Standard 3.6 - Selecting and Evaluating Digital Tools & Resources
Candidates collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate digital tools and resources for accuracy, suitability, and compatibility with the school technology infrastructure. (PSC 3.6/ISTE 3f)
Artifact - Emerging Technologies: iPads in Education
Reflection
I have used my Powerpoint presentation “Emerging technology: iPads in schools” to represent my understanding of selecting and evaluating digital tools and resources. Although a number of Atlanta schools have acquired sets of iPads for digital tools for student use in recent years, the level of use in the classrooms varies widely. In some schools, students use them to surf the Internet and read electronic books. However, in other schools the iPads sit on carts locked in a closet, because there hasn’t been a formal plan for either managing access or using them. At Centennial, we chose not to purchase iPads until we have a plan to use them in classrooms.
When district technology administrators advised our principal that we would be soon receiving thirty iPads, I took the opportunity to collaborate with teachers to select and evaluate digital tools. I worked with my colleagues who are already iPad users to develop a list of applications and likely uses for them, and I developed an asset management plan to ensure equitable and secure access to the iPads. Now, we are ready for iPads to allow 1:1 technology use in classrooms.
Creating this presentation gave me the opportunity to evaluate the use of iPads for accuracy, sustainability and compatibility. Since I creating this presentation last summer I have had the opportunity not only to write a grant application for additional funding to buy iPads, but also to use iPads in the media center to support student instruction. My personal use of an iPad over the past year has changed the way I read and conduct research as well as how I communicate with my colleagues. As I worked on my Capstone research, my iPad was critical in helping me understand how electronic books might be used by students. For my English language learning students, implementing use of the iPad in the media center smoothed communications through use of translation applications. My iPad lets me instantly communicate with parents and colleagues as I “tweet” photos and updates about classroom activities and events. It has even been used to record and transmit text to help students with learning disabilities commit their thoughts to paper, using the Dragon Dictation app.
The work that went into creating this presentation helped me glimpse the potential for tablets in the classroom. I was able to use resources from the presentation in my grant application. Because I have observed students excited about using the new devices, and I am convinced these will increase student engagement. I can assess the impact as I talk with parents and survey students about how they might use an iPad for school work, which contributes to how I allocate resources for buying library materials. Although at first I thought the iPad might be a fad, I have become a believer in the power and potential for tablets to transform classroom instruction.
This presentation will impact school improvement and student learning as we enter the technology planning process for 2014-15. Centennial Academy is planning on acquiring tablets, and iPads are one of the platforms being considered. The value of this presentation can be assessed by its effect on our selecting iPads over another tablet under consideration for student use.
I have used my Powerpoint presentation “Emerging technology: iPads in schools” to represent my understanding of selecting and evaluating digital tools and resources. Although a number of Atlanta schools have acquired sets of iPads for digital tools for student use in recent years, the level of use in the classrooms varies widely. In some schools, students use them to surf the Internet and read electronic books. However, in other schools the iPads sit on carts locked in a closet, because there hasn’t been a formal plan for either managing access or using them. At Centennial, we chose not to purchase iPads until we have a plan to use them in classrooms.
When district technology administrators advised our principal that we would be soon receiving thirty iPads, I took the opportunity to collaborate with teachers to select and evaluate digital tools. I worked with my colleagues who are already iPad users to develop a list of applications and likely uses for them, and I developed an asset management plan to ensure equitable and secure access to the iPads. Now, we are ready for iPads to allow 1:1 technology use in classrooms.
Creating this presentation gave me the opportunity to evaluate the use of iPads for accuracy, sustainability and compatibility. Since I creating this presentation last summer I have had the opportunity not only to write a grant application for additional funding to buy iPads, but also to use iPads in the media center to support student instruction. My personal use of an iPad over the past year has changed the way I read and conduct research as well as how I communicate with my colleagues. As I worked on my Capstone research, my iPad was critical in helping me understand how electronic books might be used by students. For my English language learning students, implementing use of the iPad in the media center smoothed communications through use of translation applications. My iPad lets me instantly communicate with parents and colleagues as I “tweet” photos and updates about classroom activities and events. It has even been used to record and transmit text to help students with learning disabilities commit their thoughts to paper, using the Dragon Dictation app.
The work that went into creating this presentation helped me glimpse the potential for tablets in the classroom. I was able to use resources from the presentation in my grant application. Because I have observed students excited about using the new devices, and I am convinced these will increase student engagement. I can assess the impact as I talk with parents and survey students about how they might use an iPad for school work, which contributes to how I allocate resources for buying library materials. Although at first I thought the iPad might be a fad, I have become a believer in the power and potential for tablets to transform classroom instruction.
This presentation will impact school improvement and student learning as we enter the technology planning process for 2014-15. Centennial Academy is planning on acquiring tablets, and iPads are one of the platforms being considered. The value of this presentation can be assessed by its effect on our selecting iPads over another tablet under consideration for student use.