Finlite School

iPad a Solid Education Tool, Study Reports

Danish student Frederik Rosberg uses his new iPad in April 2010. Photo: Bryan Derballa/Wired.com
More and more schools are jumping on the digital bandwagon and adopting iPads for daily use in the classroom. Apple’s education-related announcements yesterday will no doubt bolster the trend, making faculty tools and student textbooks more engaging and accessible.
But today another data point emerged, demonstrating that the iPad can be a valuable asset in education. In a partnership with Apple, textbook publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt performed a pilot study using an iPad text for Algebra 1 courses, and found that 20 percent more students (78 percent compared to 59 percent) scored ‘Proficient’ or ‘Advanced’ in subject comprehension when using tablets rather than paper textbook counterparts.
The study was conducted at a Riverside, California, middle school from Spring 2010 to Spring 2011 using HMH’s Fuse: Algebra I app. Similar pilot courses and iPad programs have cropped up all over the country, primarily in private and boarding schools, and select universities. In the public school sector, more than 600 school districts have adopted a 1:1 iPad program.
The iPad seems to help students better connect with the content at hand.
“Students’ interaction with the device was more personal. You could tell students were more engaged,” said Coleman Kells, principal of Amelia Earhart Middle School. “Using the iPad was more normal, more understandable for them.”
Tablets could be less daunting to students, too. Marita Scarfi, CEO of digital-focused marketing agency Organic, says that moving textbooks to mobile devices will reinvent learning.
“Now you don’t know if a book is super huge and formidable,” Scarfi says. “Learning can be done in snackable chunks. It could be reoriented.”
Another study centered on an iPad game, Motion Math, has shown that the iPad can help with fundamental math skills. Fifth graders who regularly played the game for 20 minutes per day over a five-day period increased their test scores by 15 percent on average (you can check out more about this study on Wired’s GeekDad).
Digital textbooks haven’t enjoyed the same success as app-based learning tools thus far, however. E-textbooks have been a transitional product, Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps wrote in a November 2011 report. They make up less than 3 percent of textbook sales, and don’t offer much over their paperbound counterparts.
Apple’s new and updated products — iTunes U (an app-based hub for virtual classrooma), as well as iBooks 2, the iBookstore and iBooks Author — should help provide solutions for educators looking to provide more engaging experiences than plain, old PDFs, all without the heavy investments required of building apps from scratch.
“With iBooks, learning will be a lot more experiential,” Scarfi told Wired in an e-mail. iBooks also have the potential to ease some of the financial burden of schools, as ebooks could save on textbook costs. “Other benefits include more timely and relevant content, and the ability for students to interact and share this content with ease. Textbooks will now become social in a variety of ways.”
However, even if e-book prices themselves won’t break the bank, iPads are still a $500-plus investment per tablet. Funding is still a problem, particularly for public schools. Luckily, there are sites like DonorsChoose.org that can help offload the costs from teachers and school districts. And a program called SA500 Kids is helping to accelerate funding for technology resource requests on the site. Thus far, iPad requests have been fairly low: SA500 Kids has funded 24 iPad-based project requests since Nov. 25. Currently there are 418 iPad-related requests on DonorsChoose, out of the 20,000 projects listed on the site.
When the next iPad debuts, if Apple goes with a similar pricing scheme as it has with the iPhone — as rumored — then schools will be able to pick up iPads on the cheap and really be able to utilize the company’s new education related products.
But regardless, it looks like the iPad is starting to do an impressive job of improving the education space. And now that publishers and instructors have these iBooks tools at their disposal, students can continue to reap the benefits of increased understanding and greater participation.

By Christina Bonnington
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/01/ipad-educational-aid-study/

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/01/ipad-educational-aid-study/

In The Netherlands, Schools Are Letting IPads Do The Teaching

iPads are replacing textbooks in several schools in the Netherlands, where an education reform organization is looking to change everything we know about learning in the 21st century.
Blackboards and chalk could soon be replaced by tablets and styluses at more schools around the world after the opening of 7 "Steve JobsSchools" across the Netherlands today.
Students at the Steve JobsSchools won't have textbooks or notebooks, but each will get their own iPad. The O4NT (Education For A New Era) foundation, which implemented the Steve JobsSchools, purports that iPad-based learning allows schools to offer highly customized lessons tailored to each individual child's learning speed, style, and skill. Teachers at the Steve JobsSchools will act more like "coaches" rather than conveyors of knowledge--the latter will be the iPad's job.
"A child starting school today has to be prepared for the world of 2030 and after, a world even more digitized than today's world," says Maurice De Hond, a Dutch entrepreneur and an Education For A New World initiator. "But most schools are preparing their students for yesterday's world."
The O4NT says replacing books with tablets will ideally change the very structure of what we consider a school day: Because iPad-based virtual learning can happen 24/7, 365 days a year, students wouldn't have to be in school for a set number of hours per day or abide by group lesson periods, while parents could freely plan vacations without having to worry about their children falling behind.
Several studies published in the past few years have indicated iPad-based learning is correlated with higher performance and comprehension. But the idea of basing all classroom learning on the tablets is still considered radical in many parts of the world, including in the United States, though that may slowly be changing. In July, the City of Los Angeles confirmed it would be giving iPads to all 640,000 students in its school district--the second-largest in the country--by late 2014. And other companies, like News Corp., have attempted to gain a share of the iPad's classroom market with their own educational tablets.
The O4NT says it expects at least five more Netherlands schools to adopt its digital education principles within the course of the 2013-2014 academic year.
Could iPad-only classrooms soon become ubiquitous? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

By: Christina Chaey
http://www.fastcompany.com/3016125/fast-feed/in-the-netherlands-schools-are-letting-ipads-do-the-teaching

In The Netherlands, Schools Are Letting IPads Do The Teaching iPads are replacing textbooks in several schools in the Netherlands where an education reform organization is looking to change everything we know...

Four Ways to Use Cell Phones in the Classroom

I’ll be the first to admit that I was once a skeptic about the use of cell phones for learning in the classroom. It wasn’t until I researched various methods and creative applications that I began accepting the idea. One of biggest quarrels I had with students using cell phones is the potential of their already-short attention spans becoming distracted by a device that is predominantly used in the “outside world.” But, I’ve come to the realization that students can theoretically become preoccupied by anything. Cell phones aren’t the only culprit of interruption! In fact, using innovative, mobile technology in lesson plans can actually preserve their minds from becoming uninterested and stale. It even has the potential of bringing a creative and stimulating aspect that many other tools cannot. So without further ado, here are four unique ways to use cell phones in the classroom:
Have students text you (the teacher) a sentence using a vocabulary word correctly. You may want to remind them that texting slang cannot be used, and proper grammar should be applied.
Students can take a photo of something that applies to a lesson, i.e. vocabulary, math application or equation (like measuring cups), historical event, or current event. These photos can be shared on a blog, or bulletin board. Vocab Gal shares a fun way to do this with a lesson plan– Scavenger Hunt for Vocabulary.
Require students to download a free app and use it for a week. Then, assign them to write a short paragraph discussing how the app helps or hinders study, and have them present it to the class.
Have students record a personal log for a week using a voice or video recorder on their phone. You may want to give them a theme, such as one thing they learned that day. They can edit their recordings with added pictures and text, and then share them with the class.

The trend of using cell phones in the classroom for educational purposes has certainly caught fire. While controversy with its use is still evident, I truly believe that relating them in the correct way can enrich learning and improve engagement. Can you think of any additional ways to creatively use cell phones in the classroom?

School Systems Blog In all aspects of life, technology is advancing and continuing to dominate our society. These technological advancements aspire to streamline our daily tasks, while assisting with responsibilities and providing a variety of new capabilities. The healthcare industry is generally one of the slowest in...

“We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.” – David Warlick (Educator, Writer, Programmer, Public Speaker & Entrepreneur)

MyFibes Question of the Week - 5 ; Subject : Integrated Science

Hint: The correct answer is B

Explanation:

Chemical fumes and dust generated from the experiment may cause respiratory and eye irritations.

MyFibes Question of the Week - 5 ; Subject : Integrated Science

5. A student experienced respiratory and eye irritation when performing an experiment in the science laboratory. The student may have encountered ………………………

A. Corrosive substances
B. Fumes and dust
C. Minor explosions
D. Radioactive substances

All correct answers will be entered in a draw and the winner will be given free access to the FinMock examination portal on www.finexam.net for 3 months. Get your children, pupils or siblings involved...It's FREE!!!

MyFibes Question of the Week - 4 ; Subject : Twi

Instruction : Awehwε edinnsiananmu a eye pa ara sisi nsεmfua a wכasensan ase no anan mu.

Underlined phrase : Me ne me wכfa.

1. Me ne me wכfa kככ hכ nnεra

A. כ
B. Wכ
C. Yε
D. Mo

All correct answers will be entered in a draw and the winner will be given free access to the FinMock examination portal on www.finexam.net for 3 months. Get your children, pupils or siblings involved...It's FREE!!!

MyFibes Question of the Week - 4 ; Subject : Twi

Instruction : Awehwε edinnsiananmu a eye pa ara sisi nsεmfua a wכasensan ase no anan mu.

4. Me ne me wכfa kככ hכ nnεra

A. כ
B. Wכ
C. Yε
D. Mo

All correct answers will be entered in a draw and the winner will be given free access to the FinMock examination portal on www.finexam.net for 3 months. Get your children, pupils or siblings involved...It's FREE!!!

The MyFibes question for Week 4 will be posted shortly
Keep reading...

MyFibes Question of the Week - 3 ; Subject : Ga

Sanebimɔi ni kɔɔ weku mli bii ahe. Ha sanebimɔi lɛ fɛɛ ahetoo kɛ hetoo ni ja.

3. Gbɛi ni akɛhaa nuu kɛ yoo nifɔ bo ji
a) nyɛmimɛi
b) fɔlɔi
c) nanemɛi
d) wekuŋbii

Answer - B :

Explanation:
Fɔlɔi (man and woman who brought you forth are your “fɔlɔi”)

Congratulations to all who participated...The winners will be announced shortly.

Congrats to all 2013 BECE candidates
Your efforts will surely be reward with success.
Good luck

Finlite School welcomes Mr. Abdul Razak Mohammed, an Integrated Science teacher from St. Bernadette School.
He is here to help you study and to improve your understanding of the subject.
Feel free to ask him questions...