Action Research Results

My Action Research is iPads in the art classroom: Helpful or Harmful? An investigation of the iPad as an educational tool to enriching previous practices. My research has shown that the iPad is a beneficial educational tool. I have compared assignments with and without the iPad. What I have found is that the more choice in the matter in using the iPad or not is most beneficial. The iPad creates differentiated learning, but students still want face to face time with their teacher. When trying to fit all needs of students the iPad offers another option of differentiated instruction. The iPad is best utilized as a tool in conjunction with a developed website for the class. The website houses the resources, rubrics and lessons, but the iPad is the convenient tool to access them. In my district there is a small percentage of students who do not have internet at home. There are many benefits I have noticed in the classroom. The benefits I have noticed are when using the iPad for looking at pictures you can enlarge the picture with details right at their desk. I have been able to do formative assessment with the students using surveys. Have them do interactive reviews using the drawing pad on their iPad. The iPad makes class time more efficient. I do believe that students should have the choice if they want to use the iPad for certain projects. Such projects are writing papers, taking notes, sketchbook assignment and so on. I have collected data on these topics and have found that students are all different and learn in different ways. In a sense the iPad is just another medium and tool for them to access. I enjoy that students have the right to choose how to create their work. After changing my classroom management and syllabus regarding the iPad I have had limited issues of misuse with the iPad. Having a one to one iPad initiative has been a blessing for the art classroom. The other interesting part is that every teacher uses the iPad differently. Once the teacher and the students get past the initial ground work of figuring out the iPad and multiple apps it does bring a new tool for learning. There also needs to be a detailed discipline plan for misuse of the iPad as a school policy. I do feel that the pros do out way the cons of the iPad as an educational tool. I will continue to research different aspects and apps, but I am so glad I chose this topic for my action research. Specific Questions: What are specific relationships and patterns emerging in your data analysis and reflection telling you about how the change you made is impacting desired changes you are seeking? The iPad has created more options for differentiated instruction, more efficiency, more detailed resource for images, array of different apps to be used, convenience of a learning device in your classroom and one to one iPad for each student, more email communication, development of an effective google site to support the use of the iPad, limited use as listening device to create more conversations and community. What are your results telling you about the concepts you are studying, and the relationships among concepts, how the strategies address the problem you are trying to understand? What strengths and limitations to these ideas did you discover through the implementation? The limitation is for some students the fact that the iPad can serve the purpose of a distracting tool. I have found that the distraction is much smaller than what I have seen last year. The benefits of the iPad for out weigh the downfalls as an educational tool. I have also found there needs to be a choice between using the iPad as a tool or other options. The iPad is not the ultimate learning tool. Part of investigating the iPad as an educational tool I have learned there are other tools that work best for certain assignments. I have also learned their are multiple tools that can be used for one project and students get the choice in using which tool fits best with each students personal learning styles. How will your learning change your practices of instruction, assessment, environment, and understanding of content knowledge in your discipline (I.D.E.A.)? The changes have already taken place. The iPad is being used frequently in my classroom as a resource for images, research, typing, picture taking, apps for drawing and a communicator (email and surveys). After doing this research it give me a better handle on what projects I like to use it for or give choices to my students if they would like to use the iPad or another device. At this point I can't imagine teaching without the iPad as effectively as I am now. What implications for future practice are you drawing from the results of your inquiry, including how results are leading to new questions and future directions for research? (This may be the springboard to your next area of inquiry.) My future practices will be fine tuning which apps work well for certain projects. I have already determined I will keep the iPad as a learning tool for certain projects and giving a choice of multiple learning tools for other projects. I would also keep the surveys that I give students to know how they learn best. The iPad is not always the top option for students to learn, for this reason I feel it is most beneficial to offer it as a choice among other devices depending on the project.