BETT and "A rich seam"

I was invited to give a talk at BETT about the research and the project and there was a great audience of about 120 at the HE tent - hopefully all of them knew what they were in for that this was a discussion about pedagogy and now a "here's a dozen apps you can use in your school".

More on this can be found on the project's support webpages at:

http://www.mmiweb.org.uk/hull/ipad/publications.html

The main thrust of the talk was around the key models of learning we used to construct pedagogic change and the core elements that needed to be in place for this to happen. We feel that these were:

(1) 1-1 device ownership - we chose to go along the "provider" route by BYOT is also possible
(2) Stable, flooded, fast wifi - this is a absolute essential for technological pedagogic change
(3) Mindset of the teacher / tutoring staff to change

This meant we were able to develop a new way of learning in the faculty - see more of this in previous posts, but the heart of this is the Inquiry Based Learning model we developed based on Justice and Levy (again see previous posts).

There were good questions raised by the audience:

Q/ Do all students now just carry an iPad and no books? No, but there is a definite movement in that direction and the amount of materials they are expected to carry (and buy) has significantly diminished.

Q/ Have you digitised all your materials? No, but we are working towards this. All essential materials are either digitised or available via the library's e-book or e-journal processes. All other materials are linked from the support materials and we are looking to digitise all other paper materials over the next couple of months.

Q/ Has this changed the teaching? Yes is the simple answer as the procedures have changed (so we have ditched the lecture and moved the IBL format - but this is also starting to have impact in other areas of the teaching and and learning as the tutor's comment on the ways in which they are able to teach have changed given the conditions above so (1) and (2) have led to (3).

When I got back from BETT I found a new report from Michael Fullan and Maria Langworth entitled A rich seam: How pedagogies find deep learning which I would strongly recommend a read of if you are interested in this relationship between technology / pedagogy and change.

The report can be found at: http://www.michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/3897.Rich_Seam_web.pdf

The first term of iPad use

So, the student have had the iPads now since September and have been in school since mid-November. There is no doubt from the data returned that the students have valued the iPads whilst in the university (see previous posts) but we are now starting to ask if this has changed their own attitudes to teaching and learning, or changed the attitudes of those who are tasked to teach them (Qui doceat ipsos magistros!).

We interviewed some of the students just before they went onto teaching practice and there were some very interesting responses. We have also now sent out a wider survey (December 2013) and are awaiting the responses from this survey.

The telling thing is the enthusiasm with which the students are using their pads and how keen they are to have (and keep) hold of them.

Case Study: Using the iPad in the Inquiry Based Learning

The iPad is a key factor in the Foundation in Professional Studies (FiPS) course as it allows the Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) model to function in a way that would be very difficult if not impossible and certainly very, very resource hungry with it.

The Hopkins (2013) IBL model - see http://www.mmiweb.org.uk/hull/site/ibl/ibl_process.html  

The FiPS course this year is running an IBL model using the Hopkins (2013) adaptation of the Justice model (2007) and the Kolb (1984) reflective cycle. This model relies on the students having access to significant resource both before the session and during. The iPad gives that access to the resource in a secure way - resource that includes video, graphics, e-books as well as text. The students then use the device during the sessions to do research and to present ideas to the rest of the group.

Would this be possible without the Pad - well maybe - but it would assume that all students had access to the internet at home (or we would have to provide the resources on a portable data system or in paper format - and this would reduce the resources possible to textual and possible graphic sources). Then during the session we would either again have to provide resource (and significant resource) in a paper format OR we would have to allows students to the library to undertake the tasks which would again be difficult in terms of resource as well as the difficult of managing the time needs for such an exercise.

This gives us both an efficiency and and effectiveness again (McCormack, 2001) and allows us to engage with this innovative pedagogy rather than the lecture and seminar format which has not been successful before - again the iPad is a gateway to more effective learning - and the initial feedback from the tutors is that the quality of dialogue from the students is significantly higher than last year (though of course these are different students).

Case Study: A great example of the iPad usage

The modern language students have been using their iPads to video small examples of practice (e.g. lesson starters) and then take these into school to share with their school mentors.

The ML tutors has done this in years past but the process had been:

Video a student using a video camera >> transfer this video (and edit it) onto a laptop / desktop PC (needing to access video editing software and the appropriate cables to do this) >> then transfer this video either into a piece of online space or onto a memory stick >> transport the memory stick into school >> find a computer in school where the clip could be played (and hope that there was some compatibility between the university video and the school computer (and that the school computer had a suitable video and sound card built in as well as speakers).

Now the process was:

Video using the iPad >> edit on the Pad >> Take the Pad to school >> Show to mentor.

So the basic methodology has not changed, the intention has not changed, the pedagogic purpose has not changed but the ability and opportunity has become considerably easier which means that it has now happened for all students in a simple and easy way and has convinced the students that this is a worthwhile and useful experience.

The first data from the students

Just a couple of weeks into the project ...

So, we are a couple of weeks into the project and we are starting to collect data on usage from the students. We could think about this in a number of ways but in this post I just want to discuss some of the ways that the students are self-reporting on usage - the comments below are taken from the student's reports of usage in the first couple of weeks of the course and after being in their placement schools for the first week. I have grouped these into a few categories which will become more refined as the research continues.

The Pad as a resource access device

This is probably the most significant aspect of the device and also the way in which the course has set up the device to be used. So in the FIPS (Foundation in Professional Studies) aspect of the course the students have been able to access materials in the classrooms without the need for large amounts of paper. This has meant a wider sense of flexibility and the options to personalise the access for the particular need:

"iPod mainly for... FiPS reading, subject method reading and research within subject method sessions"

"looking at Prezis, To do pre-reading without having to print it out/ carry documents around"

"keynote power points during method sessions, research during university based days"

"especially finding it handy for reading downloaded journals "

"I have used iBooks and Pages more than any other apps, these have helped with both reading and writing. Being able to save various documents in iBooks has proven very useful, and it has certainly saved on paper"

"... I do love is the podcasts, I have downloaded many to do with history and listen to them on my way into uni or school" (Hi student)

Taking notes - organising work - making resources

As well as access to resources students have been using the device for taking notes and organising their thinking and also for creating resources:

"taking notes, creating mind-maps" 

"It has helped my learning in that the resources are to hand without having to print them all out, making organisation much easier" 

"used it to make presentations using keynote and to make notes using pages"

"note taking and pre-reading for class" 

"to take pictures of the posters we made in FiPS, and to fill in the journal"

"use the IPad to take pictures for inspiration for future planning and resources"

"I find the iPad very handy to show documents quickly to other people and share information"

"The iPad as been useful when reading articles in class being able to highlight and annotate things on it"

"My favourite app so far though is Paper. I have been using this app to draw pictures that I will then be able to use as my own resources in PowerPoint or active inspire" (Gg student)

"I have also taken photos of some of the work that we have produced in method sessions, e.g. The production of a plant cell" (Sc student) 

Reflective Practice

Some student have been using the device to record themselves (and/or others) and then use this as part of their reflective practice - whilst this was possible previously it is much easier using the device.

"I have had the opportunity to record short starter activities and teaching tasks which have allowed me to critically evaluate the way I teach" (Hi student)

"I recorded my micro-teaching lesson today with my iPad so it will be helpful to have a look at it with my mentor in school and try to raise some aspects that I can improve" (MFL student) 

Classroom usage

The students are starting to go into classrooms and there are some opportunities for them to be able to use the devices in the classroom. Students are also investigating with mentors how these might be able to used wider in the school.

"I used the device to record students where there were not enough dictaphones available" (Gg student)

"Useful apps for the classroom I have downloaded are a name generator and a timer" (En student)

"The ability to draw on top of documents using Skitch is a great alternative for when a Smart board is not available" (En student)

Other applications

As well as the applications that we pre-installed on the devices students have been discovering and using a wide range of apps some of these are:

• QuakeFeed - an earthquake tracker used in Geography (Gg student)
• GraphPlotter - used for plotting 2D and 3D graphs in both cartesian and polar co-ordinates (Ma student)
• Voice Recorder - for recording students (Gg student) 
• Name Generator - to create a random name generator (En student)
• Buzzer - A noise generator to get the attention of the class (Ma student)
• SimpleMind - A mind mapping tool
• Mindmeister - A mind mapping tool
• Pinterest - A data collation and digital curation tool
• Paper - A drawing / writing app that allows you to create your own resources
• Skitch - A overwriting tool used to annotating other documents
• Funny Movie Maker - Animate any image or photo

Some initial issues that have arisen

Of course not everything is wonderful and there issues with formatting, with transference of items from the iPad to other devices and also with keeping track of resources and with access in school:

"I have been having some problems to manage all the information, personally I think that we have access to (so) many information what can make it confusing" (MFL student)

"I have also found that it is easy for me to forget to do things on it, such as the journal as I am not seeing it in my bag everyday like I would have it was in paper format" (MFL student)

"I can't use my I pad at my placement school because I don't have the wifi password yet" (En student)

"I have noticed that it is difficult to keep track of work at it is available in a range of places, and it is quite easy to skip past something when it isn't completed" (MFL student)

"I won't be able to use it in school because they have a no iPad policy" (MFL student)

"It is prohibited in my school" (En student)

"While my placement school has no problem with my use of the iPad within my teaching, they equally prefer working 'on paper' for administrative purposes .. this will therefore require me to copy up their handwritten observation notes onto the digital file" (En student) 

iPads out in schools

So, I must admit to being quite excited to talk to the trainees this week to find out how they have been using their iPads out in schools? Have they been able to access the school systems? Have they been able to use them in the classrooms? How many of them have bought the "dongle" that allows them to connect the iPad to the projector - are there any schools out there using AirPlay or AppleTV?  I feel that this is the first "hurdle" in the iPad race this year. Can't wait till the "children" get home from school!

In other news, as they say, Apple have launched a new section of the Apple Store specifically for teachers. Worth checking out for apps that may be of use ... even if just looking at the free apps.

Known unknowns and unknown unknowns!

This last month or so with the iPads has been a "Rumsfeld" time - we have done all the things we knew about, we have sorted (mostly) the things that we knew we did not know (how to use Configurator, how to use Meraki, how to set up and distribute Apps to 150 machines, how long it takes to unwrap and put covers on 150 machines!) and  now we are into the unknown unknowns time.

The first of these was that there was a conflict between Meraki and Configurator over paid apps (see previous post) then we found out that as we were using a shared Apple ID to distribute free apps some of the students had signed into the cloud using this AppleID and were then sharing other things! We've hopefully solved that one.

Meraki also seems to be doing some funny things - the tracking map showed one device in South Wales and one in London when the students (with their Pads) were in Hull! Still working on that one so if any Meraki wizzes are reading this then please do get in contact (p.hopkins@hull.ac.uk)

Next was the fun of trying to get AppleTV to talk to our university's enterprise wifi - they don't think it can be done as there is a subnet problem with the space we have available - we are working on a solution but it might be March next year before it is solved so no Apple TVs for us until this. So we now need to buy 30pin to VGA connectors in order for the staff to be able to show their Pads onto the projector screen.

However we now how devices out there to the significant majority of the students and to quote a tweet from one of the students "I walked down to the corridor through a sea of iPads" so they are being used. Students are starting to find apps and starting to share these so we are still excited and enthused (if also exhausted) after these weeks. Hopefully the little queues of bods with problems will die down - and there is no doubt that we now know more than we did.

Still looking for others out there in HE who are doing things to share the experiences if you have them.