Action Research Reflection

I incorporated the Ipad into my classroom and collected data to measure if it was helpful or harmful in the art classroom. I assigned the students to draw one of their sketchbook assignments on the Ipad using Adobe Ideas app. I had them first download the app and then we went over a quick tutorial using Air Server. This made it so that the kids could see what was on my Ipad or even other students Ipad on the Smartboard. I actually had a student that was familiar with the app give the lesson. I was asking many of the students do something they are not comfortable with. The students have Ipads access in all of their classes and they were pretty reasonable about the assignment. When it was due the following week about the same amount of kids turned theirs in as usual. There were a couple that had "technical difficulties" and that can be hard to make judgements about what is fact and what is fiction. I gave the kids a participation grade since it was new to all of them. There are some conflicts, because the students can use layers to draw over another pictures which means it would fall under copying or tracing. Some of the students were very surprised at how long it took to draw a quality picture. Some mentioned about 5 hours and the class requirement was 1.5 hours. I think with more practice this will become just one more medium the kids are familiar with. I was very happy with the results of this project and I will be putting it into my curriculum for next year. My question for my action research is if the Ipad is helpful or harmful in the art classroom? I am looking at changing assignments to incorporate the Ipad, but I am weighing if past methods are better or new technology ones. Which projects will be the post enriching for my curriculum? I collected my data by having the students fill out a google survey. I had them answer if they had used Adobe Ideas before or something similar? If they liked the assignment? How important it was to them? If they would prefer to do a hand drawn sketchbook rather than an Ipad one? I needed to know what experience they had with drawing apps and if it was important to them. I had mixed reviews. This the responses I got: https://docs.google.com/a/byron.k12.mn.us/forms/d/1MIwUBKPXkewhQY05qc87TAmNrjh_liMfSs43NIPR3iI/viewanalytics With looking at the responses I got I think that doing the sketchbook assignment at least 3-4 times a quarter will build their confidence and familiarity. The next step will be to add the Ipad sketchbooks into the curriculum for next year. My goal would be to have half of the sketchbooks assigned to be designed on the Ipad. My next step if we get the software, Adobe Creative Design and Web I a proposal in then they will transfer their Ipad sketch to the PC computer to add layers and fonts. I have decided what the pc part of the project will be yet, but there will be many more manipulation possibilities with this software. This would give the sketchbook more meaning and permanence. This would also further my technology goal.