Integrating IT into the Classroom

Although it has been longer than anticipated since my last post it has given me time to think about the process of the IRG and what we are looking at as whole.

In June, myself and other members of the IRG group went into a Science tutorial where iPads were being used to complete tasks. The idea of technology such as iPads were discussed with the students, gauging their reaction to the introduction of them with their learning. There were mixed feelings, some felt that it was a good idea and would save time, others however felt that it would hinder their work.

In a normal lecture where a student can listen and take notes, it would be a very good idea, applications available would help facilitate the note taking process as well. BUT....

In Science tutorials or practical experiments having an expensive piece of technology may not be the best thing as students will need to remove gloves to record results on it, then put gloves back on etc. There would also be the necessity of ensuring there are no spillages of chemicals onto the hardware.

Depending upon the lecture or tutorial content, an informed decision should be made as to whether to introduce technology such as iPads, saying this, should all students then be required to undertake the work using these devices or should the student choose themselves about whether to adopt IT. Some students will be very keen to use their technological knowledge in an environment such as this but others may feel intimidated. Support will be needed and so the person introducing this change will need to be aware of how to support these students but also be ahead of the curve in understanding how to use the technology effectively.

During this session photos were taken of how the iPads integrated with the learning, some of those are shown below:

 

 

 

A task that was then given to the IRG members was to come up with an artefact of the session, having the usage of a note taker on the iPad itself I was able to create the following photos that made a promotional story to integrate IT...

Although the final screen was just for effect, the process is true, technology can be integrated into a classroom. It just requires someone to understand how to use the technology and integrate it effectively.