ECHS iPad reflection... continued

Once we entered the geometry classroom with iPads, I noticed that the room was set up a little atypically. There were desks that a pair of students could sit at, and the on-screen projection was the working process of a student in the third row, who was using EverNote to help get through a practice test.  But the feeling of the room is what seemed most significant: it was very relaxed.  Students were all working on the practice tests, and I learned that this is a regular process of randomized questions that students can take as many times as they need to.  In fact, in Dr. Nank's geometry class sutdents can take ANY of the tests as much as they want till they get the score they want.

Students in that class have decreased D/F rates significantly since they implemented iPads (at the beginning of this school year).  D/F rates for geometry are 85% lower in that class compared to the rest of the school (only about 3 total students in 3 classes of about 40 kids).  But still, the fact that seem very meaningful to me is that students were very busy working on the tests and seemed very content to continue doing more practice.  This is a comfortable learning environment were students are happy to have the iPads to work with.  I asked about 8 different kids that day what their favorite class was, and each one said "geometry."

This seems like an example of students taking charge of their own learning process.  They have freedom.  Yes, there are even games on the iPads, but the reason kids are all excelling has to do with them becoming responsible, and to do that they have to have freedom to choose.  I don't mind sounding a bit cliche or simple here, but I feel that the classrooms with iPads are "keeping it real."  You see, the world that these young adults live in is full of phones, games, and they would hope...iPads.  Since technology is such a part of their world, it would seem beneficial for them to acquire academic knowledge and skills while using it.  My perspective remains unchanged, that technology does this very thing for students: It helps them explore and connect with content at their own pace and it simply makes learning more fun.