Graphic Novels, In App Purchases and The Walking Dead

So I think I've figured this out, and it should be no problem but I had an issue today with some purchases and I wanted to share. 

One of the main uses for the iPads at Turning Point is as an eReader. The pads hold many more books than we can fit on our tiny bookshelf, they are current and shiny to our readers, and because we can share one iBooks account library among 10 (maybe more) iPads it is more cost-effective than buying a class set of books. 

However, that last bit of math only works if you can actually share your library. It took us a little while to figure out how to share the libary across a class set of pads, but I think we've done it. So wasn't I surprised when I stumbled upon a different way many companies are choosing to sell their eBooks. 

Now I should briefly explain - I've been a proponent of graphic novels in the classroom for some time. I think they're interesting for some reluctant readers, but also think that they're simply a new part of the canon that deserves to be discussed in a classroom much in the same way we study poetry, drama and the novel.

Knowing that, it is no great surprise that I investigated options for graphic novels. Now you can buy graphic novels at the iBooks store, and I did that first. But some of the most current material is published by more independent book sellers - companies like Dark Horse press, and IDW publishing - as well as comiclogix, the publisher of the eComic "The Walking Dead". Now these companies, for whatever reason, don't sell their books via the iBook store. Instead, they each develop their own app, or potentially, for a serial like The Walking Dead, they develop the series its own app - the Walking Dead app looks like this...

You download the app (no problem for us - download it to the account at iTunes and it pushes the app to the class set of apps) - and then you download the books inside the app, for a few dollars an issue (like a comic book) or a few more for a collected set (a volume). Originally I was worried about this because I wasn't sure how well I'd be able to share these books. Unlike iBooks the comiclogix app is a little more secure and passwords and accounts can be cumbersome at best. Nevertheless, so far it is working out well. I have successfully logged onto the same account on two different pads with no problems - the purchases volume was waiting for me when I opened the new pad. I will now try to install it on all of the pads. 

I will let you all know how it goes. Does anyone else have any experience with the in app purchase option presenting a problem to their classroom? Any benefits? 

Turning Point Blogs!

BLOGGING - Makes me feel like I'm on the Bridge of the Enterprise!

While it is much more nerdy and C21 I can't help but feel like a pirate radio privateer from 40 years ago. While this job is done with much more assistance (most bloggers don't codde - we don't even know how to spell it!) I still love the idea that like a pirate radio station what we create will be appreciated by our select audience, and that it could potentially help any number of people who happen by the blogs. I admit  it, I may be stretching it.

Nevertheless, Turning Point now have a couple of blogs! In addition to this one dedicated to the TLLP process, I mean. As of last week every assignment currently available for grade 11 and grade 12 college level English (ENG3C and ENG4C) can be accessed via our new English blog - TurningPointEnglish@blogspot.com. As many of our students are also working full time hours, an ability to access their assignments remotely is a major boon. Moreover, students can use the iPads (or the computers) to access their electronic assignments while at school - replacing the dated filing cabinet and photo copier methods.

The online format also provides a very user friendly platform for sharing assignments with other teachers. Keep in mind that Turning Point runs as part of the alternative education umbrella at the HWDSB. We are a ram-shackle crew of 30-40 dedicated teachers spread out over a dozen sites all trying to deliver every credit with some modicum of credit integrity, standardization, and differentiation. The blog platform can be accessed by anyone - and we are already making connections with other alt. ed. teachers out there who need resources and who have resources to share. Our teaching world is unique, but that doesn't mean that we all need to reinvent the wheel.

So I know we're slow learners, and I know that educators have been blogging since the early days - but I'm still proud of myself for learning another way to connect with my students. This isn't a game changer, and it isn't even really that tied-in with the iPads, but it's still development, still progress, and it needs to be celebrated and encouraged.

Check out our first curriculum blog TurningPointEnglish@blogspot.com and let us know what you think. Also keep checking for new subject specific blogs, we'll continue to work on it, but we're very open to suggestions/tips.

Early (Modest) Success

(Photo/Flickr Flickingerbrad) 

Well the fun has really begun at Turning Point. A few weeks ago we started encouraging students to use the class iPads using some of the new lessons/assignments we've developed. For the most part, the feedback has been positive. Everyone says they're 'neat' and they paw at them like groggy eyed kids on Christmas morning - and while they do get a little disappointed when they realize they aren't set up for gaming or social media-ing, no one has turned one down yet. 

For the most part students are using them as an updated library (books and videos) as well as a curriculum resource - completing assignments created in educreations, utilizing educational apps, and via the net on our new blogs (more to come on these soon). Which is pretty much what we had intended when pitching the project.

So far it's working out well. The library is more secure (they don't take them home the way they did books) but more interesting (newer titles, hook-y ebook format), it contains a much more streamlined media library (our computer population is pretty tired) and they don't complain when they get a new assignment (not right away, anyways).

We still are interested in what we can do with these in regards to assessment and student creation - we've asked them to explain their learning with an eductreation - but it's not perfected yet and we're still playing around with ways and means.

Ultimately the iPads do something that we expected but are still pleased with - the iPads make our students excited about being at school, maybe for the first time in a decade. These learners, our students, have, for whatever reason, not had success at some point in school. When they realize that they still have a chance to graduate with a meaningful diploma, they get excited. And when they learn that they also get to work with advanced, premium quality resources, they come back. It isn't a panacea by any accounts, but it doesn't hurt to remind students that learning should be interesting, even fun. The iPads will no doubt continue to be used in more innovative and enriching ways, but already they are helping our learners get the job done.