Designing Learning Spaces

Year 4 students have been dabbling in design this term as they took a long hard look at what they need for good learning. The word "classroom" was banned for a few weeks, as we tried to envisage the perfect "space" in which effective learning could take place at St Catherine's, without our ideas being restricted by a traditional concept of a school room.

Firstly we discussed where learning takes place in our lives - at home, the sports ground, the beach, forest, backyard or park.... oh, and school of course! Students considered what works for them about these places - what makes learning happen. 

Students discussed, wrote about and drew what their ideal learning place LOOKS, SOUNDS, SMELLS and FEELS like.

Responses were many and varied of course - as are learning styles and preferences. We decided what we need at school are spaces that are comfortable, interesting and above all, flexible.









The students participated very thoughtfully and enthusiastically in a presentation by a visiting designer whose job is designing learning spaces and libraries for schools and universities.

She talked about the process involved in designing, testing and building furniture and showed us lots of pictures of interesting learning spaces. She also explained what recent research has revealed about how students their age learn best: It is important for students to have the flexibility to move around, changing their body position regularly and to make choices about how, where and with what tools they investigate and create.

Students were very engrossed in the final session when they spent time designing their ideal learning space, especially considering the digital tools they will be using. Their aim was to create more flexible spaces with less clutter and more room to move, with comfortable furnishings that will allow a variety of choices for different learning activities.

Some students even designed their own multi-functional pieces of furniture, such as hanging 'pods' for reading in, tables with wheels for easy relocation, write-on surfaces and chairs with fold-away storage compartments. It was exciting to see so many budding designers in action, full of creativity and purpose!

Won't it be great to see how the students' own ideas are incorporated into the design of their Year 5 "Learning Spaces"?

Which cover? Choices... choices...

It's a tricky decision but we'd like to leave it up to students and parents to personalise your iPad within your own budget and considering your own needs and tastes. This question is covered in the FAQ document but here are a few more options to consider...

The "Fold-away"

Cost: $12.00 from an eBay store

• Protects screen and iPad back
• Can be folded to stand iPad two ways: vertically for display, or slightly raised for ergonomic use of keyboard
• Attractive leather-look finish which is easy to keep clean
• Good clearance for camera
• Easy to hold in one hand for camera use
• iPad fits snugly inside envelope fold which means it is not likely to slip out
• Magnets in the case switch screen on and off when opening and closing cover

Stands vertically

Raised for typing

Can hold with one hand for camera use

Large hole so camera is not obscured

The "Keyboard" Case

Cost: around $70 from an eBay store

• Includes keyboard to increase typing speed
• Hard aluminium does not absorb shock if iPad is dropped
• Hinges may loosen with excessive use

iPad fits into case above hinged keyboard 

Allows typing with actual keys

There are many, many keyboard cases on the market but they can be very expensive.

Thanks very much to Paula C, who uses the Trident KRAKEN case at her school, we know this model also comes highly recommended.  Check it out on Spectronics. The Kraken costs around $90. It is recommended for young children as it offers excellent protection of the back and edges of the iPad while still allowing access to the camera, controls, microphone and speakers. 

The KRAKEN offers 3 layers of protection.
[Image Source:  http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/images/product/tridentc/AMS-NEW-IPAD_Layers500.jpg] 

[Image Source: http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/images/product/tridentc/AMS-NEW-IPAD-RD04bg.jpg]

There are lots more cases to check out on Spectronics  as well.  It's worth a look at the website.

Please use the comments below to make your own recommendations if you have been using a particular cover that you would like to share.

Remember, the cover does not need to cost a lot to be functional and do the job. We will have keyboards available at school if your child ever needs to do large amounts of typing so a keyboard is certainly NOT essential. Your child will quickly become accustomed to the onscreen keyboard and this is quite adequate for the volume of typing they will need to do. Your main aim is to protect the iPad from accidental damage.

Here's one last pic for your enjoyment...

The "Retro"

• for a little nostalgia! (ha ha)

[Image Source: http://www.slipperybrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/typescreen-ipad-150x150.jpg]

Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers!)

Earlier this term, a document was sent home with your child documenting some frequently asked questions about the concept of a 1 to 1 program, and in particular, using iPads for learning at St Catherine's next year. Since the original document was sent home, we've published answers to a few more questions. These were sent home on a separate sheet after our information night. In case you missed these or ever need extra copies, here's a link to the complete FAQ document online. You can preview it below, or follow the link to print a copy for yourself whenever you like.

Parent FAQs iPads at St Caths


Don't forget, you can use the comments function below to post any further questions or responses.
If the issue is particular to your child or your own family, please contact Maria via email

mmead_bne.catholic.edu.au 

Please note that you will need to substitute @ for the _ in the address above. 
(Just trying to avoid nasty spammers!)

iPad Purchasing Options

For parents who wish to purchase the iPad through the school, we have teamed up with an Apple reseller - Next Byte Education in Adelaide St, Brisbane. While their options may not be the the cheapest upfront, Apple has advised us that nominating a reseller will facilitate any warranty claims on devices purchased this way. Next Byte also offer a hire purchase option, which they call "Flexirent", for those of you who would prefer to pay for the iPad in instalments over 12 or 24 months (further details in the documents below).

Please be assured that there is no obligation to purchase your iPad from Next Byte. If you prefer to look out for specially priced offers and purchase at another retailer of your choice, you are most welcome to do so. Large department chains will run specials for special events like Father's Day and Christmas. This will always be the cheapest option, however these retailers cannot supply iPads in the large numbers that we require for this program. Our Next Byte rep explains that warranty and after sales service is facilitated when purchasing through a Premium Reseller (such as Next Byte). The school receives no commission, rewards or any other benefit from our arrangement with Next Byte. The decision of where to purchase is totally up to you. 

At some point in the first quarter of 2013 a new model of iPad is likely to be released. We will have no warning of when this will occur. It is expected that any new iPad model would be priced similarly to the current iPad 3 so the release will affect pricing of previous models. When a new iPad model is available, iPad 3 prices will be reduced. It is also likely that production of the iPad 2 will cease and existing iPad 2 stocks will then be priced to clear. 

As is the case with any technologies, new models are continually being developed and this will be inevitable at some point during the 2 year iPad program. We will not be delaying our learning program to await the release of any new device. Pricing in the documents that follow is correct at the time of posting. We will communicate any changes in price or availability as soon as the information is available to us.

We have a few weeks up our sleeves as yet and we plan to hold off as long as we can. However, orders placed through Next Byte or the school will have to be submitted by mid-October to ensure delivery by the end of November when we will be holding our optional Setup Workshop evenings at school. You may prefer to rely on the Handbook we will publish instead, and wait longer to purchase. Your child will be at a great disadvantage however, if they do not have their iPad ready for the start of school next year. We have been advised that stocks can run low over Christmas and delivery times can be longer than usual.

In order that you have as much information as we can provide about these options, you can preview or print the order forms and Flexirent information below. Hard copies of all of these documents will be available at the school office by the beginning of October.

Student 1-1 Credit Card Flexi Idea

St Catherines - In School Only Chq

Flexirent Brochure

Flexirent Repayment Guide

Welcome to Padwise

Welcome, Year 4 parents of 2012, to your blog...

This site will offer you up to date information on our 1 to 1 iPad program so we can all be ready to hit the ground running when school begins next year. You can subscribe to this blog via email (to sign up, use the "Follow by email" form to the right) so any new posts will land straight in your inbox. Use the comment section below each post to ask questions or start discussions. You will need to sign up for a free Google account if you haven't already got one.

This kind of information access may be new to you, especially where you child's schooling is concerned. It will be beneficial if we are all accustomed to the process however, as blogging will be an important means of communication for the year 5 classes next year, when your children are learning with iPads. You will be able to 'step inside the classroom' via the 2013 class blogs, wherever and whenever it suits you.

New Leaf
[Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Leaf_detail.jpg]

This blog was actually launched about a year ago when we were exploring the use of iPads to enhance students' learning in year 5 classes. You will see a couple of older posts below that were published during that time. From now on, all new posts published here will directly concern you and your Year 4 child. We intend to use this space to streamline preparations for our Contemporary Learning program for 2013. This blog will replace the stream of printed letters and documents that would otherwise be sent home with your child... very possibly to become lost, crushed to oblivion, saturated with fruit juice or rendered illegible in numerous other ways. 

We hope and trust that you will find this blog useful. So please subscribe. Don't be shy about commenting. Our aim is to create an online space where you can discuss your experiences and concerns, gain advice and share different perspectives with your child's teachers and each other. The sooner we can forge an active, supportive online community for you all, the clearer and smoother this 1 to 1 iPad implementation will be for everyone.

More information about iPad purchase options will be posted here very soon. 

Stay tuned.

Maria

Session 2 - iPads for Learning

In exploring the iPads this week in year 5, we started with a warm-up activity.  Those who were new to iPads last week were given a task (see below).  They each chose an "expert helper" from the class but the helper was not allowed to use their hands - helping hands were locked behind backs!  Helpers could only speak when spoken to, in response to a question from their "beginner buddy".  These students did so well at the task, they are clearly not "beginners" any longer!

The Warm-up Task:
The "beginners" had to choose two or three of their spelling words to practise, by writing them out in a drawing app.  They each managed to locate the "Drawing" folder and chose an app.  Whiteboard Free, Whiteboard Lite, Doodle Buddy, Rainbow Draw Free, Doodle Board and Draw were popular choices.

Here are some of the results:

The students agree that practising their spelling words in this visual and tactile way might help them to remember them.

What problems might happen with using the iPads in a classroom?

The students used a collaborative whiteboard tool called DabbleBoard to create a mind map about problems we might experience using the iPads.  It was the first time we had used this tool.  We found that our ideas were sometimes not recorded.  Perhaps 8 groups was too many to have using the tool at one time...?

Here are the ideas we came up with:

This is the Mind Map we created collaboratively using DabbleBoard

What rules should we publish to keep the iPads safe, clean and working well for us?

After we discussed the problems, we thought of some rules that would prevent these problems from happening.  We tried to make our rules:

• positive (avoid saying "Don't")
• few in number (though we thought 8 rules might be too many, at least this allows one rule for each group to publish!)
• cover more than one problem
• clear and concise

Here are the rules we decided on.
We may edit the wording when we create the posters to publish them.

1. Ask a teacher before using the iPads. 
2. Always power off when finished
3. Wash and dry your hands before you use the iPads
4. Always close the iPad lid when not in use
5. Be gentle and handle the iPads with care
6. Keep food and drink away from the iPads
7. Respect other people's work.
8. Charge the iPad when it is below 20% and remove from charge when over 90%

Next Week:

In our next session we are going to publish our rules using the app Pages.  We had a quick look at pages today and we plan to use the poster template to publish each rule.  We will take photos or create drawings to illustrate the rule.

Here are some pictures of us exploring Pages and planning our Rule Posters:

The Launch in 5 Blue

Today in 5 Blue, we had a 40-minute "iPad discovery" session.  Students in groups explored the iPads to see how they might be helpful in learning at school.  More than half the class had used an iPad before.  Seven students out of the class of 26 use one regularly at home.  A small group of students had never used one at all.  The students were grouped according to their prior experience.

We used a Backchannel, Today's Meet, to allow groups to share their thoughts by recording comments, discoveries, wonderings and worries.  People asked great questions as they explored.  Others gave great answers too and shared what they learned as they went.

Some of the questions that were recorded during the session are listed below in Red.  The responses that were discussed with the whole class, following the "Discovery" time have been added in Blue:


Is there something like word or excel?

We have Pages which is a word processor.  You can save your documents as pdfs or ePubs which means they can be accessed on the iBook shelf and read on the iPad.  We would have to sync them to all the iPads though.

Does it have the internet?

Yes, the iPads connect to our school wireless.  Safari is the internet browser but some of the other apps use the internet as well.

Are there any educational games?

Games can be very good for learning, depending on how they are used.  There are very many games installed already but if you need others, say, to help you learn your tables or spelling rules, then we will search for others to help you.

Can you get photo booth on the iPad?

Yes, you will find PhotoBooth on the Home screen.

Here are some of the discoveries people shared during the session today:

• I think it's a touch screen [not heat sensitive] because if you put them in front of heater nothing will happen!
• cut the rope helps for maths
• we learnt that the ipad has apps for free and apps that you buy
• did you know the ipad has a compass
• We learned that you can play many games without using the internet
• there are files [folders] which have smaller things [apps] inside them.  
• If you are having trouble finding some apps go to the Search screen [swipe left from the Home screen] and search for the app

What a great session Year 5BLUE!  Thanks very much and I look forward to seeing you again next week (and 5 ORANGE on Wednesday!) Next week: We will have a brief session to learn about the camera and other common apps we can use to create with images, sound and text.   We will learn how to email or send what we create to a teacher.   We will learn how to turn the iPads off to save the batteries as well as how and when to charge them to keep the batteries working well for longer. We will discuss what rules we should have to keep the iPads safe and working well for us.   Please add a comment if you have ideas about iPad Rules already!