Everyone Has to Start Somewhere: Part I

It's all about personal style. Do you stick your toe in to test the water? Do you dangle your feet in, acclimating yourself to the temperature? Do you cannonball? 

I grew up diving off a dock into a cow pond filled with muddy water. This pretty clearly describes how I integrated iPads into my classroom. Head first, no lifejacket.  

There's no wrong way to get started. In fact, this was the right way for me. Everyone has to start somewhere. It's all about personal style. Because I dove in, I learned a lot of things the hard, messy way. I'm passing on my cow pies of wisdom to you.

Rule Number 1: Ask the question, "Do we have the network infrastructure to support this?" I'm serious. Ask the question. Ask the question until everyone is mad at you. Ask the question again. Have a professional answer the question for you. If you don't have the network infrastructure you will be pulling your hair out because the iPads won't connect. We had Ovation Networks improve our infrastructure over a couple years, one step at a time. If you are looking for a great company to work with, I HIGHLY recommend them. 

Rule Number 2: TAKE THE iPADS OFF THE CART! 

There's two ways to get tech started in your school.  Give one teacher all of it and let her lead with her taillights.  Choose someone that has interest, motivation, and the ability/time to share what she has learned. OR, split the tech equally among the teachers to keep in their classrooms. This will help the staff get comfortable and gain confidence in their ability to handle the technology. 

When you put iPads on a cart, you take them out of the hands of the kids. An iPad that is readily available to a student in the classroom becomes a tool. Even if it is only one, two, three iPads, they still can be used for creation. Apps have improved so much over the last few years that now you can save work and come back to it. That didn't used to be the case. Students can work on projects as a class or individually. Teachers can choose apps that work best for their classroom and storage is less of an issue. 

An iPad that is checked out for an hour once a week is a gaming device. There's not a lot that can be accomplished in an hour once a week. Students might not be allowed to save work for a variety of reasons. Students need the ability to research, plan, troubleshoot, collaborate, create, reevaluate, revise, and present. Can they do that in an hour? Doubt it. I could go on and on about this, but will quit while I'm ahead.

Rule Number 3: Be choosy with your apps. I made a lot of mistakes when I started app shopping. The problem was I didn't know what I was looking for. I started by looking for apps that my students would think were fun and were practicing skills. But as we started using the iPads and I was walking around the room I recognized that my students were very engaged...but engaged in the tech...not one another.  FAIL.  I started to dig deeper and realized that I wanted my students to use the tech to show me what they knew and collaborate with one another. I looked into more presentation apps and over the years have compiled a list of these great apps.

Shadow Puppet (slideshow with link) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shadow-puppet/id700902833?mt=8

Skitch (annotate a picture) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skitch-snap.-mark-up.-share./id425955336?mt=12

Educreations (record whiteboard) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/educreations-interactive-whiteboard/id478617061?mt=8

Toontastic* (story)  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toontastic/id404693282?mt=8

Chatterpix* (talking pictures) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chatterpix-kids-by-duck-duck/id734046126?mt=8

iMovie (use video, photos or work saved from other apps)

Pic Collage* https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pic-collage-add-photo-video/id448639966?mt=8

Prezi: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/prezi/id407759942?mt=8 or http://prezi.com

And they are all FREE.

Rule Number 4: Download Smart.
We are lucky to have a technology leader that did a lot of research and self-educating about the right way to supervise and purchase the technology. I am not an expert in this area. However, I do know enough to advise you to look into Apple Configurator and the Volume Purchase Program for Education. This website will get you started.  http://www.apple.com/education/it/vpp/  If you need more advice in this area, post your question in the comments and I should be able to get you an answer.

I am working with a school that will soon be implementing iPads into each classroom.  The teachers listed things they would like to learn more about.  I have created a folder of the links and documents that might be helpful to those of you just getting started. After all, you have to start somewhere. goo.gl/tY7WI8

Swim on,

Mindy

#leadwithtaillights

#proveemwrong

#indeed