Transforming Teaching with iPads
"If students were doing awesome things with an iPad, what would that look like?"
This question speaks to the need to move beyond the substition level of technology integration, as described in Puentedura's SAMR model towards the reinvention level of instructional practices. Daccord and Reich state that the very best iPad classroomsinvolve students "creating media, showcasing their understanding, collaborating with peers, and communicating with broad audiences." (Daccord and Reich, 2015)
While it is somewhat easier for me to visualize what this looks like in a classroom of older students, it is exciting to think of the myriad possibilities for primary age students. At this point in my knowledge and expertise with iPads, I have more questions than answers. For example, how can my second grade students use iPads to "do something" with their writing? My students produce voluminous quantities of "hit and run" writing in our current writing program. It would be an awesome thing if they could select a piece of writing, work with a partner to edit and revise, and share their writing with their parents electronically, or with our class in a multimedia presentation. Which of all these fabulous apps we have been exploring makes this doable?
For the past ten years or so, we have been almost solely focused on skill building and target reaching in the primary classroom. I see the iPad as having great potential for re-injecting creativity into the daily lives of students through the wide variety of multimedia apps available for showcasing their knowledge and skills while communicating content.
