Is the “page” dead or are we just getting started?

One of the interesting points made by Anthony Salcito, the VP of Education for Microsoft, during his talk at Learning Without Frontiers, was about the persistance of the page in digital formats.

He referred to the bookshelf look of iBooks and the animated page turn in digital books. Salcito asked why do we need this in the digital form? Why does this analogue construct persist in the digital representation of text?

I have recently enjoyed reading some of the the early Sherlock Holmes stories on my iPad and I like the way I can personalise the look and feel of the text. The page turn animation and control is always quite nice too. But are we just being unnecessarily nostalgic about this and in fact limiting what can be done with text in the digital form by sticking to this traditional notion of the “page”? Are we not being ambitious enough?

I think it was either Anthony Salcito himself or Steve Wheeler on Twitter who referred to it as a behavioural artifact:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/timbuckteeth/statuses/162560661866561537″]

And thrown into the mix was of course our love of the ‘desktop’ which was shared by Andy Powell.

The discussion about pages in digital text reminded me of the following video of further development of the user interface of the eBook, a prototype from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)

Skimming through the pages of a book, a feature that was previously unavailable with e-books, is also possible through 3D rendering of the contents on the pages being flipped. A bookmark function allows users to conveniently go back and forth between pages of interest. In addition, the system has a “multi-touch” function as well as a smart capability of recognising dragging time, finger pressure, and finger gestures.

Professor Howon Lee said,

“I hope that our technology will accelerate the wider use of e-books and contribute to Korea’s endeavours to lead the development of software application technology for mobile devices.”

But is this simply innovation in the wrong direction? Does it just perpetuate a form factor that limits what can be done on digital devices? Or is the 1000 year old idea of a page going to be with us for another millennium and beyond?

20 Great Classroom iPad Apps to add to your Collection (1-5)

Over the last year and a half I have really enjoyed exploring the types of iPad apps that can be used in the classroom and so I thought I would begin to draw together some of my favourites and share them with you here.

This is the first of 4 posts in which I feature my first 5 recommendations:

Hairy Letters

App Store - Hairy Letters

A great app for early years classes – understanding letter shapes and sounds. Good to see a phonics app using fonts / sounds used in UK.

• Interact with animations and trace the letter shape.
• Play games to reinforce learning and build letters into simple words.
• Letter sounds come to life with animated characters.
• Learn to form each letter shape with your finger.
• Play games to blend letter sounds into first words.

iTunes Link
http://bit.ly/ypbR4M
£1.99

App Store - Paint Sparkles Draw - my first colors HD !

Paint Sparkles

A lovely free paint application that sparkles when you use it. Little sounds play as you paint and when you have finished your line or brush. Each colour is read aloud when you select them from the palette, making this great for EAL pupils.

iTunes Link
http://bit.ly/ypbR4M
FREE

 

App Store - Toca Store

Toca Store

I was shown this at the Taipei European School by Glenn Malcolm – a great little app for developing role play areas in class. I see it being used alongside existing shop and money role play activities – love how it encourages working together.

iTunes Link
http://bit.ly/zx1cIz
£1.49

 

iTunes

Skitch

I am a big fan of Skitch for the Mac as a tool for screen grabs etc the iPad app is ace for all of that – but it also links to an Evernote account. Skitch for iPad could potentially be a great interface for younger students using Evernote. (It just needs tagging to be included)

iTunes Link
http://bit.ly/ADqdyl
FREE

 

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore for iPad on the iTunes App Store

The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore

A beautifully executed story that makes you feel you are part of a film, narrative and interactive app all at once.

iTunes Link
http://bit.ly/xNrwG0
£2.99

 

I hope that you find plenty of inspiration for your own use of the iPad – please make sure you share your ideas and experiences in the comments or you could even add them to the Interesting Ways resource which is now up to 75 iPad ideas, where these apps also appear.

Apple iPads or Android Tablets? See What More Than 1000 Educators Decided

Since March I have been running this little survey that is a limited comparison between the current preferences between Apple iPads in the classroom or Android Tablets. It obviously doesn’t take into account the other platforms that are on offer such as Windows machines.

There has been a fantastic response with over 1000 responses submitted and counting!

From conversation with colleagues on Twitter it seems that many people are heading towards Apple products due to the maturity of the App store and the sheer range of Apps that is available.

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It would seem from these results that most educators are opting for the iPads over tablets running Android operating systems.

If you took a moment to vote I am really grateful – it would also beneficial to all who are interested in investing in iPads for you to leave a comment explaining your current thinking about the two types of devices. Explaining the thinking behind your decision process could really help others in the same situation.

An iPad For Every Child in My Class? No Thanks!

I was recently interested to read about a group of parents in Auburn, Maine, in the US, who were objecting to a large scale iPad project being rolled out for many children in Kindergarten (Nursery / F2).

According to this blog post:

The committee that governs schools in the district voted to spend about $200,000 on the iPads, which also covers insurance, educational software aimed at the appropriate age level, training and other program costs. The program will eventually serve all six elementary schools in the small community.

And so nearly 300 iPad devices are set to be purchased and every Kindergarten pupil will have one. Apparently the parents opposing the use of the device were concerned about the amount of screen time the children would have as well as the detrimental effect it would have on concentration and social skills.

I have worked in a school where teachers were using iPads in the early years and from the ongoing discussion with them and from my experience of how these Foundation stage classrooms are structured I have a few reflections.

Firstly just because you have 25+ iPads in your classroom any teacher worth their salt is not going to be slinging everything out with the boxes the iPads came in. The curriculum that is being delivered in these formative years still needs such breadth that the iPad can only support a small part of that.

I think that the district are to be commended for attempting such an ambitious project, young children love using the iPads and I have seen it many times myself how they take to the device so naturally, testament to the intuitive interface. The bitesize apps are also aimed at narrow parts of the curriculum and so I think they have much to offer schools.

However in my experience I don’t think that it would be a good investment for every child to have a device. In terms of the amount of use you would likely plan in and the way the days are structured, a group of 6-8 devices would be ideal for the group phonic sessions. Perhaps colleagues in the US could explain a little more about how small group work is used in the Kindergarten classes as I have no experience of it.

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From conversations with colleagues having up to 8 devices that could support teaching in those small groups would be just about the right balance – the management of 25+ devices even in the older age groups is an ongoing challenge.

When a prospective technology emerges as purporting to have some positive effects it seems that pushing all the way to 1:1 is the answer. But I dont’ agree. I have worked with netbooks and laptops in my classroom for the last 4-5 years and the ratios have always been about 1 device to 2 pupils. It has not hindered what we can do.

I was lucky enough to meet Sugata Mitra in Doha in 2009 and his research highlights that self organised learning can occur when children have the tools and the space to themselves, but I was always interested in the number of devices he used in these experiments and what can be achieved with nowhere near 1:1 devices.

I can see both sides to this one. I would have spent less money or certainly explored ways to use those funds in other ways such as app creation or training staff to create their own content (this may well be part of it, which would be good to find out). However it still offers the district a great opportunity and for the children involved to enjoy access to an engaging technology. It is now, as always, up to the teachers to make the most of that opportunity in the most appropriate ways.