EDSS 530 - Oceanside Report

Prompt

After our visit to Oceanside, I would like a blog post reflecting on the experience.

Reflection

On March 12, 2012 I had the privilege of visiting Oceanside High School in order to witness how they are integrating iPads in their science department, specifically chemistry and physics. During my visit I witnessed how the iPads were integrated into the curriculum, used throughout the lesson and promoted student learning.

In order to answer the posed questions it is critical that an overview of what was seen is given. For the purpose of this post I will focus on the physics classroom as it was where I spent a majority of my observational time. The class began with students being given a set of questions that served as an anticipatory set using Moodle. While students worked on the problems the instructor walked the classroom to assist students. While walking the classroom myself I noticed that each student was given the same problem but with different numbers. During the direct instruction students followed along with the instructor using Moodle and during guided practice the instructor allowed students to show their problems on the overhead using Apple TV. Throughout the lesson the majority of students remained on task despite having the ability to play various games.

Question 1: How was technology integrated into the curriculum? Do you feel it promoted student learning?
While I do feel that in many ways the iPad program promotes student learning I do not feel it was fully integrating into the curriculum. The use of iPads promote student learning because they provide students with different questions then their partners, the opportunity to redo mistakes and revisit lectures through Moodle. However I do not feel the technology is integrated into the curriculum because while applications exist that reference the content the iPads are currently being used as a tool to demonstrate student understanding of concepts.

Question 2: Is there anything you saw that makes this classroom/school unique?
Other than the use of iPads in the classroom there was little that made this classroom unique from others. The class still followed the traditional lesson plan set up, beginning with an anticipatory set followed by direct instruction and concluding with independent practice. The classroom still revolved around the instructor in a teacher-centered setting.

Question 3: What did you learn and how does it relate to the class theme?
Upon viewing the use of iPads in these two classrooms I realized that in many ways this could be the future of education. While these iPads may first visit science, math and English classrooms they will eventually appear in social studies classrooms. When they do I hope to use them to a greater degree than the instructors I observed. I hope to use the iPads to create a flipped classroom and generate a more student-centered learning environment. This observation relates to the class theme because it is truly the direction schooling is going towards in the 21st century.