How useful is the iPad?

I was given an iPad to explore for a week. Hand held learning (HHL) is becoming a lot more common in Primary Schools around Scotland. HHL can involve many devices e,g idevices, intendo DS, flip cameras and voting systems. The idea that these devices can improve children's education is still controversal with many teachers new to the concept. However, it has been proven that they can improve education in a variety of ways, as Faux; McFarlane; Roche; Facer (2006) states "Handheld technologies have yet to be embedded within the wider school system but results from projects so far indicate that student concentration and confidence blossom, and it seems the use of handheld devices can result in improved ICT skills, increased home/school links and better social interactions."

During the week I was given the chance to explore some of the different apps on the iPad. Alot of the apps available have a very educational aspect even though some of them Were not initially designed for it. One of the apps, that I felt was useful was the "bump" app. The app allows you to share information across different devices. This app is very useful for collaboration. It makes sharing information and different ideas across the group very easy.This type of activity in the classroom is very common, it is a great way for children to help each other, develop their own skills and practise collaborating and co-operating which many will have to do in later life. CfE shows just how vital learning to collaborate is;

"While working and learning with others, I improve my range of skills, demonstrate tactics and achieve identified goals." HWB 2-23a

The app "sticky" works well along side this because it means children can write ideas on a post it note and then, literally, slide their post it notes of to the main device in the middle. This activity can be done in many curricular areas to share ideas, opinions or work they have completed. it can be used to share research on the Vikings for example or to come up with arguments for a debate in class. This is a very versatile app and these two apps were the ones that I felt I could use most often in the primary school.

However, other apps that can be useful are things like "angry birds" which will also help them develop their math skills, for example; angles and helps them begin to understand the concept of speed. A Curriculum for Excellence outcome that fits well with the app is;

Through practical activities which include the use of technology, I have developed my understanding of the link between compass points and angles and can describe, follow and record directions, routes and journeys using appropriate vocabulary. MTH 2-17c

Even though there are a huge variety of educational apps, these three are apps that I feel I would use in primary school now. These apps are enjoyable and that many of the children will play just for home, however, they also have clear educational value as well.

Faux,F; McFarlane,A; Roche,N; Facer,K (2006) Handhelds learning with handheld technologies Bristol: Future Lab (page 3)

This week we finally edited our movie for healthy living. We had completed the filming and voice overs, and just had to edit it all together. Sounds simply enough but thanks to a number of factors we had to edit our movie three times before it eventually worked. We had a lot of trouble with the sound and how to make sure it matched the right section of the movie. On reflection, i feel that we may have made our movie slightly to complex. Every piece of audio had to be a seperate file and we then wanted backing music to accompany it. I think that if I ever attempt this in a classroom, the children would need to be very clear that they must keep it simple.

However, the filming was enjoyable and i feel we worked well as a group by working together, sharing the tasks, and using each others strengths, e.g Ruth's knowledge of french. I am also very pleased with the final product. I feel that we have created a movie that could be shown in any year of primary school to help them make a smoothie. I think it is simple, clear and easy for the children to follow.

Even though the process was challenging at certain points and I may think twice before getting the children to create a movie themselves. I would definitely use it to demonstrate a process or even create a whole class movie maybe to show the work we had been doing for our topic. I think it could be a very useful tool to use with the pupils and the parents as well. it will help involve the parents even more in the childrens lives at school. A movie could also be used for help demonstrate almost any area of the curriculum so is a very broad resource in that it can help you demonstrate anything, e.g WW1, HWB, a play, their stories...

Here, is our movie on "How to make a smoothie!"

I think that creating a movie could be a great resource for children to tell stories they have created. As the learning Discovery (2006) says, "ICT-powered story-telling lets everyone have a go at being creative." It goes on to explain that ICT can help children tell their stories in new and inventive ways. I think that using a movie to enhance their stories will help children who work best with visual aids will be able to express their ideas that they might not be able to express through writing.

The learning discovery (2006) Creative ICT in the classroom:Using new tools for learning Stafford: Network Continuum Education

Movie Making

We began the movie making process, this week. Our story board was based around Health and Wellbeing and focused on making a healthy smoothie.

Curriculum for Excellence focuses on all aspects of health and wellbeing. A outcome that could be used for this lesson.

I am developing my understanding of the human body and can use this knowledge to maintain and improve my wellbeing and health.

HWB 0-15a / HWB 1-15a / HWB 2-15a / HWB 3-15a / HWB 4-15a

We had three hours to complete the filming and convert them from mp4 to wmv files.

We tried using the "zamzar" website to convert the files. However, after an hour of converting the files we realised that they were all corrupted. So we had to find another website to convert the files. We eventually found convert files.

If this task was ever done in class then it would require a lot of preparation and organisation before hand. The teacher would have to have tested the online converters to make sure that the children weren't wasting their time on converting files that didn't work. It would be a huge job for the teachers but the teacher could convert all of the clips another time so that it didn't take up class time. Also the organisation would be very important because if not explained well and worked through thoroughly, the children may get confused and the task could take far longer than planned. This task for children would be a fairly big task that would be completed over several lessons. We are adding the voice overs and editing the Movie on Monday.