differentiated iPad learning experience

80% of Monday night’s iPad class discussion was above my head. It appears that the majority of people already know their way around the iPad and are ready for more complex activities and discussions.

I ended both classes considering dropping out so as not to hold others back. However, that would undermine the educational purpose of what is supposed to be an introductory class. Especially with technology, we have to find a way to reach total neophytes . . . like me.

I realized this situation is an accurate reflection of what I expect to face as I introduce the iPads to the faculty in my building. As a librarian, I’m not worried about the people who know already know how to use slates. My challenge will be to establish equitable access; to offer encouragement and support to those who never thought about using iPads, who really don’t have much time to learn how to use them, and who are already overwhelmed with CCSS, PLC, and CFAs.

A BYOD environment demands differentiated learning. For beginners, specific, limited, reproducible steps are essential so we can learn at our own pace, practice repeatedly to get comfortable with a process, and review the process periodically until it becomes rote. But the tasks in the process also need to be open-ended to challenge experienced learners.

I recently took a class from the SD State Library that might be a possible model for an online class format:    http://sdlibrarychallenge.blogspot.com/2013/01/lesson-1-world-book-online-encyclopedia.html 

There is one specific topic for each lesson. Instructors introduce the topic, link to preselected sites with more detailed information, and set tasks. At the end of each lesson, students blog about their experience and how they might use it with classes.

I think this model would meet several goals for iPad introduction:

·         It offers opportunities for differentiation. I dream of a day when I understand enough about Reflector to read Jeff or Dave’s blog to see how they use it in a classroom, but I am a long way from there.

·         It is straightforward and can be used by independent learners after the class ends (like classroom teachers who will borrow the iPads from the library.) This addresses concerns about equitable access.

·         It offers a format for out-of-class learning experiences and an opportunity to experiment with effective self-paced online tech classes.

·         It is reproducible so less experienced people can review and practice at the moment they need the information next year and beyond.

·         It documents specific accomplishments and establishes the basic scaffolding for future learning. I know which sites I am comfortable enough to teach, and which I could learn if the need arose. For me, this is how progress in an unfamiliar territory begins. It is important for inexperienced learners to clearly know what they have learned. Without  stable, written verbiage about a specific topic, it’s hard for me to remember any specific thing I’ve learned.

Here’s my suggestion: If other students think this sounds like a format worth experimenting with, Adam would you be willing to write an introductory paragraph to some specific topic, provide links to more detailed information, and suggest some basic tasks as an experiment? (Maybe you have done all this and I just don’t know where to find it.)

The Civil Discourse grant is pushing teachers to videograph their classes using/doing whatever the teacher received a grant for, then post the video to the Civil Discourse blog here at edmodo. Maybe that would be a good topic to start with.