English_Kenneth

My overall experience as an English teacher using the ipad was very positive, although some limitations in the language arts area were evident.

__Clear positives related to improving student learning:__

As a information consumption and sharing device, the ipad excelled. I was able to prepare original presentations and activities on short notice, which I not be able to do using traditional paper & pen, or even computer labs. If I found additional material, I could quickly share and discuss the material with students on their ipads. By using my website in conjunction with the ipads, I could have students immediately upload a recent student essay, article, or even short-answer or AP multiple-choice selections. As a class we could review, share, and manipulate the text. Otherwise, I would have to make hundred of copies, wasting paper, time, and immediacy or the lesson.

I used my WL website to upload AP multiple choice selections and questions, and we would discuss, respond, and review; then I would immediately delete the selection from the website. We could be totally paperless.

__Access to literature and tremendous paper savings__ The copyrights for many of the works that we study in literature have expired, and these works are available on Project Gutenberg for free in various formats (text, pdf, kindle, epub, and others). Students had immediate access to complete works, and there was no need to buy additional books (top-up book purchases, etc). The ipad is an excellent reading device, so the effort was immediate.

Students could continue reading the works not only on their ipads, but other devices, like their own phones, tablets, and computers.

Moreover, for my AP Language and Composition class, an important part of the class during preparations for the AP examination is looking at and evaluating sample anchor papers and prompts. These can be 25 or more pages per packet and are used only once. For only two class periods, a single packet would be 1750 pages. I literally saved many thousands of pages of paper during this review period before the exam. Moreover, I uploaded the sample papers to my website, and students could access them for additional review (or access them in class on the ipad upon their return, if they were absent).

Over one foot tall of paper used in AP anchor paper reviews With the ipads -- NO PAPER WAS USED OR WASTED, but students had full access to the work.

__Some limitations in the language arts classroom__ Writing and editing were cumbersome on ipads. In this way, there is no escape from the convenience and ease of a keyboard. For my AP Language and Composition class, we need to not only be able to share and manipulate text, but also the process of actual writing is an important element of a writing class, and the lack of a keyboard greatly hampered the process, for example, in-class timed writing and the production of draft materials. It is just too time consuming, and students often preferred to go a computer lab, even when minor smaller changes to papers. Moreover, our main method of sharing through Google Docs experienced a number of problems on the ipads.

__If APS were going in the direction of iPads 1:1, my recommendations for PD?__ The knowledge of apps is valuable, but learning how to fully use the devices in the classroom to support the expertise of the teacher is very important. We as teachers have developed effective materials over the years as content professionals, and sometimes there is too much emphasis on bending one'e teaching to fit apps, rather than using apps to support the expertise and knowledge of educators; there is a balance. Training might be more effective in content groups, like all English teachers, etc. Moreover, ipads can be creatively used in classrooms as tools to share, manipulate, and evaluate teacher materials and textbook materials. The benefit of ipads in the language arts classroom is access to information, ease of sharing written work, ease of teachers selecting and sharing additional work not covered in textbooks, and access to thousands of classic novels in which the copyright has already expired.