A North Carolina middle school didn\u27t have enough computers to give students reasonable access to the Internet, so administrators implemented a one-to-one iPod touch program. Now every student is connected

Crompton, Helen

Goodhand, Lynne

Wells, Susan

English

Old Dominion University

Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications Teaching & Learning 2011 The Whole World in Their Hands Helen Crompton Old Dominion University, crompton@odu.edu Lynne Goodhand Susan Wells Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/teachinglearning_fac_pubs  Part of the Educational Technology Commons, and the Online and Distance Education Commons Original Publication Citation Crompton, H., Goodhand, L., & Wells, S. (2011). The whole world in their hands. ISTE Learning and Leading with Technology, 38(5), 16-19. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Teaching & Learning at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@odu.edu. Copyright© 2011, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (lnt'I), iste@iste.org, www.iste.()(g, All rights reserved. A North Carolina middle school didn't have enough computers to give students reasonable access to the Internet, so administrators implemented a one-to-one iPod touch program. Now every student is connected. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • f you were to ,.valk around Grey Culbreth Middle School in North Carolina today, youa notice some very engaged students using iPod touches in a variety of ,.vays. Drop in to a science class, for example, and you'd see students using these handheld mobile devices to identify bacteria they had collected from dif-ferent areas of the school. Stop by the art room, and youa find groups of students visiting museums all over the world and collaborating about works of art. In a social studies classroo1n, you'd see students researching, iden-tifying, and using primary-source documents to learn about historical events. Even in the study halls, you ,.vould see kids using the touch to organize class work, take notes, and check assignment due dates. For the past two years, our central North Carolina school has put an iPod touch into the hands of all of our near-ly 700 students. This is a big improve-ment over the technology we had be-fore. Most classrooms at Culbreth have only a few classroom computers. So if students needed to search the Internet or access a website, they often burned valuable classroo1n time waiting for a seat in front of the monitor. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • By Helen Crompton, Lynne Goodhand, and Susan Wells • • • X • That's why, at a ti1ne v.rhen other schools are clamping do,.vn on the use of handheld mobile devices, Culbreth is going in the opposite direction: rec-ognizing the role these devices play in our society and embracing their use in the classroom. Culbreth's iPod touch program is not a replacement for desktop computers, but a complement to them. Students are not expected to write essays on the tiny keyboards. But if they were asked to research the food source of an an-telope, they ,.vould not have to move from their seats to find the answer. How We Got Here In the spring of 2008, Culbreth staff partnered with North Carolina Virtual Public Schools (NCVPS) to create the first online middle school curriculum in the United States. NCVPS offers more than 72 online courses- AP classes, world languages, and credit recovery courses- to students across the state. In writing the grant, Culbreth teach-ers and administrators thought 1011g and hard about embedding technology in schools. We considered our o,.vn pedagogical practices and evaluated the • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 16 Lear ning & Lead ing w ith Tech nology I February 2011 Copyright© 2011, ISTE (International Society for Technol gy in Education), 1.80 .336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) 0< 1.541.302.3777 (lnt'I),iste@iste.org,www.iste.org. Al rights reserved. role of technology within our teaching. After taking a look at all the options available to today's students, we decid-ed any device that we embedded in the district 1nust be personal, mobile, and easily accessible . We chose the iPod touch, which would allow students to surf the Internet and gai..11 access to countless apps. Fortunately, the partnership with NCVPS ca1ne with $85,000 in fu11d-ing . Further support came in the way of anonymous gift donations from Culbreth parents, and $ I 0,000 came out of the school's technology budget. A portion of the money ,.vas set aside for professional development. Careful Implementation We i.Jnplemented the progra1n slowly and deliberately. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Stage one. During the su1nmer, \ve gave iPod touches to teacher leaders from each of the professional learn -ing co1n1nunities (PLCs) , which are tv.10-perso11 grade -level teai11s from the same discipline who work collab -oratively to improve student learning. There are two tea.ms per grade. In this first stage, the 20 teacher leaders had approxi1nately one month to "play" with their iPod touches to get an idea of what they could do and how stude11ts could use the1n in the classrooms . It was a tremendous success . Teachers were enthusiastic about the devices and collaborated to produce numerous ways to integrate them into their lessons. Of course, we could just as easily have handed everyone a three -ring binder and led them step by step through a linear workshop. But v,re felt that allo,.ving teachers to explore ideas themsel ves was a more authentic and engaging activity than readi.J1g ,.vork-sheets in a binder. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Stage two. In September, our school purchased iPod touches for the certi -fied and classified staff in the school. We feel stro11gly that all staff are part of the learning community and should have access to the tools . During the initial PLC 1neetings at the start of school, the team leaders shared with other teachers ,.vhat they had learned from using the iPod touches. The PLC teams then bega11 to 1neet in groups every other week to share knowledge, ideas, and best practices about using the iPod touches in school. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Stage three. In October, we launched a pilot program with a group of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students who were me1nbers of the school's Advancement via Individual Deter1ni -nation (AVID) program. AVID targets middle schoolers deemed unlikely to consider atte11ding a college or univer-sity. The goal of the program is to steer these students toward college . We gave each AVID student an iPod touch to carry during the school day for aca-demic and organizational purposes . Feedback from the student group was highl y positive. One student , who is now a high school sophomore , said , "Having this is like having a tool in your pocket that does 1,000 different things: ' • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Stage four. In December, we purchased 60 iPod touches and two charging carts for each grade level. We also bought each of the six teacher teains a $ 100 iTunes card and set up accounts for them so they could download apps. The grade -level team 1nembers shared the iPod touches and signed up to use them for specific class periods . Stage five. In January, ,.ve sent letters home asking parents if their children owned iPod touches and wheth er they ,.vould be ,.villing to allow their students to bring the devices to school. About 20% of the families agreed to do so, which significantly reduced the cost of the progran1. The school then bought iPod touches for all the students who did not have one of their own. Problems Encountered As with any ne,,v school initiative, the iPod touch program was not with -out its challenges. Before handi11g out iPod touches to the students, the school had to consider what to do in the event of damage or loss. vVe de-cided to create a co11tract stating that if a student lost or broke the device, the family would be expected to pay for a replacem ent. Fortunatel y, in the first year we had no cases of lost or damaged units. The contract also for -bids students from using the devices for cyberbull ying, inappropriate Inter -net searches, and visit ing chat roo1ns. Both the student and the parent must sign the document. (See Resources on page 19 for a link to the contract.) We also had to figure out ho,.v to charge approximately 700 iPod touch -es a day. To address this, we purchased charging stations and placed the1n on a rolling cart that charges up to 40 iPod touches simultaneously . The de-vices are updated using a single laptop wired to each iPod touch. Students leave the iPods at school at the end of the day and get them back the next morning . All school iPod touches are engra ved with the school 11ame and a nu1nber assig11ed to an individual student. Each student uses the same iPod all year long . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ...-::"" :;.--.. .. -. _,. .,,,,,-. .,..,,. .,-• Learn more about apps in "There's an App for This!" on page 36 . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Februa ry 2011 I Lear ning & Lead ing w ith Tech nology 17 Copyright© 2011, ISTE (International Society for Technology inEducation), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (lnt'I), iste@iste.org, www.iste.()(g, All rights reserved. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Apps, Apps, Apps • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Megan Taber, a soc ial stud ies teacher, uses a number of apps and Web-based programs dur ing her lessons . As a daily warm-up , Taber asks students to answer some questions using a Google Form embedded on her webs ite. "I can see my studen ts' responses instant ly in a spreadshee t, which allows me to monitor co mpleting and comprehension of mater ial in a way I cou ldn't before," Taber said . Taber also uses WorldW iki+, wh ich takes informat ion from the CIA Factbook webs ite and organizes it in a way that is easier to navigate than the main website. The students use the site to look up demograph ic information on various South American count ries . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The students also enjoy using CountryQu iz, an app that lets them practice naming the countr ies of the wo rld. And gFlash is another popular app at Culbreth. It allows the teachers and the students to easily create a set of digital flash cards. The app can disp lay vocabulary words as regular flash cards do, or it can create instant multiple-cho ice questio ns. As students qu iz themse lves, the app keeps track of incorrect responses and repeats the quest ions . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • As you enter Peter Schwartz's science classroom, it's clear that he has found numerous ways to bring science to life with apps and Internet resources. One of his favorite apps is Decibel, wh ich monitors the noise level. "I have the students create various noise levels to see how the dec ibel levels fluctuate," Schwartz said . Schwartz also uses lapetus, an app that shows how Pangaea formed and became the co ntinents we have today . The iSeismome ter demonstrates the different types of waves produced by an earthquake . Students shake their iPods to mimic ground movements . And an app called Quakewatch shows earthquakes and their magnitudes as they happen. It also maps where the earthquakes occur in the world. Last year, the students in the class watc hed Haiti's major aftershoc ks happen ing in real time, which brought this terrible tragedy to life for many students . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The first generations of iPod touches did not include phones or cameras. teachers ca11 choose to block sites not ap-propriate for middle school students. wait. The students are highly 1noti -vated and e11gaged. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • And without these two functions, two significant distractions for students were not an issue. Now that the iPod touches have more capabilities, the devices used in school n1ust have cameras disabled. The school tech specialist has also loaded filters onto the iPod touches so that Reactions from Staff These days at Culbreth, iPod touches are part of the toolkit students find on their desks, along with pencils, pens, and calculators. When students need the lnter11et, they no longer have to As you move around the class-rooms, the students are captivated by the device and generally stay focused. One teacher said, "When I ask the students to begin a task on the iPod touch, I don't have to ask twice. If any-thing, it is harder to get the students "18 Lear ning & Lead ing w ith Tech no logy I February 201 1 Copyright© 2011, ISTE (International Society for Technol gy in Education), 1.80 .336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) 0< 1.541.302.3777 (lnt'I),i ste@iste.org,www.iste.org. Al rights reserved. to stop working. It makes my life as a teacher so much easier:' Positive Results As we look back at the implementa-tion of our one-to-one iPod touch progra1n, we believe the process we used was effective . .tviainly, by mov-ing forward in stages, we ensured that there was time to evaluate the effec-tiveness of the iPod touch before mov-ing to one-to-one implementation. And, ,.,hile it's too soon to evaluate the results in great detail, we can point to e11couraging data. Culbreth ear11ed North Carolina's top designation-Honor School of Excellence "vith High Growth-exceeding the growth goal under the state's school account-ability program. The school also met adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. More important, the iPod touch program at Culbreth School has had a positive response from students, teachers, and parents. Through the use of this mobile device, we've come a long ,.,ay. Students have the oppor -tunity to access kno,.,ledge, organize their schedules, and work collabora-tively. The iPod touch puts kno,-vledge and learning literally into the hands of all Culbreth students. Resources Country Qui7~ http://countryquiz.,vorldclockr.com Dec ibel: V.1'-A\•.gadgetfrontier.com/apps/decibe l gFlash: " ''vw.gwh.izn1obile.coni/Desktop/ gFlash .php Grey Culbreth Middle School YouTube iPod Touch resources: http://bit.ly/cOySMP iSeismo1neter: v.•wv,.iseisn101neter.con1 Quak eWatch: ,vv.n.v.appolicious .con1/tech/ apps/44000 -quakewatch -latest -earthquakes -info-latenightprojects Student/Paren t iPod to uch contract: h tlp:/ /bit. ly/ dobjMX VJ'orld"Viki+: http: / / ipa.zoha.vn/WorldWiki+ _ v i .0.1- 1525.htm Helen Crompton is working on her PhD in education at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She taught in schools for 16 years. CJ 0 -I 0 z :c u w )-c ~ Lynne Goodhand is the assis-tant principal at Culbreth Middle School and was instru-1nental in launching its one-to-one iPod touch pilot program. creating e dlqll:ol-rfch classroom Meg Ormf•1a11 •,ac,,_, tudataliJI iLlJ 7 INU Susan Wells is the principal at Culbreth and helped launch the one-to-one iPod touch prograrn. She was recently named Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools 2010 Principal of the Year. Attend a workshop with author Meg Ormiston April 14-15 Tampa, FL Teachers must catch up with the changing digital landscape to maintain student engagement. This workshop will help your team imp lement the standards while utilizing Web 2.0 tools to prepare students for the world beyond the classroom. Attend a workshop with author Douglas Fisher May4-5 Seattle, WA In today's classrooms, the way to exceed core standards is by using th e too ls students know best. Literacy 2.0 is where traditional literacy and tech nological l iteracy meet. This workshop presents the specifics of teaching, reading , and writing using 21st century to ols. Transform education and prepare students for the future with Web 2.0 resources. Call today! ...... ... solution-tree.com 800.733.6786 Solution Tree Feb ruary 20 11 I Learn ing & Leading w ith Tec hn ology 19 

The Whole World in Their Hands

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The Whole World in Their Hands

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