iPad Friday!!!

The first iPad Friday made me want to run screaming away from technology forever. Bring me back a slide projector and filmstrips please. 

But then today, I interacted via Gmail and Google+ with some students and became so excited about the possibilities; I got all wired up (haha) on technology again. Ah technology, what a bumpy roller coaster ride you are!

I had high hopes for iPad Fridays, and I still do (Must. Maintain. Positive. Attitude). I think once we get the kinks worked out things will be much smoother and productive. The one positive was the students walked out happy and many said it was fun (although I’m not sure how much actual learning took place). The negative was I felt like I had run a marathon and lost by the end of the day.

What worked:

• Using Google forms to create a survey for everyone to fill out.

See the form here:

 Getting Acquainted Form

Students easily understood the majority of the form and worked independently on it so that I was able to help with technical problems. One caveat: model how to copy and paste the URL, NOT the entire website!

• The iPad Usage Agreement form. Students asked good questions and we only had one student break a rule (number 8). The consequence was immediate and definitely hit home the seriousness of these rules.

See the document here:

IPad Usage Agreement

(I got the majority of the form from here: http://www.mrsziemnik.net/apush/ipad-contract-2011-2012/ and tweeked it for my class)

• Using Gmail as a way for students to send me work. I like that I can so quickly respond, interactions seem like they can be a little informal and hopefully I will be able to engage some of my quieter students in deeper thinking.

Screen shot of a student's email to me with their list of 20 ideas for drawing glass objects creatively and my response.

What did not work:

• Making all students create new Gmail accounts. I should have let those with active Gmail accounts use those; it cuts down on the number of accounts that need to be made.
• Using the mail feature on the iPads. Since other classes are using the iPads I just need to stick with app or web based systems, then we don’t need to delete any accounts.
•  Having an open-ended plan for my Advanced Class. They need structure just like all my other classes. I had hoped they could be more involved in creating their Google+ Community, and maybe they can once they become more familiar with the site, but for now I need to give them more specific goals like I did in my other classes.

My goal for the next iPad Friday is to hand out iPads and have 95% of the students engaged within the first 15 minutes of class. I will let you know how that works out!