Alas, a geek wish came true this year as my school district announced its Bring Your Own Device initiative. When I heard the news my head became heavy, my eyes blurry. Images of laptops swirled in my head. What would this mean for my students? As much as I was excited about the options this new policy allowed, I knew the reality of the situation: some students didn't have a device to bring to school. I had plenty of Science lessons ready for this day, I'd done my homework - I knew it would come.
As a teacher must do, I embraced the idea of adaptation and flexibility to make the most of it. I joined a local chapter of Computer Using Educators (CUE) and applied for a grant to purchase two tablets. I made a Google Map of the free wireless locations near the school. Applications for district managed tech grants were completed. Students doubted their ears, "can I really bring my laptops to school tomorrow?". Oh, YES you can!
With two newly awarded iPad minis, my own personal Chromebook, and an obsolete original model iPad the class was ready to try some new approaches. Students eagerly displayed their devices on the desktop. We discussed digital citizenship, cyberbullying, and classroom procedures for using tech. Demonstrations of login procedures were given. As I had anticipated, there were challenges. It was evident that most students didn't really understand how to access or modify the settings on their device. I told them "It is your responsibility to know how to use your own tools." Some students came to the rescue and became "Tech Heroes" because they were able to help others to access the wireless signal on a potpourri of devices. King-sized candy bars were provided to them without delay! As a class, we tried various web-based student response systems with varying degrees of success.
The rest of the year flew by. Students used their devices inside and outside of the classroom. Since our class is organized into "garden groups" and the Science lab tables are arranged to accommodate this it was used to assign projects and assignments. In most cases, the groups would have at least one device amongst them to share. If they did not, I allowed them to use one of the iPads. As long as assignments allowed for this group collaboration, the students were engaged and surprised me with their creativity! Garden groups worked together to produce short vocabulary movies. They used QR readers to access gardening videos during a practical garden lab. Photos of vegetables and flowers they grew were used in student created edcanvas lessons. (Find out more about these lessons in an upcoming post.)
As I was cleaning out my room for the summer, filling up that paper recycling bin, I considered the year. My learning curve was steep and as several of my students indicated in a year end reflection theirs was too. As it was necessary for me to adapt to my teaching environment, it was necessary for them to adjust to an altered learning environment.