Individual Ipads for Students

I think it would be wonderful if all students were able to have a device in their classrooms. Of course, this adds a whole new level of classroom management, but I believe that the positive effects will drastically outweigh the negative, as long as the classroom teacher is able to maintain control over the technology being used.

The students we’re teaching are so tech savvy, they know how to use technology in ways that many teachers don’t. However, students should still be guided in their technology use by the teacher. The biggest issue that comes up with 1 to 1 device use is distraction. Students will be lured by all the possible distractions that come with being connected to the Internet.

As suggested by “For Teachers, Wired Classrooms Pose NewManagement Concerns” I think that making laps around the classroom is important. If students know they are being watched, then they are more likely to be on good behavior. The teacher can then walk around the room, answering questions and working with students one on one, while at the same time making sure students are on task.

In the Journalism class I was working in at SBJHS, many days the students were working individually with ipads to type up their articles or to do research. I walked around in that fashion to make sure students were on task and there were very few times that students were off task. The students felt ownership over their articles and over the fact that they were allowed to check out Ipads. I believe that allowing students to feel a sense of ownership over their work and over the way they do that work (on google drive, or on Word, or on paper) helps to lend a sense of responsibility to the classroom and to the individual students.

I think that with some classrooms, the desktop watching programs are a good solution. I would prefer not to use the program to watch all my students desktops because I would rather instill a sense of accountability and ownership for my students in the classroom.