Tool # 8

Tool #8 is about looking at the tools you will have available in the classroom.......in my case I am looking at the ipads and the netbooks.

I can see that both will be very useful and beneficial in the classroom.

I brought home an ipad, and had trouble at first with it because I couldn't even get it to turn on. It was locked with a screen showing only itunes and a usb!! I installed the latest version of itunes from our KACE software library, and tried to sync the ipad to my computer, but nooooooooooo, it wouldn't do anything! Itunes didn't even acknowledge there was an ipad hooked up to it.

After deciding I had a defective ipad and was making plans to find out how I could exchange it, I decided to try syncing it to my husband's laptop............and presto, it immediately installed a driver and turned on, and is now working perfectly, except it still won't sync to my teacher's laptop! I'm taking it with me to my reimaging appointment and hope the geeks there can get it straightened out.

But, aside from that, I can see I'll really enjoy having this. It's like a big iphone without the phone. Accessing the internet is simple, as it comes preloaded with Safari and has Google bookmarked. It also has an ipad user guide bookmarked, which will probably come in handy. I've already installed countless free educational apps. and will be looking for more. There are all kinds of tips on the internet about ipad apps and how to use them in school.

The 6 netbooks I'm going to have will be great for small group tasks. We can take our small groups in the classroom to the next level, as they become more independent and problem solve as they interact and work collaboratively on specific tasks and objectives. Differentiated instruction will be much more accessible for the instructor. There will be plenty of opportunities for peer assessment and interaction by using the google docs and presentations they will have available. I anticipate investigating current events in real time, such as weather related events like the Tsunami in Japan, which will make their learning meaningful and relevant. The netbooks come complete with webcams and Skype, which is something I'm going to investigate further.

I plan on managing the ipads and netbooks by having a plan in place by the beginning of school, and posting the rules either in a poster or a handout that they will receive.

There will be assigned students who are responsible for setting them up and putting them back on the charger. There will also be instructions concerning when they are allowed to be on the netbooks, and what to do with them when I'm teaching a lesson.