iPad 3C's - Some Planning Questions

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iPads are being discovered by public and private schools, k-12.  Like many things digital, however, insufficient thought has often gone into their implementation.  If they are used to differentiate by offering an audio supported reading platform, they are being wasted.  If they are used mainly for note-taking, they are being wasted. If they are used mainly to replace textbooks, they are being wasted.  If they are used mainly to offer individualized media or voting or input experiences, they are being wasted. If they have been purchased to enhance student engagement, they are being wasted.  If they have been purchased only to improve the "tech image" of a school as quickly as possible, they will be wasted.

Each of these functions can be accomplished by a less expensive mobile device, such as the smartphones that as many as 80% of middle and high schools students may already have or the Kindle Fire.

1:1 devices have been around for a long time, educationally speaking.  My first laptop class has graduated college and gone on to grad school, work, and children.  What was true then is true now - the following are essential to a successful program:

1. Planning, 
2. Professional Development, 
3. Professional Ownership of the Tool,
4. Support

Without all four of these, learning will not be significantly impacted by the distribution of devices to students.  There are excellent guides for implementation of 1:1 programs online and in journal articles, and excellent consultants, including the good people at Apple.  It is the Planning step that most concerns me, as it is the most neglected and the most under-consulted. Schools need to ask the right questions and not just blindly fund a classroom, school building, program, or district with iPads.  What a waste, especially  in a time that parents and children and teachers can not afford to waste a dollar.

The best Planning questions are founded in the 3C's of iPad programs:

• Collaboration (which includes Communication in all of its aspects: text, visual, audio, multi-media)
• Creation
• Critical-thinking

It is these capabilities that make the iPad rise above other technologies available today for student use. Planning for the 3C's goes far beyond program financing and network/device protection and security (although these are also essential Planning points). Guaranteeing the 3C's guarantees that value is added to the school's educational program.

What are the questions that need to be answered?

Collaboration:

1. To what extent will collaboration be an essential use of the iPad in school?
2. What restrictions will be in place upon implementation?
3. What permissions and guidelines (parental, student) need to be created and secured before implementation?
4. What IT supports and technologies must be in place to make collaboration seamless within the building?
5. What specific learning outcomes and units will benefit from the use of the iPad for collaboration?
6. What apps will be used primarily for collaboration? 
7. What apps will be used primarily for communication of content?  
8. What will the flow of collaboration look like in representative classrooms?
9. What will be the process for teachers to share flipped and back-flipped content?
10. What policies will be in place with regard to the use of other mobile devices that can enhance iPad collaborative functionality?
11. What existing technologies will support a collaborative use of the iPad?
12. What new technologies need to be purchased to enhance use the iPad for collaboration?
13. By what method(s) will the school measure the value-added by the iPad to student and teacher collaboration?

Creation:

1. To what extent will creativity be an essential use of the iPad in school? 
2. What policies are in place to prevent violation of copyright and intellectual property rights?
3. What specific learning outcomes and units will benefit from the use of the iPad for creativity?
4. What apps will best support the production and publication of creative content? 
5. What existing technologies will support iPad creativity?
6. What new technologies need to be purchased to support iPad creativity?
7. By what method(s) will the school measure the value-added by the iPad to student and teacher creativity?

Critical-thinking:

1. To what extent will critical-thinking be an essential use of the iPad in school?
2. What specific learning outcomes and units will benefit from the use of the iPad to support critical-thinking?
3. What apps will be used primarily to develop and enhance critical-thinking opportunities? 
4. By what method(s) will the school measure the value-added by the iPad to student and teacher critical-thinking?

Embedded in the answers to these questions is a review of curriculum and teaching methodologies. Many, if not most, districts and schools undertaking a 1:1 iPad or mobile program do NOT invest time in this review.  From my point of view, this leads to loss on the investment.  It is not sufficient to provide teachers and administrators with iPads well in advance of "roll-out."  The questions above need to be addressed explicitly, fully, and often during this advance period. 

Some resources:  (I am not necessarily recommending these apps)

• Learning in Hand: Classroom iPod touches and iPad's: Dos and Don'ts
• Bloom's Taxonomy With Apps
• bloomsapps
• iPad App Reviews
• Blooms Digital Taxonomy - for desktops and laptops, but many of these web-based tools now have mobile apps (for viewing or creating)