Ed Tech My Point of View

Too often outsiders to education believe that technology should "solve" problems or erase difficulties.

This is short sited and this is not the case. Technology does not solve learning; technology does not replace a teacher - instead it provides teachers a tool to help make learning more dynamic and powerful in their classrooms and for their students. Technology is not a magical pill.

Teachers must pursue the technologies that improve their lessons. Teaching is not easy but hopefully technology makes it easier to connect with students; to allow the crafting of individualized lessons; to enable students problem solving learning opportunities; and beyond.

Personal Post: Lasik Surgery

In 2004 I underwent Lasik surgery on my right eye. I was entering my senior year of college. I had this belief that this procedure could potentially help my basketball career.

Ever since I was a little kid - I had perfect vision in my left eye; and well, awful vision in my right eye. Most believed this meant I had a lazy eye; even some eye doctors held this belief at first. However, after extensive testing and examination continually the results would show that instead I just had widely varied vision between my eyes.

Luckily for me - despite my poor vision in my right eye (20/200 is barely being able to read the biggest eye on the board - I feel between 20/100 and 20/200). I always thought that this held me back on the basketball court. I could always shoot - and I had really good court vision. But I believed that if I could see better I would shoot better and pass better - etc.

The surgery happened and my vision improved. But not to 20/20. And my game was the same - after 20+ years my body had adapted.

Now I am doing it again. I am excited to get the procedure done on both eyes today. My left has slipped in its "old age" so I am getting that one done too. All with one week before school. No more glasses or contacts. And definitely no more accuracy when shooting on the court.

Approaching School Year 2013-2014

As the school year quickly approaches - less than 8 days till our first day - I am at my school setting up my classroom.

The last few days is a great time to reflect. Beyond thinking how quickly the summer always seems to pass - I try to evaluate how I want to start the year.

It is always important in my estimation to boil down my thoughts to the essentials.

I work to establish a few philosophies or key concepts with every student.

• "to learn is an action that requires effort"
• I want to explain that the motivation required to learn is most effective when it comes from within; I work to connect and get to know everyone of my students to talk about "why" learning is so important to them - because that is unique to each individual and that motivation if tapped themselves can last a lifetime.
• "risk failure"
• I try to explain to my students that "To reach your peak performance you need to stretch" - this is often difficult for them to understand but you have to push yourself to understand what you are truly capable of. Too often we fear failure; each failure is an opportunity to grow, learn, and improve.
• "be honest" especially with yourself
• This is important because too often we skip over ideas or concepts we think we understand - or we think we already know - or we do not want others to realize we do not understand; we must be honest with ourselves to truly allow learning to occur.

As I type these key philosophies it reminds me how I am always excited for the new school year; but I also am motivated to improve and, hopefully, better embody these philosophies each year.

Summer Vacation

I have spent the past two plus weeks traveling to Vermont and back. I enjoyed two weeks unplugged from the world and focusing time with my beautiful life. During the next week I will begin to post more regularly again. Thanks for all readers who still follow me. I am excited to begin the new school year.

Personal Post: 2 year wedding anniversary

Today marks my 2 year anniversary with my beautiful, amazing wife.

These first two years of marriage have been the most amazing of my life - and I know things will continue to be great with her by my side. While there is no perfect day or life - my world and my experiences are always better with her.

I am excited for the future - and thankful I have Megan in my life.

Reflecting on the article "Why We Should Rethink the Eight-Hour Workday"

Check out the article "Why We Should Rethink the Eight-Hour Workday."

When I evaluate my best practices in terms of production I find that smaller windows of time - such as 90 minute windows - allow me to achieve greater productivity. Now, I am only able to accomplish this type of schedule during the summer weeks. But I find myself able to accomplish much more when I work in bursts vs large portions of time. Those that know me - realize I must finish a project once it is started. I have a drive that must complete the task at hand.

This sparks a series of thoughts that - because this is my blog I am able to share.

As a teacher I am often frustrated by the notion that we have an easy life - those who are teachers or those who see a teachers work schedule realize that during the school year there is nearly no off time. While some are able to check Facebook or surf the web while they work. A teacher works from 8am-3pm at school - this portion of the day is filled with classes with students and meetings with administrators and fellow teachers. Teachers often have students in during lunch for help. And few teachers are able to start right at 8am. Most come in early - set up the classroom, make the final preps to the lesson, check email, etc. Therefore, the day truly starts more like at 7am. Then at 3pm there is not an immediate off switch very few teachers are able to leave all work at school - grading or communication or lesson preparation comes home with you. Now typically it is only 30mins to 90mins of work but this again increased the time spent. Finally, teaching is not a 5 day a week profession - the weekends are required to prepare lessons and grade assessments. Now - I love my job. I would want to do nothing else professionally  But a teachers life is not easy - it is filled with great moments but it is also complete with hours of work and dedication.

As teachers we do receive 8 weeks of summer vacation - I use this time to complete projects and recharge.

All of this makes me realize that those in the business world are often allowed to work in different circumstances - if I were to start a business I would encourage 90 minute cycles of work - but more importantly I believe in setting deadlines and having people meet those deadlines. People should be provided autonomy in how they work and when they work - just as long as they accomplish the job at hand.

Support: weexist.co/

The internet is an interesting place. It allows people to connect in ways that never were possible before. There are times when I discover information on the internet that makes me truly stop and think - what would I have done to discover this information before. What would the world be like if information could not be shared over miles or nations in seconds.

I went to high school at New Trier. It is a place and community that shaped who I am today. The people I knew - the people I knew of - the people I was in class with - the people on my sports teams. This community while I was never fully integrated in - still shaped who I am today and in part how I view the world in which I live. The community which I do not keep in constant contact with is still connected to me - through technology such as Facebook.

I currently teach social studies in middle school and our current topic is genocide - we are investigating the oppression and extermination of groups of people for reasons that are difficult to fathom but important to learn. Important to learn so my students can learn what is possible in human history - and hopefully empower them to realize as citizens we can work to prevent future discrimination, tragedies and injustices.

I often explain to my students that when investigating and learning of the 8 stages of genocide the most important stage where prevention can occur is stage 3: dehumanization. The first two stages classification and symbolization are not evil or wrong if the people have a voice and the freedom to say in who they are. If we provided the freedom and liberty to choose our own symbols and create our own life these are not stages of inequality. But when these classifications or symbols are used to dehumanize and to discriminate it is important the citizens think independently and critically and decide what they should do. I believe that discrimination can be prevented if citizens stand to support the freedom and liberty for all.

I want to help students learn how to think critically and independently -  I want students to form their own opinions and their own conclusions. I work to teach them how to read - how to research - how to consume information - and I push them to think about what they are consuming from their own point of view. I do not believe it is my place to dictate what they should believe in - or what they think. Instead I try to provide thought provoking questions to help them discover what they believe.

In my own life this is how I try to be live and think myself - I want to consume information but critically and independently think and form my own conclusions. And today there is more information than any other point in history. We are able to learn more today, we are able to consume more today - but we also must sift through more bullshit than every before because anyone is able to create their own information - or misinformation; and at times critical information may become hidden or obstructed.

I discovered a website http://weexist.co/ - and I learned it is the work of a high school friend of mine. Lauren Lubin's site http://weexist.co/ is an amazing site. I have debated and questioned how I could support Lauren and the site and cause explained at http://weexist.co/.

I have reflected on how I came to know Lauren - in high school she was the dominant female basketball player a few years younger than me. She was close with some of my teammates and I knew her on a friendly "hey, whats up" level. It was not until she was attending the University of Colorado that we were able to train together a few times where we became friends. We often would work on our basketball games - playing pick up, working on basketball moves - that I got to know Lauren better.

I was trying to calculate the last time I talked to her. It was before her trip to Costa Rica - which means years have passed. I remember playing against her brother after she had been in Costa Rica for a while and he gave me an update.

But time has passed and the communication between us was lost. And while I watched her interview video here http://vimeo.com/54882939 it was surreal hearing her experiences and her thinking. I know her - I am friends with her - I shot hundreds of jump shots with Lauren - yet hearing Lauren convey her story and realization was amazing. Lauren's bravery and courage just made me think - wow - I just believe it is important to recognize that Lauren has an important message. And the information Lauren and the site weexist.co provides is important to consume.

And I support Lauren - and I want people to visit http://weexist.co/ - and I want Lauren to continue to give strength and a voice to as many people as possible - and if there is anything I can do I want to help.

Educational Article: Donald Clark's Plan B

It is important to discuss ideas and concepts to better understand your own point of view and understand the perception of others.

I recommend reading the Educational Article: Donald Clark's Plan B "Too cool for school: 7 reasons why tablets should NOT be used in education" - but then consider he presents one point of view.

I am clearly biased - I have a 1:1 iPad classroom --- and I love my classroom - and my students love learning in my classroom.

I want to address several of Clark's points. First he states that students do not purchase iPads. It is true students do not have the disposable income to purchase a $400 machine. But if they could they would. And you can see this any time you walk into an Apple store. Clark transitions and state do employees use them - to which he responds no. Clark is incorrectly generalizing. Salesmen for many companies are provided a iPad with specific tools to help them sell their merchandize - see GE, Enterprise, and many more companies for examples.

In my classroom iPads enable my students to write. Students create blogs. Students create Google Docs for research. Students create Google Docs and write current event papers. Students create lab reports. Students are able to research the internet, or iBooks, and so much more on an iPad.

iPads allow students to create presentations - see Haiku Decks. Videos see Pinnacle Studio. Websites. And so much more.

Students are able to travel with their iPads to discuss with peers and travel the school searching for answers. Everyone must realize that iPads are not laptops. If you treat iPad like a laptop you are preventing yourself from maximizing the iPads potential.

Visit my classroom and witness iPads transforming education - as iPads enable individualized tailored education helping students learn how to read, write, and think critically and independently.

Mini Rant and Educational Article: Why schools must move beyond ‘one-to-one computing’

A good article to read and think about is: Educational Article: "Why schools must move beyond ‘one-to-one computing’"

The article makes a few important points that I want to address and respond to.

First the article explains: "As many schools and districts are now rushing to buy every student a digital device, I’m concerned that most one-to-one implementation strategies are based on the new tool as the focus of the program. Unless we break out of this limited vision that one-to-one computing is about the device, we are doomed to waste our resources."

And then the article concludes with "In every case of failure I have observed, the one-to-one computing plan puts enormous focus on the device itself, the enhancement of the network, and training teachers to use the technology. Then, teachers are instructed to go! But go where? That’s the critical question that must be addressed first."

As a teacher who has 1:1 iPads many of these critiques are important to address; but there are solutions.  The device in 1:1 programs is not a solution. The device - be an iPad, laptop, etc - is not the magical pill that will fix a classroom.

Instead the device - the 1:1 tool - provides a teacher with the ability to tailor and individualize lessons to help students read, write, and think critically and independently. The device unlocks the internet - but the internet alone is not a solution either. Teachers must first understand what their students need to learn - students must master the ability to consume information - by reading; reading books, reading articles, reading graphs, reading visuals, comprehending videos, audio books, and so much more. The types of consumption material allows a myriad of types of learners to succeed and thrive. Second students must master how to produce information - to write - by writing comments, papers, graphs, charts, scripts for videos, and so much more. And then finally students must learn how to think for themselves - not to repeat information but to synthesize and analyze information to draw their own conclusions. Today's world provides a near infinite amount of information but processing the information is the new challenge.

These 1:1 classrooms provide the opportunity for every child to learn - to open the world up to the possibilities. 1:1 classrooms will transform education - but these plans are not the solution. There must be directions determined by the teacher, by the district, to prevent learning from being lost in the possibilities.

Mini Rant: Competition

This weekend I helped run and coach a basketball tournament for middle schoolers. As a 7th grade teacher it is fun to see students outside the classroom on the basketball court. One of my critics of the last grades that have passed through is the simple fact losses do not truly impact them.

I have a very talented team - and we played hard, competed during every game, and improved throughout the weekend. I can easily list countless areas and ideas that we can improve upon - team defense, shot selection, willingness to attack the rim, floor spacing, screening bodies versus space, attacking the basket with proper angles, balance on shots, shooting with more confidence, etc.

But this team I have will be fun to coach for a simple reason - after losing in the semifinal game they cared and they were upset. For athletes or competitors - losses serve as fuel and motivation. Learning is an action that requires effort - and often the effort required to master the details are frustrating and difficult. You need motivation and you need drive - I believe this comes from feeling each loss. Hating each loss. And striving to not lose again - yet constantly risking failure in competition by competing to one's max.

This can translate to any learning situation - seeking answers - seeking improvement is something I find too fun to pass.

Educational Article and Mini-Rant: FAQs for a Skeptic on Technology

The educational article: "FAQs for a Skeptic on Technology" is a must read for ed tech supporters. Proponents of ed tech must address the skeptics and their questions - without critiques we are left without addressing the real problems. The author Larry Cuban provides the three reasons he is a skeptic. Yet, he states "Combine hype and experimentation and that is a potentially toxic combination. Thus, hard questions must be asked of those policymakers who buy and deploy electronic devices for classroom instruction."

And in my opinion, this is the key - Cuban is not anti ed technology - he is just frustrated by the current technologies that claim to solve problems that are more complicated than a miracle pill solution - and he is frustrated by the consistant company hype providing teachers patchwork technology that is flashy put incomplete.

Ed tech must create a tool that enables the teacher and student to be more efficient and effective learners. Technology is simply a tool that cannot replace teachers, essential questions, and much more that is necessary in educatoin.

Education Article and Mini Rant: Can Ed- Tech Companies Survive Marketing Only to Teachers?

The title of this posts a question that I truly was intrigued by - "Can Ed- Tech Companies Survive Marketing Only to Teachers?"

I am always intrigued by how concepts and different processes function. I utilize ed-tech in my classroom on a daily basis and I have often pondered to the what if world.

I understand what makes a good tool for the classroom - but the concept of salesmanship is not within my daily thought process.

The author Jason Tomassini investigates the current trends and states "Within education technology startup and investment circles, there's a lot of chatter about the "consumer-ization" of the market. Basically, the end-users of ed tech—teachers—are becoming more proactive about choosing what they use in the classroom, and companies are developing and marketing products with those very end-users in mind. No longer are district-level procurement officers the primary gatekeepers for teaching tools and materials."

Tomassini continues and explains "Developing products based on teachers' experiences and preferences would help improve academic performance, which can't help but influence district-level officials with bigger checkbooks, Friedman believes. In an ideal world, it's a win-win for teachers and for companies. Similarly, some education industry onlookers I spoke with hope that "consumer-ization" is not the endgame for the market, but a means to enterprise sales and putting better technology into schools."

In my opinion teachers need to become the voice guiding the companies and the products - too often teachers simply modify bad tools and fit square pegs into round holes in the classroom. Teachers should be partnering to create the best tools to help fix the education situation. Teaching is not something an observer truly understands through observation - teaching requires practice and experience. Understanding the needs of the students and the capabilities of the staff while balancing the requirements of the subject is a delicate and imperfect science that in my opinion takes time, patience, and constant tinkering.

Educational Article and Mini Rant: Breaking Research: Most Apps Bad

The article sparks me to mention that as a teacher using 1:1 iPads I find it amazing when I am asked what apps do you use in the classroom? The real power of the iPad is the ability to connect with the internet. The current stock of apps focus on basic and primary skills that are not relevant to middle school students. As a colleague of mine points out frequently teacher adapt to bad technology - and the lack of good app options is a fact.

This article "Breaking Research: Most Apps Bad" supports this belief. Apps should help student engage with material and teach them critical reading and thinking skills - instead apps too often are flashy smooth looking mirages covering up old teaching methods from decades ago instead of truly transforming education. Check out the article and graph highlighting the lack of quality apps.

Educational Article and Mini Rant: Keys to a successful iPad initiative

Steve Johnson provided a great interview on 1:1 iPad adoption in his school in the post "Keys to a successful iPad initiative."

Two answers stood out more than the rest - I recommend reading the entire interview here -

When asked: Do you have professional development to help teachers transition to new teaching methods that incorporate the iPad?

Johnson explained "Teachers are teaching the same way now as they have in the past. It is simply the tools that have changed. They have loved being able to use Nearpod to push out presentations. Also, they are finding out what we read in our research—that students are more engaged and less distracted when using the iPad. However, classroom management is what has to be re-learned. Teachers are asking how to manage a room of students with digital devices. Professional development addresses this, as well as new apps and programs like iTunes U, which allows us to put content online."

And Johnson concluded the interview with this comment: "While it is a commonly held idea that the students know more about the devices than the teachers, we want to train them on using the familiar device as an educational tool in a best practices way."

These two comments are both insightful and too often overlooked. Teachers need to see the iPads as a tool to help students master the necessary skills in the classroom. The iPads are not the solution or magical potion to cure the ills of the classroom. Instead these devices can help individualize and differentiate lessons allow teachers to become better at their craft. I have noticed in my classroom that student engagement and motivation are at all time highs while using the iPads. Students are more engaged and focused during lessons and units with the iPads - but this is my opinion due to the fact I am able to provide various learning options and mediums; students can read, watch videos, or create when seeking their understanding. 

Johnson's final comment cannot be forgotten either - the use of a new technology requires training. And that includes students. While many know how to play games and watch videos on the iPad - best practices and routines must be established to allow the iPad to transform into the educational tool it has the potential to be. Students must respect the device but more importantly respect the classroom and the process of learning that is taking place.

Education Article and Mini Rant: Top Ed-Tech Trends of 2012: The Platforming of Education

Hack Education's article "Top Ed-Tech Trends of 2012: The Platforming of Education" is a great examination at the lastest trend in ed technology.

On a mini tangent: Audrey Watters is one of my favorite ed tech writers who constantly provides thought provoking articles. It is important to highlight authors like this - while I do not always agree with Watters her point of view always helps me better understand concepts and philosophies of my own because she challenges the logic of the norm while providing a clear and reasonable articulation of her point.

Within her article Watter's highlights "Marc Andreesen [who] offered a good definition of platforms in a 2007 post titled “The Three Kinds of Platforms You Meet on the Internet”:

A “platform” is a system that can be programmed and therefore customized by outside developers — users — and in that way, adapted to countless needs and niches that the platform’s original developers could not have possibly contemplated, much less had time to accommodate.

Andreessen goes on to argue that there are 3 levels of Internet platforms — 1. Access API, 2. Plug-in API, and 3."

As Watters' continues she articulates "while the Web remains my favorite education platform, what we witnessed in 2012 is probably less about the open Web and more about the development of closed commercial platforms."

This last point is important - the implementation of technology in education is requiring us to rethink how we access and manage this 'platform' for our classrooms. Watters' article provides a great overview of who is currently attempting to platform education - and her point of view is extremely accurate from my point of view - her commentary on the companies currently engaged in this process is a must read for any educator or developer.

But I believe that the one point that was not emphasized enough is the simple need that remains unfilled - this platform that Watters' highlights and explains the potential of - this platform that can delivery the necessary tools to teachers in an easy to use, comprehensive, and potential to push individualized education beyond closer to an ideal still remains just a thought and not a reality.

Education Article and Mini Rant: Education Needs More Tempered Radicals

Education Week's article "Education Needs More Tempered Radicals" examines the need for education reform but highlights the potential pitfalls that will exist with any change when forgetting that not all educators serve the same role.

As the article defines the term:

"Tempered radicals are people who operate on the fault line. They are organizational insiders who contribute and succeed in their jobs. At the same time, they are treated as outsiders because they represent ideals or agendas that are somehow at odds with the dominant culture"(2003. Meyerson. P.5)."

It is important to consider that too often educators are over generalized into a few different camps - as the article explains in another excerpt from their Common Ground series:

"Working in any system is complicated, especially one that has been as well-established as the public education system. There are those educators who are happy entering school every day following the same plans that they have for years, and they like being told what to do. They don't question their surroundings and want to "just" teach their students. This does not make them bad educators; it just makes them happy with the status quo. These educators still help students succeed and don't see the point in fighting everything happening top-down. The reality is that slashing and burning is not going to happen in our present system, and it shouldn't because there is a lot of goodness within the public school system that is effective with students..."

Educators exist in a world that is constantly being changed yet at the same time staying too much like the past. Companies, speakers, and school leaders are constantly changing and each time a new one enters they have repackaged ideas under a new vernacular buzz word - one course of action may only be followed for a year or two before it is trashed and a recycled concept under a new name is brought in as the savior. Too many educators therefore just come in and follow orders realizing that in a few months or possibly a year or two things will simply change again.

Nearly all teachers want to help students learn - the pay compared to the time spent in the classroom makes other motivations much less feasible - and as the article states "Education needs all of these stakeholders in order to improve it. There needs to be rule followers who will follow along and the extreme radicals who will fight hard to help change the status quo. However, education also needs tempered radicals who have the perspective of being on the inside and knowing what needs to change to make things better."

I found this article thought provoking and worth a read.

Educational Video and Mini Rant: Situational irony: The opposite of what you think - Christopher Warner

One of my favorite mini lessons of the year is the teaching of political cartoons. Political cartoons provide an opportunity for students to understand the nuances of language and symbolism that few other mediums allow middle school students to easily see - students are able to at least identify the fact that background knowledge can alter the perception of a cartoon - this concept of bias and point of view is just becoming apart of their lives.

In addition, political cartoons always be to help teach 'reading' skills. In my classroom I strive to help my students read, write and think critically and independently.

Political cartoons help breakdown how to analyze and read an image. Students must identify the labels within the cartoon, identify the basic questions (who, what, when, where, what, and why), while also balancing the point of view being conveyed by the artist. This understanding is open to discussion requiring students to support their ideas with facts and evidence.

Two other key concepts are in play with political cartoons: metaphors and irony. The students are able to grasp the basics of a metaphor - in particular because so much of our current education system is based upon explaining historical or complex concepts to students through metaphors and because that is one of the main ways we learn.

On a mini side note - we are only able to comprehend information when related to something we already know - and this in turn creates an issues and set of problems that alter our true understanding. That is one of the reasons I believe we need to help our students think and attempt to understand a wide range of information.

The second complex or higher level concept is irony - and while this is difficult to explain to adults it is more difficult to explain to 12 and 13 year olds - providing examples helps but still too many of my students are unable to articulate a definition of the term in their own words, language, and world. This video by TED-Ed "Situational irony: The opposite of what you think - Christopher Warner" is a good start to understanding one type of irony.

Mini Rant Sparked by Educational Article: Reading 'can help reduce stress'

My principal recently sent along this article to our staff: "Reading 'can help reduce stress'" As the article states "Reading is the best way to relax and even six minutes can be enough to reduce the stress levels by more than two thirds, according to new research."

I believe that this is a true concept that is often distorted - reading for pleasure is an amazing stress relief but that comes from choice and individualization. But this relaxation only occurs if the reader can choose the topic and source to read. Mandated reading stifles relaxation because of the forced nature in which we hate to feel trapped by musts. Too many people when told not to do something or that they must have to do something simply feel a need to pursue the off limit goal or rebel against the rules. Reading provides a time away from the hectic real world. An escape from the daily pressures. The reading choice for some maybe some utopian society gone awry (see Divergent) or for others maybe an in depth examination of the latest football trends (see Football Outsiders). In my opinion, reading can provide that escape while helping the brain remain active and engaged in thought.

Education Rant - The Presentations that Cause Confusion

One of the common mistakes I believe teachers and tech presenters make is to show the cool tools of what the internet or the latest technology can do before asking the most fundamental question: what do you want your students to learn? 

I think the most important step - the first step - is to brainstorm the necessary skills you want to develop among your students. I break my classroom down to one goal: to help my students learn how to read, write, and think critically and independently. I then structure my class around this fundamental goal. 

I structure my units and individual lessons around this central tenant and adapt my lessons from there. For example during the election unit I created the outcomes I wanted before looking at the technology. The skills and classroom ideas come before tech and too often people try to accomplish this in reverse. My election unit was structured around helping students read about the candidates, issues, and the election process. This concept of reading is more than just reading articles but also reading visuals and data. Students then needed to be able to write about their opinions and articulate their understanding of key concepts from the party system to the Electoral College. And in the end I wanted my students to think for themselves - to synthesize the information they had read and written to critically and independently think for themselves. 

An example of this common mistake often occurs when I present a website I created that hosts a wide array of internet tools is Stealing and Explaining Technology Sites (https://sites.google.com/site/stealingexplainingtechsites/) - to best utilize the site it is important for teachers to come up with what they want students to do - create an animated story, create a list of books to read, to investigate history, to create a timeline, etc and then consult the site and there will be something available. But too often during the presentations teachers first look at the site for the start of their lesson - the Internet is an amazing tool that opens the possibilities that are in teachers but the Internet is just that a tool to be used by the craftsman: the teacher.

My mini rant and the educational article: 5 Critical Mistakes Schools Make With iPads (And How To Correct Them)

As I reflect about the first few weeks in the classroom with 1:1 iPads I feel excited and transformed by the possibilities - I realize and know that iPads can and will transform education. While observing my students consume information, produce information, and most importantly experience collaborative hands on activities I see a much higher level of understanding, a higher level of community, and overall just a better classroom.

The article "5 Critical Mistakes Schools Make With iPads (And How To Correct Them)" provides a look at how some schools and too many educators are misperceiving the iPad - I have long said the iPad is not a computer. Instead the mobile device that is the iPad can and should be transforming classrooms throughout the country. While I do not believe all of the mistakes are 100% accurate the article is a great read.

I will be posting more in the upcoming days/weeks on my experience with the iPad - my observations, the essential components and lessons I have learned and much more