iPads in the Elementary Dual-Immersion Classroom

   
     Our class was privileged to be able to observe Paul Ecke Central Elementary School in Encinitas Union School District on November 28th. It was a nice surprise upon arriving, that we realized it was a Dual-Immersion (Spanish) school. We learned about many iPads and apps that the school had bought for the school and their use in the classroom. I can't quite remember any of them at this exact moment because there were so many! But one I remember was like a series of short free books that students had to access to.***The teacher then could integrate discussion questions directly into the appropriate spots in the text. Then the students could answer the questions and the students were able to see their peers' responses. In that same app some words in the text were linked to maps and other images for the students. I think that's a great app for specifically say ELL learners, because if they are reading something and they don't know what it is, they could immediately perhaps see a link to an image or map that could help their comprehension.
     In an article entitled, "5 Critical Mistakes Schools Make with iPads (And How to Correct Them)" by Tom on Edudemic I saw how the elementary school in Encinitas was successful in avoiding the 5 mistakes (from what I observed during a day visit). The first mistake described is too much of a focus on content apps. It was clear that the teachers used the integrated apps and capabilities of the iPad for all content. Students used the moviemaker to create movies with images and their voice to explain say how a volcano erupts. What I learned from this was that it can give students an opportunity to teach their peers. Another mistake is that schools don't offer enough professional development to go along with the iPad integration in the classroom. Teachers in the classroom were honest that initially it was a bit time consuming to learn the apps but that it was worth it. The school seems to have a lot of support in the professional development of the teachers. The third mistake is that schools tend to what the iPad to be a laptop. The teachers at this school discussed how they worked with the iPad but that they would still sometimes take their class to the computer lab for bigger projects. The computer lab, by the way was filled with Apple computers! The fourth mistake is that the iPads in schools sometimes have multi-users. In most classrooms we entered, the iPad was in the sole ownership of an individual student. The fifth mistake is that the administration fails to communicate why the iPads were bought. At this school the only issue that seems to have arised is that students can't take the iPads home on the weekends or during long holiday breaks. I found this to be interesting, because I know of other school districts, such as Sweetwater Union High School District that does allow students to take their iPads home on weekends and holidays.
   

***Thanks to my colleague Maureen she reminded me that the name of the app is Subtext.

IF IPADS ARE THE ANSWER, WHAT IS THE QUESTION?

Photo Credit: Andrew Wiese

     This is the question that was posed by my Professor Jeff Heil. In the case of the elementary dual-immersion classroom, I am convinced that iPads are a good answer. Yet, I am left pondering what the question is. A question that I think may fit this situation is the following: What technology can best serve the learning of the students in the dual-immersion classroom? The iPads best serve the students, because the school decided to give each student an iPad, which they can take home Monday-Friday for homework. In this way, the iPad can serve the individual learning styles and needs of each student. Whether the student is a kinesthetic, visual, and/or audio; the iPad has apps and capabilities that serve each  learning style combination. Furthermore, the iPad has apps that allow the students to be creative and academic by drawing pictures and making presentations with their own voice lectures/explanations. In this case, the student can be turned into the teacher, and therefore is empowered to tutor and explain to his/her peers. This doesn't even cover the slew of educational apps that are available for the students.