This question has been posed to me several times over the last few weeks, both by my principal and by several acquaintances outside of the education field. It’s a great question. I think that all of us agree that the
iPAD is an incredible piece of technology. It’s not enough, however, to just give a bunch of kids this incredible tool and say “go learn”. The iPAD is a tool and the tool in and of itself is not nearly enough.
We are at a pivotal moment in education. The average classroom looks very similar to classrooms of 100 years ago. But step outside of a typical school and we see something very different. To succeed in today’s global economy, you need to be able to quickly access and evaluate information and then use that information to solve problems in creative, innovative and novel ways. It’s no longer enough for our students to just “know” things any more. School needs to be a place where every day our students have the opportunity to take what they know and apply it as they think critically and analytically, solve novel and relevant problems and are encouraged to think “outside of the box” as they create and innovate. After all, the goal of education is to help students become lifelong learners as we prepare them for the “real world”. The iPAD is not the “end all, be all”. Transformative teaching and learning environments are.
My classroom and teaching philosophy have undergone a transformation in the last several years. I expect that my journey is far from over. So what does this transformative learning environment look like? I’m still trying to figure that out but here are some of the things I've learned so far:
- Clear Learning Goals: Clear learning goals are important. The students need to know and understand what the target is and why it is an important benchmark to reach.
- Flexibility: Students need the opportunity to showcase their understandings in many ways. In the classroom this means that many different things might be happening at once. However, the learning target still remains similar from student to student.
- Assessment: Assessment is ongoing and much of it is informal. Students also need frequent opportunities to address and solve real, relevant problems.
- Classroom Environment: It sometimes looks messy on first glance but when you look closely, deep, 40-year learning is happening every day in a transformative learning environment.
- Creative Freedom: Students need to be given the opportunity to find and develop the best ways for them to showcase their thoughts and ideas. This might look radically different from one student to the next. Some students are able to figure this out quickly but many need lots of guidance. It’s not that they can’t do it, they’re just used to being told what to do and how to do it.
- Details: Sometimes details are important but sometimes they’re not. I think that in education we have a tendency to get bogged down with the little things and lose sight of the big picture. Letting go of the little things is sometimes the first step towards creating a transformative learning environment.
As I look back at this post, I am aware that I have hardly mentioned iPADs. That’s because iPADs are a tool that can only be used to their full potential when the learning environment changes. So, are iPAD’s necessary for this transformation to take place in the classroom? Of course not. The same transformation can take place using technologies like laptops, Chromebooks and personal SMART devices. It can also take place without technology but I would argue that not allowing students the opportunity to use technology as a tool is a disservice to them not only because it is such an integral part of their lives but also because it is necessary skill in the new global economy.
This leads us back to my original question, why iPADs? There are several things that set the iPAD apart from other technology tools:
- their simplicity
- their durability (especially in the hands of middle schoolers)
- their ease of use as a learning tool both inside and outside of the classroom
- the ease of personalization
- the diverse number of apps
I currently have a class set of iPADs. This means that our devices are shared amongst 4 to 5 students throughout the day. What I have quickly learned after only 2 months with the devices is that in order to use the iPADs to their full potential they should be a personal device that the students use throughout their school day and outside of the school environment as well.
My goal is to transform the education experience of our students. I will continue to advocate that the iPAD is the ideal personal learning tool to help reach this goal. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out not only how to help and inspire teachers as they transform their learning environments but also how to get this tool into the hands of all of our kids....
that introduce and review key vocabulary terms and concepts. I like the idea of students being able to access these mini-lessons on their own initiative when they think it would be helpful to clarify ideas or clear up confusion. Our iPADs and Schoology have given me the opportunity to rethink how to establish a classroom environment that pushes all students to learn and create in their own individual, unique ways. So, I've decided to go for it and completely change what our class format looks like. I still don’t like the term “flipped classroom”. I much prefer “blended learning”. In my mind, blended learning implies student ownership of their learning. I see my role in a blended classroom more as a facilitator and a coach, than a “sage on the stage”. I’m curious and excited to see how our classroom as well as the roles of “teacher” and “student” evolve over the next few months. 
