Involving parents with your schools iPad program. Many libraries and educational organisations across the world see the benefits of including your community in understanding how latest technology can enhance learning.
A number of libraries have what they call a 'Digital Petting Zoo' where you can go and find out more about the technology, find out what it can do, how to use it and feel comfortable with the technology. St Patrick's Primary Guildford felt it was important to have parents involvement and understanding about the use of iPads in learning at their school. So recently they organised an event where students at St Patricks got to show parents the opportunities for learning with an Ipad. Parents were invited to the school hall for an iPad in-service.
After a brief introduction about the value of iPads in the classroom parents were able to watch children from all grades using the iPads in a variety of ways. iPads in middle school: One parent’s positive experience. My daughter turned 13 this past summer and we just celebrated her Bat Mitzvah last month.
On her actual birthday, her Father and I gave her an iPad 2 to mark this milestone year (we don’t normally give huge birthday presents like that). A few weeks after 8th grade began in September, she asked if she could start bringing it to school. My first reaction was “hell to the no!” She kept asking. Her middle school has a SSR (silent sustained reading) policy. Our local library is small and lacking. We relented and let her bring the iPad to school on a few conditions: It was entirely her responsibility. Last week I visited each teacher for parent/teacher conferences of the first marking period. Each teacher I spoke to, in between raving about what a pleasure my kid is to have in class ::kvell:: remarked that the iPad has been a positive influence on her education.
Finally, when she’s home she’s texting less and using Facetime to keep in touch with her friends. Parenting.com: Technology in the Classroom: The Good and Bad. By Brian Braiker for Parenting Chris Crowell, a kindergarten teacher in Flemington, NJ, is summoned to the classroom kitchen area by Ava, 6, who has something to show him.
"Mr. Crowell, we have a spider in the sink," she says, matter-of-factly. "Why don't we check out the spider under the microscope? " he replies, perking up the rest of the students, who are enjoying free play at various stations around the room. Ava carries the removable tub from the sink to the "teacher table," where Pedro, 5, launches the Zoomy digital microscope, a small, egg-shaped device that connects via USB cable to the classroom laptop. After a few minutes of observing the spider's image magnified onto the classroom billboard, most of the students drift back to the areas where they had been playing prior to the sighting.
PLUS: The Right Technology for Kids at Every Age Crowell has been incorporating technology into his daily teaching since the floppy-disc era. Addiction vs. Anatomy of an App Dr.