Birmingham News

The Birmingham News is coming tomorrow to write the press release for my class.  I am so excited!! Will keep you updated.

3 Weeks In...

We have now been in school for about 3 weeks.  Have you ever heard of the phrase "Don't speak too soon?" Well, I have and I always do! :-)  

We have definitely had to overcome some challenges.  Last week, we did not have internet at school for a day.  This was the first time for this experience.  However, I had a back up plan in place.  We took a practice science ACT.  My class is designed to increase student scores; so at the beginning of the year all students take the science portion for a base score, and at the end of the year we retake the test to see the difference in the scores.  We took the practice ACT on this day.  The students did use the paper version of the test, but wrote their answers using their iPad and used the clickers to input their responses for their scores.  The day after, the routers in the school were being worked on (they added new ones for other areas of the school and programs).  Because of this, my routers were not working properly due to some interference I was told; however, not told until after class.  During the class, it was very frustrating to me and to the students because nothing was working as planned and nobody seemed to know what the problem was.  We did afterwards.  Afterwards is too late.  It's wasted instructional time.  We were able to get some things done, but not really what I was hoping for.  This set us back.  One great thing about this format of the class though, is that we can catch up pretty easily.  The students had more homework than what I planned, but we had to make do.  My students are great, but I could tell they were as frustrated as I was.  Things had been going so well until then.  Things are up and running now though. 

We have started graphing in my class, so one class day was used to teach the students how to use their app for graphing (we are using Notetaker).  The students seemed to catch on pretty quickly.  This is the slowest part of the class--teaching them how to use the apps most efficiently and correctly.  Once they have been taught, they catch on great and can do it on their own.  I have an adapter that allows me to hook to my projector, so it is great being able to show them how to do it and not just tell them.  At the beginning of the year, I was having to tell them or put the iPad on my document camera to show them.  It was more difficult and not as efficient.

I also have now removed all of the restrictions on the student iPads.  Having these restrictions seemed to pose more of a hassle than it was worth.  The students know my class policies and the school policies when using the iPads; it is their responsibility to adhere to them.  They were told when I removed the restrictions that they must have me input the iTunes account before or after school if they use their own to download apps--not during class.  I do not have time to do 20 iPads every class.  

Another issue we ran into recently was using Evernote.  I have signed up for the free version which only allows a certain amount of usage per month.  Well, we have met the limit.  The students were unable to send their homework assignment to me because of this.  However, I have now upgraded to the premium version which will give me plenty of space.  Evernote has been very user friendly both to me and to the students.  

After 3 weeks in, I can still honestly say this class has been great so far.  There have been some struggles, but the engagement of the kids is amazing.  They are sucked into their iPads during class and wanting to use it as much as possible.  So much at times I have to tell them to look up because I don't feel they are paying attention, yet the majority of them can repeat everything I said previously.  I really look forward to this. 

I will be presenting at an ASTA Conference at the McWane Center on October 13.  I am really excited about getting to share my classroom ideas on how to incorporate the iPad into classrooms to have more active learning occur and working towards a paperless classroom environment. 

Ready, Set, Action!

We have been Ready and Set to go for a while now...just time for the Action part!


We finally had a REAL class lesson using the iPads.  It was our first lab experience.  The students were taking measurements of the length of their stride and calculating the total distance between two points.  They went to my website, pulled in the lab instructions, created the new pages for procedures and data and completed the lab without a hitch! I WAS SO PROUD!  It went so smooth.  Everything I had envisioned happening, happened.  But great happenings.


We also had visitors--our principals and superintendent stopped by and asked the kids some questions.  One student told the principal that "It makes it easy that its all in one place"! They were amazed at the work we were doing together and how far along this class has come since its inception last spring. All of the time and money put into this pilot program will pay off--I guarantee it!  The kids will come out on top! We will be teaching the kids how they need to be taught, and using technologies that interest their generation and that they are familiar with.  We are in the 21st Century and we need to stick with the newest models and instructional strategies for our students.  

Learning to Use the iPad

Emailing--
This has been an interesting topic.  When first planning this class, I was going to use Gmail and just create the students accounts.  The school then wanted to create the accounts using another company.  A day before classes started, we still did not have emails but they had been requested.  We ended up going with Google accounts through Google Educator accounts using the school's domain.  This has been nice being I can create and modify my groups to send emails to my entire class.  Since having these addresses, I have emailed them daily reminding them of their homework.


The students were assigned the App Start program on the iPads to complete for homework, along with playing around with the different apps I gave them on their iPads.  The chosen apps are:


Evernote and Evernote Peek
Go Docs
Planner
Note Taker HD
Calculator Pro
Physics HD
Video Science
Puppet Pals HD
Vernier Video Physics
Newton Laws
Physics
Science 360
Show Me
Units
Twitter
CalenGoo


The students created their Evernote accounts on Friday and their notebooks for homework on their home computers because Evernote does not allow the iPad to make notebooks.  I told them the specific names to call each one.


Over the weekend, the students were sent an email to create a Twitter account and they did so if they did not already have one.  I have been using this to communicate homework assignments to them and to give them praise for the awesome things they have done in class.  When my students leave, they ask me "Will you post this on Twitter?"  I think that's just awesome.  Twitter is a tool that all kids this age (15-16) are using these days on their smart phones.  It is new to me, but I am willing to learn it to better their experience in my class.


We blocked all of the iPads from accessing iTunes store and changing accounts (adding/removing).  This has caused quite a headache for two days now.  Both times, different app updates came through or apps needed to be loaded on the iPads.  The iPads are set to automatically sync, but with these functions restricted, we have to go input the restriction code and turn each store on manually, then push the apps through and then turn it back off.  It took an entire class day all together.  Luckily, I had Mr. Brown (tech department) in here to assist me on these first few days.  It would've been much more challenging with out his presence in my room.  Right now, we are in the stage of deciding if we want the store blocked badly enough to sacrifice class time...


On Tuesday, we were able to begin using Notetaker HD and Evernote with the kids and teaching them how to use the apps and all of their neat functions.  It went great! The kids were so engaged and loved every minute of learning to use the apps and seeing how we will use them in class.  I walked around the room assisting the students and giving them time to "play".


Overall, the first week of school went amazingly well! I hope it keeps up!!

First Days of Class Going Paperless

We started back to school on Thursday, August 11.  During class, we distributed the iPads to the students who had returned their AUP and signature page stating they wanted to remain in the class.  We spent the entire class period reviewing the AUP and answering questions with the students.  They had awesome questions.  Most of all, the best question that was asked multiple times was "How can we use this in our other classes?" Seriously?!? That's all they are concerned about?!? Those were my only thoughts at that point, and I knew this class would be awesome.  The fact that they want to already begin implementing their mobile learning devices into other classes by far exceeds my expectations of their excitement and willingness to do this with me.  I continued to stress to them that we are all a team this year (as with all classes) but we will be taking learning to the next level and there will be many people in and out of the room all year.  They may make the news, newspaper, be interviewed, etc.  They need to be prepared and represent VHHS and my class well.  As do I.


Some other questions we were asked in regards to the iPads and the class were:
"Will other chargers work with the iPad?"
"Will we get all of our homework off the iPad?"
"Can you view what I am doing on the iPad?" --this was great because we were able to cause them to be concerned here...
"Can we chat and have chat sessions with you?"
"Can we use it in other classes?" --this is before the "How"
"Can I replace my agenda book and just use my iPad?" ---another AWESOME question


Overall, the kids were thinking beyond my classroom when it came to incorporating the mobile learning devices (iPads) into their everyday learning.  They had no concerns about how we were going to "do" something, but wanted to know more ways of application.  They all wanted to incorporate this in other ways academically.


The class has gone so smoothly.  More smooth than I expected.  If it keeps this up, wow!!

Time is Endless in Preparing...

It is one day before students come back to school. So much time, work, and research has been put into this program for its implementation on the first day of school. Many hurdles have had to be overcome to get to this point. Currently, I have a class size of 20 students. Once school starts, they will be locking down my schedule so students cannot be added to the class. If students were being added to my class once the year began, it would not be feasible to teach the students that come in the process of the class. However, this is a reality that has to be faced if this program is implemented more in the future.

A lot of time has been put into this class the past couple of weeks. Charles and I were at the school until 9:00pm on Monday, August 8 loading the apps onto the iPads. However, we were multi-tasking doing other parts to the class but the majority of the time was put into the loading of the applications. This is the process we took for the loading the apps: loading each of the apps on to the MacBook first and then turning each iPad on and selecting the option for it to automatically sync to the computer. When we turned on the iPad for syncing of the apps, the apps did not automatically sync. We had to manually go to the store and pull them in for each iPad. But, we had a few iPads that I had turned the automatic sync on before loading the apps on the computer. These FEW iPads had the apps loaded automatically and instantly. So, this was a lesson we learned through this process for the future loading of apps. The key is this: have each iPad already set up to sync automatically BEFORE loading the apps onto the main computer in iTunes. Had we done this first, the process would have taken a lot less time.

Another option that we are wanting to do is to have a place to upload videos, debriefs, labs, and tutorials. We have found this location...iTunes U. iTunes U already has hundreds of videos for people to view. It's amazing. But imagine if I, as the teacher, was able to load my classes information and tutorials on there. HOW POWERFUL! So, Monday night, we also applied for an account with iTunes U. I am concerned we may not get it because it is currently only for 2 and 4 year accredited colleges/universities. But, if they were to include highschools, especially a highschool that has SO many powerful programs going on using technology, it would be great for them also. It's a win-win situation only.

We had the informational meeting on Tuesday, August 9 at 1:30pm for my students and parents. We only had about 6 kids of 20 come. The parents and students that attended the meeting seemed to really be excited about the class. They had great questions to ask. The video for this will be posted with this post along with the presentation we gave the parents on my wiki site. We were able to cover the acceptable use policy, explain the class and our goals, and even got signatures from the parents. The parents that did not attend were sent an email asking for them to read the AUP and sign and return it on Thursday. If they don't return the AUP on Thursday when school starts, then their child will not be issued an iPad. If they are not issued an iPad on the first day, they will already be behind by one day. As a teacher though, it's a common obstacle in teaching and not too difficult to overcome. During this meeting the parents also signed a form indicating that they wished for their child to participate in the class or they did not wish for them to participate in the class. This document will provide us with the documentation of knowing that the parents chose to keep their students in the class or not and were given an option.

Ultimately, I am ready to get the class rolled out and going. I am so excited, that I cannot even express it in words. I am nervous. But, I have been told by a wise, great friend that if you don't get nervous on the first day of school, then maybe it's time to consider a new profession. I did a short, and I mean short, presentation to our faculty during our meeting and since then, I have received very high remarks from my colleagues. Having them stop me in the hall, some I rarely see or talk to, and tell me how excited they are about this program and my class and how they can see how much time/work I have put in to it, just reassures me and brings me back up when I am getting frustrated with the little things that may not be working out exactly as I had hoped. It reminds me that it's all worth it. It reminds me how exciting of a program I am getting to lead in our school. I am very honored to have been chosen to do this here at Vestavia High School. I had a parent ask me yesterday during our meeting "What if this program does not succeed?" and my only response I could provide is that it would work out; I have the confidence and support from Vestavia that this program will succeed. I want this program to be great, and the next best thing...and it will be.  

These are responses I received from some parents:

Stephanie,
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to part of such an amazing adventure. My child is very excited about being in your class he has been talking about it since we got the letter. When we received the letter at registration my thought was how great this is. Just like life information in the world changes everyday and I am sure it takes years for new information to be stored in a textbook, the internet is current and always update with a wealth of information. What a great way to prepare our kids for college, I cannot thank you enough for your hard work and research.
Vestavia is a great school system to offer this and we are so proud to be part of it.
Please let me know if I can help in any way.

Ms. Hawthorne, Just wanted to let you know how excited I am that my child will be using the IPad in your class. I know it will be a great experience for her. The informational meeting was wonderful. It is obvious to me the many hours you have spent preparing for this class. I know it will be a huge success!

Informational Meeting

We will be having an informational meeting about the paperless classroom using the iPad for mobile learning on Tuesday, August 9 at 1:30 pm in Mrs. Hawthorne's classroom.

The parents and their child have been invited to come to this meeting to ask any questions they may have regarding the class. They have also been given the opportunity to opt out of the program by August 10. Once school starts, there will be no schedule changes for this class.

We look forward to meeting the students and their parents during this time!  

Getting Started

For the 2011-2012 school year, my 5th Period Applied Physical Science (APS) class will be going "Paperless". This entails the students being provided with an iPad 2 and all resources electronically. We will not be using textbooks and notebooks. I teach four other sections of APS, so we will be able to compare class results in 5th Period to that of my other sections.


To get the class rolling, Mr. Brown and I have collaborated for many hours on the best apps to use and the setting up of each of the iPads. It has been decided that each student who receives an iPad must have wireless internet at home and must create a Google account specifically for this class. We will also be meeting with the students and their parents before school starts to introduce them to the pilot program and what it will entail for them. At this time, they will be given the option to opt out if wanted. However, once the class begins, no students can be added to the class nor removed. The students will be chosen randomly by the computer for the class. We will be providing the students with the iPad and protective casing along with a stylus pen. The iPad will be pre-loaded with all of the apps we need. However, there will be periodic updates to the iPads throughout the school year. We will also have four main access points in the school for wireless access: the science lab, my hallway, the main hallway near my room, and the outdoor patio. Each of these locations are where we do most of our labs and classes.


Here is a list of some of the apps we are currently considering using:


EVERNOTE- This is great because it is FREE. This is a great application that stores all of its contents in a cloud. The notebooks can be accessed from multiple devices (phones, laptop, desktop, iPad) at any time. It provides a free email service, and with this you can send/receive files and have them tagged into specific notebooks. For instance, I could have my students submit an assignment to me and have it go straight to their personal folder I have created in my Evernote account. The students can also create an account, and use this as a backup system for all of their files.


iANNOTATE- This app is currently $9.99. One of the more expensive apps we are considering. It allows any PDF to be annotated directly on, then sent with the annotations to many types of accounts (Email, Dropbox, Evernote, etc). It has highlighting, keyboard use, pen use, allows for comments, and many other options. It is very user friendly.


DROPBOX- This is a FREE app and is a storage cloud for files. It can be used as a backup for the students' files. However, our system does not support it at the school currently. BUT, it can be used outside of school.


GODOCS- This app is $4.99. This app will allow me to create and manage my Google Docs from anywhere besides my computer. I have not decided yet if it will be put on the student iPads.


PENULTIMATE- This app is $1.99. This is a great note-taking app for the students. It can organize the notes into different notebooks which is great for each unit/lab that we do in class. It also supports emailing the notes and notebooks. The only thing I don't like about this app is it does not have the keyboard function, you can only write with your finger/stylus and cannot add images.


NOTABILITY- This app is $0.99. This is a great note-taking app for the students. It can organize the notes into different subjects (same thing as notebooks). It supports emailing and DropBox. With this app, the students can add images from their iPad, the web or draw images and can also use the keyboard or use their finger/stylus for writing.


CONVERT UNITS-This app is FREE. It gives the students many options for converting units.


CALCULATOR PRO-This app is FREE. We do a lot of math in my class that requires scientific calculators.


EVERNOTE PEEK-This app is FREE. It is an add-on to the Evernote app. It acts as a flash card review of notes in Evernote. It only works with the smart cover. If the students change their covers to something else, it will not work. It will be a great tool for students to use when studying for tests and quizzes.


PLANNER FOR iPAD-This app is $1.99. It syncs with Google Calendar and iCal. It also acts as a planner for the students to organize their homework and tasks.


OMNIGRAPH SKETCHER- This app is $14.99. It allows the students to generate their own graphs by hand and creates straight/curved lines. The graphs can be saved as PDF and emailed or added to documents.


JOT FREE-This app is FREE. It could be used as a note-taking app but does not support creating notebooks. It would be great to use just for drawing sketches for labs.


NUMBERS-This app is $9.99. It is part of the iWorks products for Apple. I will be able to use this to keep my gradebook. I have not decided whether to put this on the student iPads yet or not. If I need students to create any databases or spreadsheets, I can have them create it in Google Docs.


APP START- This app is FREE. It is a great app that introduces new users to the iPad and shows them how to use the iPad. I will require each of my students to go through this app before beginning the class.






We are currently in the stage of converting the entire class electronically and updating my website.


The link to my website is: http://teachers.vestavia.k12.al.us/hawthornesd/MLearning/APS_ipads.html






Along with converting all of my documents electronically, I am developing the system in which I want my students to retrieve their work, submit their work, and returning their work once graded.

Mobile Learning using iPads to Go Paperless

It is being suggested that the iPad may be a transformative tool in education. This claim is based on the fact that the iPad can house all resources (books, readings, video, audio) for a particular class, provide a mechanism for doing research, provide a vehicle for maintaining communication and do it all in an easy to carry around, quick starting, simple interface.






We are hoping the iPad can be used in education as a mechanism for replacing "dead tree" (paper) versions of resources in the classroom. Our program hopes to take the next step by focusing on how the iPad platform apps might best be used to achieve specific teaching and learning goals that align with the 21st Century Technological advancements.