Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Ipads in schools

I have been fortunate enough to experience something that might have been absurd a few years ago, an Ipad classroom. Two schools in North County San Diego have implemented an Ipad program in their math and science classes. Oceanside High School has placed Ipads in the hands of their Physics and Chemistry classes while El Camino High School has done the same for math students. This step toward a classroom with out boarders has opened the door for a brand new way to apply education and authentic instructor for 21st century learners.

My entire Cohort of single subject teaching candidates was invited to see a demonstration of these tools and offered a glimpse of the possibilities. I was also able to observe Chemistry, Honors Chemistry, Physics and AP Physics during my teaching candidate assignment at Oceanside High School. I have seen a series of different instructors and their approach to Ipads.

Some of the highlights that i have already seen implemented by the team of instructors include:

-Students responsibility for learning
-Better organization for teachers and students
-Access to information via Internet and databases
-Instantaneous feedback and assessment of material
-Programs such as Evernote that will keep your notes "in the cloud"

To be more specific, with programs similar to Evernote, a student can take electronic note that will be saved online and can be accessed from anywhere. Throughout the students academic career these notes can be used up to and through higher education classes. Another key benefit to this program will be the instantaneous feedback and assessment. During instruction, quizzes, exams, and projects the teacher can see how each student is mastering the material through the teacher's "master Ipad". 

The only limitations to the application of computers, tablets, laptops etc will be the creativity of the programmers of such devices. Although the preparation of such a classroom will be taxing on the instructor to start off, there will be tenfold returns in student achievement.

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