FUTURE SAVY

STARTING IN THE CLASSROOM

September 2015

Volume 1, Issue 1

Technological Advancements
Technology is becoming more and more readily available, not only in the everyday
life of adults and business persons, but also in the everyday life of school children
and their homes. Educators and the rest of the world have stumbled into a boom
of electronic devices that can be used to further education within the confines of a
classroom.

Technology is just a

A Little Bit of Trial and Error

tool. In terms of getting

Just like most things in life, practice makes perfect. Hendricks (2013) made a point
when he said that like many things, when introducing technology at first in the
classroom, of course there are going to be a lot of trial and error stages. With a
supportive community and teachers who are willing to be trained and embrace
technology in their classes, students of every age are sure to benefit from the
many tools and skills technology can offer (Hendricks, 2013, para. 3).

the kids working together and motivating

them, the teacher is
most important.

Technology Doesnt Teach

- Bill Gates

Bill Goodwyn, CEO of Discovery Education (2012), said Technology doesnt

teach. Teachers teach (para. 2). Although educators are continuously introducing
different technology into the classroom, it is still the teacher that teaches. Goodwyn (2012, para. 1) also said that without the passion and inspiration of a real-life
teacher, the technology that is used in a classroom would not be beneficial. The
technology would not teach the students what they need to learn and know.

In This Issue
Innovation with Tablets
Teachers Opinions
iPads as Textbooks
30 kids, One iPad? No

Problem!
Differentiation Gets Easier
Mistakes Can Be Fixed:

Common mistakes made

with iPads
Different technology is introduced into the classroom every year.

Teachers Opinions
Howley, Wood, and Hough (2011) would say
that rural teachers, for the most part, are still
limited in their technology knowledge and
limited in the amount of technology available
for educational use.
Surveys were given to 500-third grade teachers to gather information on the technology
available for instructional use. The surveys
showed that the teachers from the rural
schools showed technology integration to be
move positively viewed, than that of the nonrural schools (Howley, Wood, & Hough
2011).
Even younger students are able to learn from and use a tablet

Innovation with Tablets

The ability to successfully integrate technology into the classroom starts with the positive
attitude of the teacher. If the teacher is not
positive about the integration, students could
sense this and also be negative about the
experience.

Tablets are becoming more and more available in our world today. Before the technology advance of a tablet or even an iPad, a tablet was a
pad of paper that one could write on. Now, it is even more universally
known that a tablet is a computer with no cords and less of the bulk.
Cummings and Hill (2015) would say that tablets have brought an effective way to use technology into the classroom. Cummings and Hill suggest that tablets provide an innovative way to incorporate new technologies in the classroom. Our results suggest the tablet is an effective
tool to use for both presenting lectures and working through sample
problems/exercises (2015, p. 69).
Many different technologies that are used on a regular computer were
tested when teaching and found to have been easier and better to learn
to use while using a tablet, that would make the learning more personalized (Cummings & Hill, 2015).
There are many different apps that can be used on the different tablet
platforms. Many of the apps are free to download, but some of the apps
also cost a small one time fee.
Tablets can be used in many different ways in the classroom. Teachers
can use tablets and iPads to show, manage, assess, interact, access,
make, and learn. Tony Vincent (2013) called iPads the teachers pet.
Apps like SmartBoard and Stage Whiteboard can help teachers to display information for all students to see. Doceri and Splashtop Whiteboard allow you to control your computer/projector from your tablet.
Other apps are available to control the classroom environment such as
the management, the noise level, and even picking names. (Vincent,
2013).
Tablets and iPads give more interaction to the classroom setting.

iPads can compile many different textbooks

into one single tablet, which makes for lower
costs and less books to carry.

IPads as Textbooks
Not only can iPads and Textbooks be
used interactively in a classroom, but
they can also be used as up to date
textbooks. IPads make book bags
much lighter, and the textbooks on the
tablets are easily updated with current
information as well as current research
(Elliott, 2013).
The cost is cheaper as well. The cost
of the tablets is more in a year, but last
longer, therefore making the tablets
more sufficient (Elliot, 2013). With this
change in textbooks, learning can continue to be on track and current.

When students have an education that fits their way of learning, they are more comfortable
with the learning and therefore more likely to be interactive with the learning.

Differentiation Gets Easier

Differentiation is often hard to accomplish. There are some students who might
understand a topic perfectly, but there are also some students who need some
extra teacher or peer guidance. When looking to differentiate, we often forget
about the student who understands perfectly.
Technology is there to help! Collins, Hall, & Taylor (2014) bring to light that technology can help educators to differentiate for those students that are above target
and bored of regular classroom learning. It is possible for students to break free
of the regular classroom and be in control of their own learning.
Imagine learning about a different culture by contacting someone who celebrates
that culture. Imagine constructing art after following steps from a famous artist.
Imagine learning how to play a piano from a famous pianist after watching a video.
All of these are possible in a classroom, for even just one student, with technology
and an internet connection!
Howard Gardner said in an interview in 1997 (Edwards, 2009, para. 7)
If we know that one child has a very spatial-- a visual or spatial way of learning, another child has a very hands-on way of learning, a third child likes to
ask deep philosophical questions, a fourth child likes stories, we don't have to
talk very fast as a teacher. We can actually provide software, we can provide
materials, we can provide resources which present material to a child in a
way in which the child will find interesting and will be able to use his or her
intelligences productivity, and to the extent that the technology is interactive,
the child will actually be able to show his or her understanding in a way that's
comfortable to the child.

Mistakes Can Be Fixed: Common

mistakes made with iPads
Although iPads and tablets are becoming more readily available in schools and classrooms,
there are still some things that educators need to look out for when planning lessons that
involve iPads, tablets, Smartboards, and other technologies.
Tom Daccord, from Edudemic (2013) gives five things to watch out for when using iPads and
other tablets in the classroom to teach students. He also includes ways to fix these mistakes.
The first mistake is simple, and one that many teachers and parents have found: Using only
apps that have the desired content (Daccord, 2013). Daccord (2013) says that some apps
can be used in a variety of ways for multiple subjects and that educators often forget about
them because of the content-ready apps that are available for some subjects.
Not only do teachers use content-ready apps, but they are also more commonly unprepared
to use iPads in their instruction. Daccord (2013) says that teachers have been using iPads
as an expensive notebook because they are not taught how to incorporate this technology
into their everyday teaching.
Mistake three is that educators are treating the iPad as a replacement for a computer. iPads
are devices meant to compliment computers, not replace them (Daccord, 2013, para. 14).
Daccord (2013) says that the fourth mistake is that schools see iPads as multi-user devices.
Many schools share iPads amongst students, even opting to have iPad carts that many
classrooms, if not the whole school, shares. Some schools are trying to get students to
bring your own device in order to make these devices suit their purpose of a one user per
device.
The fifth mistake that Daccord (2013) says is simply that districts and administration does
not explain why they purchase iPads and other technology. Students and Parents need to
know why iPads are purchased, and above all, why they need to have experience with them
in their learning.
If and when we can overcome the mistakes we make when introducing iPads and other
technology into the classroom, we can be more effective with the introduction of these technologies, in order to have both the students and the teachers benefit.
References to follow:

Interactive
WhiteBoards
aka SMART
With the introduction of
Smartboard came many,
many of different ideas and
possibilities in the teaching
world.
There are interactive ways
to teach every subject with
the help of smartboard.
What if you do not know how
you want to display information? What if you have an
idea for an activity, but do
not know how to make it
happen?
Smart Exchange is a website where Smartboard lessons are shared and can be
used in the classroom setting. No longer are we dependent on TeachersPayTeachers.com, but now we
have http://
exchange.smarttech.com/,
too!
Check it out today!

Bowers, M. (2015). No smart board? No problem! Connections, 29.2(Winter 2015), 17-19. Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://
search.proquest.com/openview/18f74aa793c76b07cb5b212e9b5fb927/1?pq-origsite=gscholar
Collins, G., Hall, J., & Taylor, B. (2015). The role of providing effective gifted education services in clustered classrooms. In L. Lennex & K. Nettleton
(Comps.), Cases on instructional technology in gifted and talented education (pp. 411-435). IGI Global.
Cummings, J., & Hill, S. (2015). Enhancing the classroom experience: instructor use of tablets. Information Systems Education Journal, 13(5), 62-70.
Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://isedj.org/2015-13/n5/ISEDJv13n5p62.pdf
Daccord, T. (2012, September 27). 5 critical mistakes schools make with iPads (and how to correct them). Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://
www.edudemic.com/5-critical-mistakes-schools-ipads-and-correct-them/
Edwards, O. (2009, April 1). Big Thinkers: Howard Gardner on multiple intelligences. Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/
multiple-intelligences-howard-gardner-video
Elliott, P. (2013, March 6). The rise of tablets as textbooks. Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/text bookstablets_n_2816567.html
Goodwyn, B. (2012, November 6). Technology doesn't teach, teachers teach. Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill
-goodwyn/technology-in-the-classroom_b_1857369.html
Hendricks, D. (2013, March 14). A look at recent findings on technology in the classroom. Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://
www.huffingtonpost.com/drew-hendricks/technology-education_b_2867458.html
Howley, A., Wood, L., & Hough, B. (2011). Rural elementary school teachers technology integration. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 26(9).
Retrieved from http://jrre.psu.edu/articles/26-9.pdf
Hudson, H. (n.d.). WeAreTeachers: 15 apps for the one iPad classroom. Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/
post/2013/06/24/15-apps-for-the-one-ipad-classroom
Vincent, T. (2013, April 1). IPad as the teacher's pet. Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://ebookfriendly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/iPad-f
or-teachers-infographic.jpg