iPad in the classroom

The article Study Finds Benefits in Use of iPad as Educational Tool posted on Emerging Ed Tech, details a study conducted at Longfield Academy in Kent, England, showing that students and teachers alike found using iPads as a regular part of instruction to be highly beneficial. Furthermore, the students overwhelmingly requested even further use of iPads in their classes.

At the risk of repeating the same old theme in several of my recent blog posts, the article did point out that two key elements for the success of the iPad project at Longfield were "Professional development was provided at the start of the program and on an ongoing basis", and that "effective project management was critical to the success of the effort". So the more I read about successful integration of technology into good teaching practice, the more I see that professional development and effective IT support are critical to its success. We all know as teachers that just being good at something (i.e. using the latest technology) doesn't mean automatically mean being good at teaching it, or using it to good effect in the classroom. At the halfway point in my Ed Tech master's degree, I feel like I have a lot more knowledge and experience in utilizing technology that I did a year ago; however in many respects, I'm still a novice in using it effectively in my teaching. Of course, we will all get better at it the more we use technology in our teaching, but in my case, the school I'm in now is sorely lacking in two key elements for success identified in this article.

If you're interested in the entire study, the results are available here.