Young children drawing together on the iPad versus paper: How collaborative creativity is shaped by different semiotic resources

Facilitating collaborative creativity among children involves offering material resources that support collaborative and creative interactions. Popular views of tablets, such as the iPad, suggest that they are better suited to solitary game-playing or video-watching than to collaborative open-ended tasks. I explore this further through a social semiotic lens, applying the concepts of ‘semiotic resources’ and ‘affordances’ to develop a more nuanced understanding of what tablets have to offer in relation to children’s collaborative creativity. Through this lens, I compare observations of six pairs of 5-6 year old children engaged in a collaborative drawing task completed either on paper or on the iPad. I apply a thematic analysis to the children’s dialogue across 25 episodes (15 iPad, 10 paper) and the visual dimensions of their 41 drawings (23 iPad, 18 paper), and develop three interwoven themes: 1) attitudes to space, 2) momentum of the line and 3) pathways to representation. For each of these themes, I explore how the affordances of the iPad and/or the particular app feed into these aspects of the drawing process and the implications of this for children’s collaborative creativity. The analysis suggests that drawing on the iPad can be more responsive and less subject to personal planning than drawing on paper. I suggest that this difference is shaped by physical properties such as the touch-screen interface, but also emerges as a result of the cultural investment in drawing on paper as a form of ‘self-expression’, a notion that works to limit exploratory and collaborative engagement with the resources. Since participants were noticeably open to exploring new ideas together while drawing on the iPad, I argue that we need to reassess the potentials of touch-screen tablets to support tasks of collaborative creativity in educational contexts

Analysis of the integration of the iPad in the classroom from the student perspective: UCJC pilot project.

Este artículo analiza el uso de la tableta digital iPad en el aula en el marco del proyecto piloto de la Universidad Camilo José Cela (UCJC). La investigación refleja la experiencia de los alumnos después del primer año de uso de la tableta digital. El estudio analiza la utilización del iPad como herramienta académica a través de 35 encuestas. Entre las conclusiones, destaca la percepción positiva del alumnado por la integración de esta nueva tecnología educativa en el aula. Los estudiantes reconocen que mejoran sus habilidades profesionales y expositivas para ser más competitivos en el mercado laboral de la Comunicación.This paper analyzes the use of digital tablet iPad in the classroom as part of the pilot project at the University Camilo Jose Cela (UCJC). The research reflects the experience of students after the first year of using digital tablets. The study analyzes the use of iPad as an academic tool through 35 surveys. Among the conclusions, we note the student’s positive perception about the integration of this new educational technology in the classroom. Finally, students recognize the improvement of their professional and presentation skills to be more competitive in the labor market of Communication

Using iPads for English Study

This paper explains how the English conversation teachers at Aichi Institute of Technology used the iPad 2 in their English classes in the 2011 academic year. We further explain how the iPads were used in the classroom and also how they were used to help students complete Moodle homework. Possible ways for using the new iPad in next year's English Conversation classes are explored

COWpads: Sharing iPads in a range of secondary school classrooms

This article outlines a mid-point snapshot of the progress of a small teaching-as-inquiry project at Hillcrest High School in 2013. Three teachers (music, mathematics, French) volunteered to focus on using iPads in a COW (computers on wheels, hence the term COWPads) configuration with a junior class during 2013. Each teacher created their own teaching-as-inquiry question focused on specific aspects of their practice. A University of Waikato researcher supported the teachers by observing classes and meeting regularly for feedback, reflection and discussion. Halfway through the year the following themes have emerged: the technical challenges to using a device designed for personal use as a shared device; a positive impact on students’ concentration levels and spans when using iPads, and shifts in teachers’ pedagogical design and practice. The teachers individually contribute their voices to this article, describing their initial experiences of using iPads on a regular basis and what they concentrated on most during the first few months of the project

Evaluating Digital Math Tools in the Field

Many school districts have adopted digital tools to supplement or replace teacher-led instruction, usually based on the premise that these tools can provide more personalized or individualized experiences for students and at lower cost. Rigorously evaluating whether such initiatives promote better student outcomes in the field is difficult as most schools and teachers are unwilling to enforce rigorous study designs such as randomized control trials. We used study designs that were feasible in practice to assess whether two digital math tools, eSpark and IXL, were associated with improvements in 3rd – 6th grade student test scores in math. We also investigated the resource requirements and costs of implementing eSpark and IXL to assess whether these tools represent a valuable use of resources. We find that while IXL is substantially less costly to implement than eSpark, its use is not significantly associated with students’ math performance

What Effects Do Virtual Learning Tools Have on Preschoolers Kinesthetic Learning?

Technology is rapidly being integrated in most k-12 classrooms in California. Personal devices such as smartphones and tablets are becoming increasingly commonplace among children preschool age and younger. Early childhood educators are asking whether technology can accomplish the same learning goals of traditional hands on learning. This research study explores the effects of virtual learning using iPads in the preschool classroom. Using a pre-experimental design, children were tested using physical didactic materials, and then tested again using the same materials virtually on an iPad program. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, results of performance using both methods of instruction were inconclusive. However, the five year olds did show significantly lower scores using the iPad, indicating perhaps more familiarity with the physical materials. They also showed less frustration and better recall, indicating more maturity and readiness for new types of learning. When making decisions about technology in the preschool classroom, age and maturity of the child needs to be taken into account. Thoughtful consideration needs to be taken into account when using technology at the preschool level