Download Review of 1:1 iPods at jnhs

One-Year Evaluation and Review
April 7, 2011
REVIEW OF 1:1 IPODS AT JNHS
Brief History
 The iPod program was not “initiated” by
teachers or the technology staff but by our
Board and administration.
 If we do our jobs and if we value our jobs, we
need to do our best to find ways to make it
work at some level.
 We are at the end of 1 year of use—it is time
to evaluate and make adjustments.
Things We Can/Can’t Do
 We need to concentrate on the things we CAN do
something about.
 We can't magically increase the size of the iPod
screens. We can't magically make all students little
angels. We can’t turn iPods into laptops.
 What we CAN do is incorporate SOME use of mobile
devices into classes as it works for the student
activities. For some teachers this might be daily; for
some it might be monthly BUT we are not going to
be able to stop these losses and these non-users
until students are expected to bring them every day.
 There are all kinds of ways to do this which can be
worked out.
More Things Teachers CAN Do
 Take control of your classrooms and enforce
school policy as well as your own rules.
 If you don't want students taking notes on their
phones or pods then make them lay them face
down on the desk while you teach. Make sure
they've all done it at a glance and get on with
teaching. This isn’t a technology issue—it’s a
classroom control issue.
 Teach responsibility by making sure that your
classroom rules don’t conflict with school policy.
Pros / Cons of Allowing
Student-Owned Devices
PROS
CONS
 Saves school money
 More distractions than we
 Makes use of all purchased
devices—used not stored
 Students will take better
care of their own stuff
 Mobicip reports will be
more useful for discipline
 Teach responsibility by
enforcing the policy




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already have—ear phones,
texting, surfing
We need a closed system
Music and videos they access
may be inappropriate
Requires more teacher
responsibility / liability
Parents are already texting
during class
Not enough electrical outlets
to keep everything charged
Other Concerns Mentioned
 Academics have taken a tumble due to
distraction of phones / iPods (based on
what?—grades, discipline, ?)
 Screen is too small to read (out of our control;
find appropriate uses that work)
 Cannot take the place of reasoning and
decision making skills (hopefully, research
ability would help—not hinder—these skills)
Things That May Help
 Network upgrade this summer from Reg. 14
will give us 1 ½ to 2 times more Internet
bandwidth (will help with multiple access
issues)
 ACU is offering one week of free training
(yesterday’s email) in addition to any local
days for this summer
 Teacher suggestions and input is very
valuable. Keep on sharing ideas with each
other and with tech staff and administration.
Other suggestions?