Monday 31 May 2010

IPad - my initial thoughts

Our plan at Jakarta World Academy and Sinarmas World Academy is to use iPads 1:1 with the students. I managed to get one on the weekend and have had a chance to test it out on my children. I have an 11 year old son, an 8 year old daughter and my youngest son is 4. All of my kids loved trying out my new iPad, but it was my 4 year old that took to it the most.

My plan is this:

* At JWA we will use iPads 1:1. Firstly I will image the iPads with Apps that connect with the current unit of learning. I will arrange for the wallpaper to be a photo of the student in uniform at school taken of that child engaged in some learning. We could also arrange to get Jakarta World Academy sleeves made to store the iPads in.

* I would identify apps that encourage creativity that connect with the learning. For example if the focus was on Sea Creatures, I would put Clicky Sticky on the image so that the students can make scenes and even act out stories using the different stickers. I would also include fish apps and virtual ocean apps.

* I would load songs that connect with those stories onto the iPod feature and make it into a Sea Creature playlist.

* Classroom activities can be filmed and loaded onto the iPad for viewing at home with the parents. Videos of teachers using flash cards for key vocabulary could also be included.

* Sets of Flashcards could also be loaded onto the iPad in the Image library as an event. Perhaps using the First Words app as it allows sound recordings to be made.

* I would make sure that there is a drawing app so that students can draw different sea creatures.

* Keynote app could be used to create student digital portfolios with scanned paper based work and photos of 3D work.

iPad - a first look and trial with Pre K Student

On the weekend I got an iPad and tried it out with my youngest son who is four. This has confirmed for me that this tool is totally suited to this age group.

Tuesday 4 May 2010

JWA - Jakarta World Academy

iPads at JWA
With the opening of SWA two years ago, it has quickly become a leading school in the use of IT in education. It is the first Laptop program school in Indonesia and has set a standard for 21st century learning that leading schools such as JIS are now getting ready to follow.
But it can be difficult to imagine what that can look like in classrooms for 2-6 year olds. Recent developments in technology in the last few year have greatly changed what is possible – and brought new and highly exciting learning possibilities for even our youngest children.
Years ago IT in kindergarten classes meant electronic matching games, or an animated story book but today young children get to create pictures and video themselves to create their own stories.
Adding to the possibilities of having interactive whiteboards and class sets of computers, the iPod, over the past year, has quietly revolutionized the way we use technology in the early years. Young children have short attention spans, but it is amazing to see how focused they are interacting with iPods. But the true power ahead is with the iPad. At JWA, students will
be encouraged to have their own iPad so that class ebooks, videos, songs and educational
applications can be loaded onto student iPads and refreshed each month with the digital resources for each new classroom learning focus. This will keep the learning going on at home and in the car, and can be shared with mom and dad. Watch out for more iPad news
in coming editions of ‘Dragon Tales’.

Read more about JWA here:
Dragon Tales-May 3