Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Post-workshop Thoughts -- iPad Workshop -- EdTechTeacher.org -- Hauser Hall/Harvard -- July 8-10, 2013


So, dear reader, it’s been a week since I left the iPad Workshop organized and sponsored by EdTechTeacher.org and held in Hauser Hall on the campus of Harvard University.  It seems that a few words of reflection might be in order.
First, I tip my hat (figuratively, of course) to the two EdTechTeacher trainers that were running the workshop:  Samantha Morra and Carl Hooker    
For three days I sat in awe of Sam’s total command of all the things she talked and demo’d, along with her highly professional style whenever she was “up there in front” while always maintaining her extremely supportive, non-egotistical, mega-friendly personality.  Carl also had a “command of the facts” and was a very supportive presence always there to help out the 30 or so of us in the room.
Great as the in-class experience was, the question I need to revisit is the one I posed in my post prior to the start of the workshop:  What specific methodologies, techniques, skills brought to students, and apps did I learn about and experience during these three days spent in Cambridge?  What makes a tablet a “killer device” that transforms – or at least enhances – student learning?
Were I forced to answers those question, I’d have to voice a (to me) surprising degree of uncertainty as to the answers.  To cut to the chase, my conclusion, so far, is that a tablet is a very cool piece of hardware – and there is an amazing and impressive wealth of apps available for them – but it is not a game-changer.
Do I love the fact that these tablets are instant on/off?  Yes.  Do I love how light and portable they are?  Absolutely.  Do I enjoy the ways you access and manipulate the screen (swiping, tapping, drawing with a finger or stylus)?  You bet.  Do I think kids would love using these things?  Totally.  Do I find that a tablet can make it easier for people to collaborate?  Yup.
Did the workshop teach me how kids, by using a tablet can perform research projects in ways that are superior to a laptop?  Well, yes, in some ways.  A built-in camera can grab a shot or video of my frog dissection to which I can add an audio narration and then submit to my teacher.  I don’t think a traditional on-paper lab report comes close to showing my teacher how much I know about frog physiology let alone how to properly perform a dissection.  And a laptop often has a camera these days but is not nearly as portable and easy to manipulate as a tablet.  Tablet is way superior to a laptop if multimedia, in-class experiences (and off-campus -- documenting finding my frog in a nearby swamp) need to be captured.
But what about producing a major research and writing assignment about 19th century United States presidents?  Or completing my short story for English?
The goal I keep repeating to my students when it comes to “data entry” to their computer is that I challenge them to be able to type in their ideas as fast as they can think.  This may be possible with a tablet’s on-screen keyboard but I have not seen empirical evidence that this is possible.
In the type of school where I teach, there is enough emphasis on writing and large-scale research projects, for example, that I’m unable to totally buy a tablet is the answer.
If kids could have two devices – a tablet and a laptop – that would be ideal.  Probably 4-5 years from now people may take it for granted to have both devices at hand or the hardware may morph into devices that are as light and easy to use as tablets but make it possible for the productivity efficiencies that are more native with today’s laptop.  Nothing stays still with technology.  Change is the way it’s always going to be.  It will be fascinating to see how this all plays out.
To get back to the workshop, it was absolutely a valuable experience for me.  The breadth of available apps that have to potential for big payoffs in the classroom and curriculum was amazing.  In fact, much of our time was spent on exploring these apps which was rewarding.  I’ve got many hours left of exploring them yet left to do.  Just look again at that table I included on Day 1.  What an impressive list!!
But I also have a lot of reflecting to do about keeping the focus on student learning and curricular development and improvement.

But that’s what’s so fun about this line of work:  there’s never a dull moment!!!
P.S.  If anyone actually reads this and can help me broaden my perceptions and learn ways I have not yet discovered about the advantages/capabilities of tablets in the classroom, please let me know.  I am absolutely, positively a life-long learner!!

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