By Drew Hayman, Bridgeway Academy Teacher
It
is the advent of a new generation of technology where your TV can
access the internet and the need for home staples like the home landline
telephone are falling by the wayside. We in the education system are
trying
to prepare the students for this new age.
The question with new
technology becomes what is available to help the student get there? To
begin with, it is the teachers at Bridgeway Academy as we are attempting
to help those students prepare for the future, with
a tool set that can help them continue to expand even after this current
wave of technology passes and we advance to another level.
This year the school has
started to develop a program where the students are using a mobile
technology lab filled with iPads. This new technology at school has
really opened up new avenues of learning by allowing our
students to experience an immersive learning environment through apps.
Each application specializes in its function and engages the students
with interactive, hands on learning. Learning that prior to now would or
could have been filled with only a text book.
Exploratory learning functions at its best when given to a student that
is engaged in their learning and interested in the concept that you are
providing a structure for. The school has been using several different
apps that range from dissections, to bridge
creations and even making movies. The students have just started to
experience iMovie an app designed by apple that allows them to create
trailers for future feature films and even the full movie. The budding
producers have created some exceptional pieces so
far. The students are also learning to make use of the iPads abilities
to read text back to them and even record their voices as text so that
it writes the words out for them.
Apps are small programs that
can be downloaded for a nominal cost or in many cases free. Gone are the
bills for suite programs of $400 or more. I personally welcome the new
era of .99 cent programs that may only do
a limited function but usually perform that function very well. There
are many programs offered and sometimes it is difficult to distinguish
what is actually good or isn’t before you purchase it. An excellent
site to start the search is http://www.slideshare.net/gtoews/free-apps-list
it lists out many different applications and the levels in which they are good for.
The iPad and iPod technology
are easily accessible to any person regardless of technology background.
Using point, drag, and swipe technology the devices take a lot of the
difficulty out of the equation of a PC and
allow all users to quickly understand how to use the device and to
easily enjoy the experience. If anyone is concerned about the potential
difficulty of the items usage I challenge you to give it a try or even
have your student teach you how to use it. The
devices can be extremely safe as more and more functions are being
created to help lock them down. There are many tutorials and web sites
available to help you learn to use your device to its fullest
potential. The best aspect of this technology is the absolute
enthusiasm the students have shown for using it. To walk into a class
and hear a student playing the piano or guitar and then realize that
they are doing so on the iPad is truly incredible.
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