To be honest, I am experiencing a little difficulty simply getting some students to use the iPads! I know - it's strange. I assumed I'd need to entice students off of them to allow others to use them, but rarely do we have more than 4-6 out at one time. I think there are a few reasons for this.
For one, the iPads (and all of the technology we're using this year) is a pretty large step from where we were last year. For some context, Turning Point is an alternative program designed to help early leavers graduate - we employ self-paced learning and are very flexible, allowing students to complete assignments around their job/family commitments. A common question is "do you use booklets"? - these are a staple of the self-paced educator as they allow students to come and go and provide a unified platform for credit delivery. Our students don't necessarily like them, but they know them (most have been in alternative education programs for some time) - and I think it is this familiarity that is keeping them from embracing the tablets completely.
Other reasons why students may not be embracing the tablets right away likely has to do with their inability to take them home (they'd rather start an assignment that they can take home) or they are not confident generating their work on the tablets (they'd rather use paper or the desktops - again, it's a known technology). I will deal with how we are hoping to tackle these dilemmas in later posts.
Also, in an effort to help expedite this slow uptake we are working to put more and more high-interest content on the iPads as well as assuring that each course has enough assignments to work on with the iPads. A "The Walking Dead" assignment using the first volume of the e-graphic novel was just added to the senior English courses and it has been very popular!
Hopefully, with time, these devices will become part of our school environment, like the pencil sharpener and the desktop computer.
Any tips on changing a culture?
