Class 2 Reflections

I really enjoyed the set-up of our 2nd class, and was reminded about how students in my own classroom want to learn: they want to do - they need us to engage them.  My own learning style - one that might be presumed to differ greatly from my young students - requires interactive, ongoing, independent, technology-rich, problem-based learning.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to reflect upon the first class in the 'fluidsurvey', and I would like to adapt this starter for use in my own classroom - perhaps using  that website, or another means of technology - like my Moodle site.  I appreciated the opportunity to reflect upon what we had discussed the week before, and the fact that we were encouraged to access information if we needed to made it even better!  Students would have the opportunity to self-assess what they know, and could access the information again to reinforce or remind them of what they are required to know.

In viewing the accessibility options on the iPad, I was reminded once again of what a powerful tool the device is.  Those options, coupled with the thousands of Apps that can help all students (people) make my wish for 1:1 ratio of,iPads:students even stronger.  With that wish, comes the reminder that social justice issues  play a  role here as well, as acknowledged in the class discussion and chat box.  How do we create more equitable distribution of this important technology?  How do we ensure access for all?  I had a parent/colleague recently state that her children both have iPads, and she would happily send them to school - BYOD.  She also indicated that those that couldn't afford the device could have it provided by the school/board.  This is a  great solution - but does it solve the equity issue, or create a different divide?  Regardless of these issues, I value this tool immensely, and am excited about the implications in my own classroom.

In my class, I had some students play with the iPads while their classmates finished an assignment.   I wanted them to explore the App "Educreations", and I asked them to find the best video to demonstrate the use of a spring scale for measuring force.  These students were on task, engaged in the activity, and learned how to use the App and how to use a spring scale - all independently.  One  of the students is a young girl who struggles in school.  She is on an IPP for Math, and will likely end up on one for ELA as well.  This student also completed  the task independently - with an extra one-on-one explanation of the task - and she had tremendous success with the Educreations App.  I am committed to getting the few iPads we have (all teachers/EAs have one, and 7 remain in a cart for sign-out) into my classroom more frequently so we can explore more Apps that might assist my students in accessing information and representing their learning as we wrap up our year together.