IPAD’s in Action

Matthew WoodE-Learning Coordinatormwood@sfx.vic.edu.au

St Francis Xavier CollegeBeaconsfield & Berwick

About the PresenterMatthew WoodM.Ed. B.Sc. Grad. Dip Teach.

eLearning CoordinatorSt Francis Xavier Collegemwood@sfx.vic.edu.au

Professional Experience

• 1998-1999 The Essington School, Darwin N.T. Classroom & SNAP Laptop Teacher• 2000-2001 Darwin High School, Darwin N.T. Senior Science & SNAP Laptop Teacher• 2002-2008 St Joseph’s College, Ferntree Gully VIC. Head of Science & Professional Learning Coordinator• 2008-2009 Origin Energy LTD, Melbourne VIC. Manager, People Development Innovation• 2010 – Current St Francis Xavier College, Beaconsfield VIC. eLearning Coordinator

With a love of learning and a passion for innovation, Matthew has a vast experience of introducing new technologies into schools. From laptops to IPAD’s, learning management systems and online learning, Matthew has worked closely with teachers to integrate and explore the possibilities of new technology and to help embed it effectively so that it becomes a part of regular classroom practice.

About our School

• St Francis Xavier College is a dual campus (Berwick & Beaconsfield) co-educational institution of nearly 2000 students and 230 staff.

• Through the DER we have approximately 600 shared laptops and netbooks in circulation for classroom usage.

What’s been happening?

• Back in June 2010, St Francis Xavier College was invited by the CEO to participate in the pilot along with 8 other schools.

• The purpose of the pilot was to determine valuable information and data regarding:

– How can the IPAD be used to improve student learning outcomes?

– How can the use of IPAD’s be incorporated into the classroom?– Is the IPAD as useful as a laptop?

The Pilot Groups

• The following classes were used for the pilot project:

Year 9 Science‘Nuclear Chemistry’

Year 9 Japanese

• The use of the IPAD’s were written into course curriculum for both these subjects.

How They Were Used

• Web Based Activities• Topic Specific Applications (Apps)• Report Writing• Work Submissions (Drop Box)• eBooks• Video & Audio Podcasts• Educational Gaming• Moodle• Electronic Roll Marking

IPAD Setup

• The following Apps were installed onto each IPAD as requested by the Pilot Group Teachers:

Documents To Go - document creation

iBooks - eBook and pdf reader

Safari – web browsing

IPAD Setup

• Science Based Apps

IPAD Setup

• Japanese Based Apps

IPAD Setup

• Podcasts

• eBooks

IPAD Setup

• Custom Built Apps

SFX Moodle AppLinks students straight to the College’s Learning Management System.

SFX Britannica Online AppLogs students directly into the School’s Britannica Online Subscription.

IPAD Maintenance

• IPAD’s are stored in the Library

• Booked on Book-It online booking system

• Transported in small trolley

• Each IPAD is charged once a week

• IPAD’s are synced to College created iTunes Accounts.

Training & Support

• 5 Teacher IPAD’s available.

• Teacher IPAD Experts are on hand to provide training and support to their peers.

• Teachers may borrow an IPAD on a short term loan to explore how to best use them in the classroom.

• Teachers can request for Apps to be installed on class sets. They must do so at least 2 weeks prior to using the IPAD’s.

Key Findings

Functionality

• Consumption over Creation.

• Quick and easy access to the web which means it is a handy research tool. A lot faster than a laptop.

• Sustainable – no photocopying.

• Once set up, very little ongoing maintenance and technical support required (compared to laptops).

• Shared IPAD’s can be problematic for ongoing document creation. Students need to create a ‘dropbox’ account to save their documents.

• Document creation functionality not as advanced as that of a laptop.

Key FindingsStudent Learning

• Student engagement in both individual and collaborative tasks was very high.

• High completion rate of activities and tasks by students involved in the pilot.

• Seen as a learning tool and not just a gimmick or distraction.

• Planning and preparation time less than other types of e-based learning tools.

• Like other mobile technologies, students can pick up and run with the IPAD’s in a very short time.

• Students respect this type of technology (no recorded incidents of damage or untoward manipulation).

Moving Forward• Since the pilot, the number of IPAD’s in the school has grown to over 100 units.

• Growing popularity in the use of IPAD’s across both Campuses.

• Learning Areas beginning to use the IPAD’s include:

– English– Religious Education– Science (VCE Psychology & Biology)– Food Technology– Humanities

• College Learning Technologies Committee is currently investigating the viability of book-listing an IPAD in the very near future.