teachers about managing the iPads in your classroom?
I worry most about germs!  I take them home every night and wipe them down with the cloth.  I charge on the weekends (again at home).  The kids are very careful with them and we have made rules about keeping them at a table, not on the floor.

How much money have you spent on apps so far?  Do you find that this takes a lot of time?  Any tips/suggestions on where you search for apps.
Anything I have purchased I self funded, I have not depleted a $20 iTunes gift card yet.  There are so many free apps, I usually find a free one I like and look for more from the same creator/publisher.

What has been some of the challenges with iPads….
My biggest challenge is time, finding the time to keep up with the updates, charging, and getting them read for students to use each day.  I wish I could use the videos I have taken with my iPad better.  I have better luck using a Flip, because I can get those files onto my H: drive and into my assessment portfolio program easier.  I believe this is a problem with the assessment program and not the iPad though!

Any examples you can provide for how the iPad is making a difference in your classroom?
The iPad are something my students are proud to use.  They feel like big kids when they get to use them.  After the newness wore off the first few weeks, they were saying things like, “Can I practice the ABCs on the iPad today?”  “Can we play the iPad together?  I want to be player one and she wants to be player 2.”  They were also very proud to show them off to visitors to our classroom.  “Look, we know how to use the iPads!  Can I show you?”