One iPad. 28 Students. Here's How to Make it Work

I was fortunate enough to work as a school library media specialist at a school where there were 60 iPads that teachers could checkout individually or in sets of 6 or even in a classroom set of 30.  While more and more schools are acquiring iPads for classroom use there are still many more schools who simply don't have the funds to purchase these magical devices.  So what is a teacher to do if there is only one iPad in the classroom? Is it worth it?

I know, some of you are saying, one iPad would be nice! Right now we have zero... Hang in there. Consider other sources such as PTA and educational grants. Some teachers even use their own personal iPads in the classroom (gasp!). Once you have an iPad in hand, evaluate the apps carefully. Explore educational apps on the iPad (many are free) and take time to play with them.  Consider how user friendly the app is and its educational value for your curriculum and your particular students. Here are a few tips to get you started:

VGA adapter

1. Whole group activities: Connect the iPad to your digital overhead projector or ActivBoard with a VGA adapter. These cost about $30. This converts your tiny screen into a large screen. Now everyone can easily see the iPad screen.

• Use navigation applications such as Google Earth and other maps apps to locate places as they apply to your curriculum. Estimate miles from your school to a specific destination and check it with the app using the "Get directions" feature. These apps are also great for building background knowledge for the setting of a story or understanding where specific historical events took place. 
•  Don't have a whiteboard? There is an app for that! Apps such as Whiteboard and Show Me can serve as a white board that the teacher or students can write on just as you would a traditional dry erase board. Try several different ones out (most are free) before you decide which one to use in the classroom. They all have a unique feel and you will likely find one that you like more than others. Several of these apps have a recording feature that will record your writing or drawing and your voice and play it back for you. 
• Skype! Use the Skype app (also free) or Face Time (free from iPad to iPad or iPhone) to connect with another class in another state or part of the world or host your own virtual author visit by Skyping an author. You can read more about using Skype in the Classroom and see a video of how I've used it with 2nd graders.

2. Small group / Centers:  Set up the iPad as a center activity or Learning Station. Communicate high expectations for appropriate use and care of the iPad and take away the privilege if it is abused. You will likely find that your students enjoy using the iPad enough to meet or exceed your expectations.

• Read an e-book together as a class to demonstrate first, then set it up for use as a small group activity or even as an incentive for individuals to reward good behavior. Many e-books are free and run off of various free apps including the Kindle app (my favorite). The highlight and margin notes features work great for taking and sharing notes as you read. Sometimes the most reluctant readers will be the first to volunteer to read an e-book simply because they are attracted to the technology. There are even wonderful e-books for beginning readers. Check out the app I Like Books, which has 37 nonfiction colorful easy readers your kindergartners and first graders will love.
• Set up the iPad as a small group activity for researching the solar system using NASA's excellent educational apps as a starting place. 
• Use the camera and video camera on the iPad to document events in your classroom. Set up a classroom blog (there are apps for that!) and assign students to be responsible for updating the blog each week. Be sure to share the blog link with parents and even other classrooms so they can see all the great learning going on in your classroom. 
• Set up the iPad as a center activity for literature response, creative writing, or to share information learned from a research project. Use creative apps that allow students to create a story while recording their own voice. Students will be actively engaged in the writing task just by having a new purpose and new tools with which to write. Suggested apps: Puppet Pals HD, Sock Puppets, Show Me, and Toontastic.
  

3. Classroom Management: Incorporate the iPad into your classroom management tool box for smoother transitions and increased student interest.

• Use a timer app to display a countdown clock on the big screen. Most timer apps are free and you can choose from several fun sounds instead of a buzzer. When students can see exactly how much time they have left for a task, they are more likely to better manage their own time. 
• Use the iPad as an incentive for good behavior by rewarding students with time to use the iPad as individuals or in pairs. Select specific educational apps for students to explore and create a folder for them on the iPad so students will be certain of their perimeters for exploration time.
• Explore apps made especially for classroom management to assist with record keeping, grading, anecdotal notes and class calendar. Use clock and calendar apps to set reminders about when small groups leave the classroom for pull-outs such as speech or tutoring or for grade level events such as assemblies. 

Chances are your students know a bit more about iPads than their teachers. Include them in the discussion. Ask them to share educational apps that they find and use at home. Ask them how we could use the iPad to support learning in the classroom. You might be surprised at their resourcefulness! 

Keeper of Books?

This is what a 21st century school library looks like. Check it out! 

When asked what I do, my reply is usually, "I'm a school media specialist." Then I wait. I know it's coming. Assumptions: "Oh, you're a librarian. You check out books." That's about the time I bite my tongue, smile, take a deep breath and try to explain what it is that we media specialists really do and why it is, in fact, the best job in the school.

The role of the media specialist in the 21st century has changed drastically in just the past 10 years. Hey, it's changed drastically in just the past 2 years! As technology continues to change at lightening speeds, the role of media specialist evolves and changes continually too. Long gone are the days as the keeper of the books. Much of the role of a media specialist today revolves around technology and staying current on all the latest, ever changing resources that are becoming increasingly available to the entire learning community. The 21st century media specialist has the unique role of bringing the vast array of resources (both print and digital) to teachers and students while equipping them with the training and skills needed to be effective and responsible users and sharers of information. Even with all the changes in school library media, one thing remains constant: the challenge and joy of fostering in students (and adults!) a genuine love of reading. The wise school library media specialist meets students where they are by using digital media, Web 2.0, and other new technologies to spark student interest in the old fashioned art of reading a book. 

Last spring I had the opportunity to observe Andy Plemmons, Media Specialist Extraordinare, at Barrow Elementary School in Athens, GA. Mr. Plemmons blends information literacy, new technologies and a love for reading into his media lessons in a way that sparks students' interest and makes learning fun. You can almost feel the excitement these students have about learning in Mr. Plemmon's monthly media center report. Check it out!

School Librarians as Common Core Partner

Teacher of year advocates for school librarians as Common Core Partner

With the implementation of Common Core curriculum, now more than ever, school librarians are a vital partner for the school learning community. Despite this growing need for the expertise of school librarians across our nation's schools, a growing trend in today's dismal economy is the elimination of school library media specialist positions due to budget constraints. Unfortunately, outdated stereotypes of school librarians as merely a 'keeper of books' has shaped the misconception that schools will get along just fine without them. To those who reason their school budget can't afford to keep a school librarian, consider this: How can you afford not to?

The ever changing digital age in which we live and teach requires our students to not only be proficient in using the latest technology but in being masters of transliteracy  in which students are expected to merge how they read and respond to what they get from traditional literacies with how they interact with new and emerging literacies such as digital media and Web 2.0. In an age where anyone can publish anything online with the click of a button, the 21st century learner must be able to use current technology and print resources to interpret information effectively, evaluate information sources critically and share information responsibility.  How can we expect teachers to teach these skills without access to their very best resource and Common Core partner, the school librarian? Better yet, how can we expect students who don't have access to this valuable resource to compete with students from other schools who do?

In light of this growing need for advocacy, I'd like to offer a big shout-out to Kentucky Teacher of the Year, Kimberly Shearer, who advocates for school librarians as Common Core Partner. She states in the July 2012 issue of Kentucky Teacher digital newsletter that, "school librarians have the resources, training and knowledge to help us make those meaningful connections between the Common Core Standards and our students’ interests and lives." Shearer goes on to list reasons why teachers and students need school librarians "now more than ever." Amen, sister!

Exploring Resources

Helping students become more familiar with different resources is a lesson that reappears again and again in any effective media program. In fact, it is probably woven into more media lessons through practical application than any other topic over the course of a year. Knowing what information is needed and where to find it are life skills that are vital for any 21st century learner. But for many elementary aged students, understanding the different sources and what kinds of information they hold can be confusing.

To help students gain a better grasp on the similarities and differences of information resources such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlas, almanac, and thesaurus I created stations around the media center for exploration of these sources. I adapted this lesson as needed for grades 2-5 and was pleased at how much the students seemed to get out of the hands-on exploration. At each station I had multiple copies or examples of the resource (ie: various encyclopedias at the encyclopedia station, a piece of colored chart paper, small strips of paper and markers). Students were given about 5-10 minutes to explore the resources at their station. Then they were asked to write on the white strip of paper what they noticed about that resource. These were pasted to the chart paper and posted in the Media Center. (With some classes, depending on the availability of the iPads, students used the drawing app to write what they noticed about each resource instead of using the chart paper. We then took a picture of the "digital quilts" we made by placing all of our iPads together in collage form.)

We then broke each resource down for a closer look in lessons that followed and also took a look at other digital resources including the internet and online school library catalog. I have been amazed at how often students have referred back to the resource charts throughout the remainder of the school year. They have even added to the charts as they have discovered more details about each resource.

Knowing How to Read is Not Enough

Thanks, Carmen! I couldn't have said it better myself! The demands of today's society require students to not only be skilled at reading and comprehension but to also be confident gatherers of information who can evaluate, analyze, synthesize, apply and share that information in authentic ways. This learning magic happens when teachers and media specialists collaborate to provide meaningful lessons that naturally blend content area curriculum with information literacy skills.

Power in Access to Information

Egyptians Find Their Power in Access to Information | American Libraries Magazine

Current events often lend themselves naturally to teachable moments with clear curriculum connections. Check out this article about the role information and technology played in the revolution in Egypt. This article would be an excellent discussion starter about the importance to a society of available, free and unbiased information.