Today, I held an iPad in my hands. I realize for some people this may be old news. But for me, this was a BIG deal. I was awed by the beauty and simplicity of the iPad.
With my library media background, I was drawn to the iBook app. After I downloaded a book I was able to turn the pages, put in a bookmark, highlight text, and look at the pictures. Just like having the real book in my hands! In my mesmerized state, I thought this was the greatest thing ever! That is, until a colleague asked a similar question the editors of the New York Time have been asking, “Does the iPad offer users a new medium or is it merely an iPod Touch on steroids?”
What will be the impact of the iPad on education?
This is what I believe…
One, I found the iPad is highly engaging, motivating, and fun! Students would also.
Two, this is just the beginning. Apple will keep improving the iPad to include more and more features (eg. Flash, camera, etc).
Only time will tell and I cannot wait to see.
Imagine students spending the school day immersed in projects, and then during “homework time” at home settling in at their computer, iPod or other device to watch or listen to on-demand podcasts from their teacher and other experts presenting content.
In an inverted classroom, passive activities such as listening to lectures and content presentations occur outside the school day. During the school day, in the presence of their teacher, students engage in deeper learning through hands-on learning activities. A result of the inverted classroom model is more quality time with the teacher, as opposed to the teacher often in front of the students delivering instruction.
The inverted classroom model is ideal for the university setting, where the in-class experience is currently more lecture oriented, but what could be the implications at the elementary setting? Certainly something worth pondering…
One thing for certain is that there is an expectation that higher education students have off site access to wired technology. But, this can’t be assumed for the elementary or even secondary student. The question arises, “is digital access a right?” Ease of access is critical to a discussion of inverting our classrooms.
