The story progresses....

Throughout this second year of the Westlake High School iPad 1:1, we've begun to wrestle with more complex challenges and assignments that are enabled by the entire school having 1:1 tablets.
Teachers are using iPads in a myriad of ways, whether improving student workflows to using programs that allow them to extend the learning in the classroom.

One app that the campus has integrated into the workflow is eBackpack, which allows our teachers to post assignments electronically, students to retrieve them and return them electronically from their iPads, and teachers to grade them online.   The eBackpack app and website have allowed a smoother process than the campus utilized last year (which involved using WebDavNav and also filters in Gmail to sort assignments).

iMovie has become an important part of some courses like American Sign Language.  ASL Teacher Barbara Vinson uses a combination of iMovie and the new Google Drive app to have her students film video assignments and texts and then submit them to her via Google Drive where she can retrieve or download them.

Junior English teachers are currently working with a new and interesting app, Subtext, which can be used for closer reading of texts.  Teachers or students can embed questions within the text of a work, or have a discussion, tag passages with keywords, and even take polls.    Subtext can either utilize copyright free or public domain materials, or books can be purchased and be imported into the app.
There is a learning curve, but it has interesting possibilities because students can be grouped and share comments within their group or teachers can embed questions into the work.

webinar with Subtext tech support

As part of a Professional Learning Community Project, two of our science teachers experimented with trying a flipped classroom model (using a control group class that didn't flip.)   Because the students have iPads, it was much easier to try that model.  The teacher found that the students in general scored similarly to previous years, but the lower grades were higher than in the past.  And she felt like students benefitted from the increased class time and personal interaction with her as she was able to carve out more time to spend with individual students asking questions and working with them.
And Pre-ap Chemistry teachers have been experimenting with using the Socrative app to informally assess student learning and progress.

English teachers have begun using student blogs for passion-based research and writing now that every student has a device, as well.  Wikis, blogs, Edmodo--all sites where students having continuous access to a device makes teaching with them much more effective because access doesn't have to be "scheduled" when the computer lab is available.  Similarly, the art/ceramics teacher Dawn Delgado is able to incorporate Pinterest into her classroom on a daily basis because students have the device with them--she can build collections of ceramics and technique examples to share with students, organize online collections of student work, etc. and students can either access her collections for examples or create their own boards with examples of pottery and techniques.

Below are just a few of the other apps which teachers have been using or experimenting with this spring:

Prompt Anywhere Plus--turns the iPad into a teleprompter
Geometry Pad--sketching and working with geometrical figures
Texas Reality Check--financial costs throughout Texas
Sketchbook Express--used for mindmapping, for overlaying text over images, etc.
Snapseed--basic Photoshop-like tools for photo editing and color effects
Yahoodash--for economics, stock portfolio app
Shakespeare in Bits--definitions, videoclips to supplement reading of plays
Splashtop--Allows you to remotely access your desktop; making it easy to circulate around room while teaching or while students are presenting
Nearpod--can push out a slideshow to students, but they can write responses which teacher can see and share back out to class via the ipad app
Color Uncovered--science of color for nterior design classes and art classes
iTunes U--teachers are starting to develop some sample iTunes U courses for their classes

Students of course have come up with a variety of creative uses for their iPads as well, from filming their drill team practice dances to photographing their textbooks that aren't online to storyboarding videos to writing their own apps.

It isn't really about the apps used, but about the intentionality of the assignments and how access to information or the functionality of a particular app allows students to work with information in new ways.   What it is ultimately about is teachers willing to investigate, to be learners, and who understand their curriculum and teaching deeply.   That knowledge and experience enriches the use of any software they might engage students with.  

Onward to the remainder of year Two....

Year Two: Expanding the Vision

Year Two of our iPad implementation has begun!  The decision was made last spring to expand the program to all students grades 9-12, to add 1:1 iPads for eighth grade, and to additionally provide carts to our middle school and elementary students.  Each elementary school selected two grades who would have a stationary cart assigned to a classroom;  the other carts at the elementary schools are roving ones.

Students at the high school either received new iPads, or the iPads they had previously had last year.  (Again, students at the secondary level have the option to self-insure their iPads through a small payment, which reduces the cost of any needed repairs during the year.)  On the day ninth graders received their "long awaited" ipads, their excitement was infectious. Watching students explore and learn through "playing" reminds us how well students learn through experimentation and exploration, and they become their own best "teachers" about the new technology.    And since juniors and seniors mostly had iPads last year, they immediately(Day One) started settling into using their iPads instructionally, even more so than we expected.  But that's because teachers were also taking the lead, more confident in their use of the tool instructionally, and holding students to their expectations to use materials online.

We have added an array of apps to the offerings, finding some that are better suited to classroom use, or with expanded features.  Most notably, we have implemented eBackpack as a solution for students turning in work, DocAS for annotation and handling of PDF documents, and iFiles as well as apps that were heavily used last year.

A few lessons learned from last year's implementation:
1)  Covers--we realized the importance of covers that protected the corners and buttons better, since the iPads do spend a fair amount of time inside student backpacks.
2)  Teacher training--We offered extensive teacher training during the summer--iPad immersion workshops for teachers, a 3 day Apple workshop, as well as the iPadpalooza conference and some online training opportunities.
3)  Tech support remains critical-- the second year of a pilot is where it can really stumble.  It's important to keep up consistent levels of tech support help for students, and not presume our students new to using the iPad won't have the same needs as last year's did. 
4)  iPad rollout process--rolling out that many iPads requires a smooth process, and ours is still in transition.  Using online Google forms to track iPads is helpful, and having forms like "rental car" forms to indicate damage to previously owned iPads was also helpful.  But how to organize the distribution(whether classroom to classroom, or large scale) is still under consideration.

Second year observations

It's clear how our campus has transformed into a 1:1 environment since last year's rollout.  When students received their iPads, they have immediately started being used for instruction.  Teachers had sites like ebackpack up and running immediately, were doing projects involving the use of apps the first week(like the World Geography classes created blogs with the Zapd app), and students were clearly using iPads from the get-go as a learning tool.  E-books from the library are being sought out, PDF uses abound, and apps like Pulse are being used to bring the news to the students in English classes.

Training and support are still more critical.  We have added back instructional technology staff at each campus, and the expertise we have on board is really helping in terms of teacher support and creativity.   And teachers are taking off with using the iPads creatively at all grade levels, not just at the high school.
In terms of continuing ed, the high school is offering Lunch n Learn sessions, for sharing new software and apps, and iShare sessions, where teachers can share their best ideas and lessons with one another.  And in their Professional Learning communities, core area teachers are working on implementation as well.

In general, seeing the technology starting to "melt" into the background, however, means that it is becoming, as Science Leadership Academy principal Chris Lehmann describes it, "invisible and ubiquitous"--standard operating procedure, as it were.   All of which helps the campus pursue the goals of collaboration, communication, creativity, and citizenship more effectively.

We'll continue to share teacher insights, student comments, and initiatives here as we move into year two, because that makes this a learning opportunity for all of us.

iPadpalooza-Ed! So it begins...

Westlake, with the support of TCEA Region 13,  hosted our first annual "IPadpalooza" conference on June 19, and over 500 educators and students gathered to learn, explore, and play from one another.   You can find presenter materials on the iPadpalooza site as well as more photos of the day.

Presenters included both district staff from elementary to secondary as well as educators from around the state and the country.   While there is nothing like seeing a whole auditorium glowing with iPads, the focus was on the learning and how teachers are using iPads in the curriculum from English, to Special Education programs, to libraries, and to third grade classrooms.   We were thrilled that the energy was so positive and so much sharing went on.  Thanks to all the volunteers who made it possible as well!

A few images from the day!  Join us for IPadpalooza 2013 next June!

Come join us in a spirit of learning!

The agenda and speakers for iPadpalooza are shaping up!   Sessions cover subjects for K-12, and range from uses of iPads in math and science, special education apps, libraries and more.  Check out the video that Westlake Film Students created, inviting you to the spirit of the conference.  Hope to see many of you there.   Special thanks to video creators Kendall French Kazen and Sarah Vollman for creating the film and special thanks to Norman Greenbaum for permission to use his classic song for this promo.

Remember to sign up at http://www.ipadpalooza.com.

Call for proposals

In conjunction with TCEA, Westlake High School and Eanes ISD will be hosting the first iPadpalooza, a learning event centered around iPads, on June 19 at the high school.

The call for proposals has gone out:  sessions will be  45 minutes and  topics can range from presentations about apps to integration into lessons in specific subject areas, to maintaining an iPad cart or large scale program, etc.  Both student and faculty presenters and attendees are welcome. 

More information can be found on the website for the conference:  http://www.ipadpalooza.com.   We look forward to seeing you there.

iPad pilot in the news

Since they were first issued, iPads have drawn the interest of schools curious about how using them in classrooms can benefit students and about what creative opportunities they offer.  As piloteers(can we coin that term?) an important piece of our pilot is sharing our results with other schools who are interested in their own iPad rollouts.   To help with that endeavor and to further our own understanding (and because we are thrilled with the results of our pilot thus far), several of us are sharing the work we've done thus far, both at conferences and in articles.

Upcoming conference presentations include:

• Carl Hooker, Brad Smith and student Steve Wilbanks presenting 1:1 Ipads in K12 at SXSW Edu in March.
• Carolyn Foote presenting at Computers in Libraries iPads in School Libraries in D.C. in March.
• Jon Samuelson presenting at Mobile Learning conference Engaging Students through Educational Gaming in April.
• Linda Rawlings, Carl Hooker, Steve Ramsey, Matthew Zemo, and Stephen Shands presenting Implementation of a Tablet Initiative at NASSP in March.

If you are interested in reading our recent articles on the pilot, check out Carl Hooker's in TechEdge magazine, and Carolyn Foote's article in Internet @ Schools.

Also, look for more information about our upcoming summer training event/conference, iPadpalooza, taking place here at Westlake on June 19, and cosponsored by TCEA, which is going to be filled with exploration, collaboration, music, creativity and iPadalicious events.  We have just put out a call for proposals for the conference, and more information will be posted on the site soon!

The WIFI pilot in action: observations from a visitor

In January, Westlake hosted a group of visitors from surrounding school districts to view the iPad pilot in action, taking them to visit classrooms and meet with key staff members who handled the implementation of the pilot.

Lisa Johnson, an instructional technologist and iPad app expert, shares her impressions of the visit on her blog, including some interesting interviews with students and an inside look at the use of iPads in a variety of classrooms.

One of the most powerful moments she shared was a conversation with a student, who commented that having the iPad made them feel like the school trusted them to be responsible.   When we invite students as owners in their own learning and technology, they are very responsive to that.  It's something we've witnessed here as students in all types of classes become more responsible at managing their own organizational methods, learning and creating.


Thanks, Lisa, for sharing your impressions!