First let me wish everyone Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This week we continued to use Paperplane Notes to comment on a passage from the week's reading and the wiki space to continue the group project we have been working on for a few weeks now. It turns out that the iPad is something of a blessing because the browsers on the computers in the computer lab are obsolete and are no longer compatible with WikiSpaces, or so I was told. In any case students cannot edit the wikis on the computers in the computer lab, but they can edit the wikis on the iPads.
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Today I asked my students to let me know what they thought of the iPad experiment. They could talk about apps they would like to see on the iPads as well. I asked students to use the A. P. Language and Composition thread on the Discussions area of my new web page. Only seven students responded to my request but I think their insights are worth considering. Most of their comments were very positive and there were no complaints, but there are a few things that students think would enrich the experience. Here are the observations, first the positive and then the negative:
The positives
- Can access Mr. Wilson's websites and those of others.
- Easier to do research.
- Access to the Internet.
- Can submit work.
- Provides a variety of activities.
- Gain skills working with the technology.
- Grow in in technical skill through experimentation.
- Can research what is not understood when responding to questions.
- Can finish work more quickly.
- Easier for groups to help each other.
- Slow getting started but can now use the iPad efficiently.
The negatives
- No word processing app.
- Can't take iPads home.
- Pen and paper easier for submitting work.
For my part I have found I have far less paper to handle, though the class still generates quite a bit. I also like responding to students digitally because I can make more legible comments and can comment more completely, not being restricted by the margins of the paper. I also like being able to add a multi-media component to some assignments where I can ask students to find images, video clips, and the like that Internet access makes available.