Wicked Problem Project Part A- A Need or an Opportunity

1. What is the important educational need that you are seeking to address? This element is fundamental in this project.  Since we have limited time, energy, and resources, cool technology without a clear sense of why it matters or what we gain by it is of little value in the educational setting.  
Lack of participation.  Sitting there bored.  These are the feelings I get from students when I stand at the front of the classroom and explain something.  These are the feelings I get when I ask a student (one student) to help "show" the answer or demonstrate something.  My point is, only one person can work at a time.  Am I really maximizing my teaching time having just one student help at a time? Whether it be a powerpoint presentation, online survey, or using a GoogleDoc- with just my one computer, only one person at a time can do the work.

Problem: lack of participation when only one person can participate at a time.

2. How do you plan to address this educational issue with technology?  You need to make a clear and convincing case that your proposed solution will make a real impact on the issue you identify, and that your proposed approach is a reasonable approach given its costs and possible alternatives.
Solution: iPad

iPad, it's the latest craze in both the educational world and technology world.  Well, I am jumping on the bandwagon.  I want one, well not just one, but 23, enough for all my students or all the students in a classroom. (Okay, I understand, 23 may be a lot to ask for.  But I believe that if we start asking for a lot, we can always bring it down, which is usually a lot easier than trying to increase the amount after the fact.)  The iPad (or I would even settle for an iPod) brings classroom communication to a new level.  I'm thinking of a time when I would put something on the document camera and call up the students one by one to participate.  As one student would work up front, the other students just sat in their seats.  How neat would it be if ALL the students could collaborate at the same time.  If I put up a Google Doc and students could work on it all together.  Or if the students were creating a Prezi, they could all collaborate as well.  (You may be able to get the same effect with a wireless tablet of some sort, but having the iPad opens up so much more to the educational world.) If 23 students is too many, break them into groups.  have students work together to collaborate something when everyone is contributing.  Each student can have their "writing" in a different color.  This way teachers can monitor who is typing what.  iPads are bringing group work into the 21st century.  Our students are technologically inclined, whether they grew up with it in their homes or not.  It surrounds them everywhere. And while yes, iPads are expensive, they can be used throughout the entire curriculum.  As teachers, we need to show them that there is more to the iPad than Facebook and Angry Brids- there is education (and it's not the boring kind!).

3. Logistics of solution
Can there be just one purpose for an iPad in the classroom? No, this tool is very versatile, which is one of the many reasons I choose an iPad over a wireless tablet.  However, I will focus on collaboration.  Recently, my school has discussed bringing in Kagan Strategies which focus on cooperative learning.  A lot of work is done in groups.  We are also moving our math and science into the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) direction which requires a lot of group work as well.  So many ideas and thoughts pop into my mind when talking about the iPad and collaborating.  In terms of STEM- there is a process in which the students plan, design, and build.  Currently, I know teachers that are using STEM notebooks- but how about a STEM GoogleDoc? Each student has a color and the students can collaborate and work as a group to share ideas and create a plan.  With an iPad the students can be constantly writing down observations and working together as a group on the same page.  The best part? The teacher can write comments and share his/her 2 cents without interrupting each group.  The teacher can also check on the progress of each group by checking on the document itself.  Challenge: can the students share, create, plan, design and build without talking and only using the chat feature on for the GoogleDoc? You never know until you try.
In the state of Tennessee, 5th grade students are required to take a writing test.  For the past couple of years, the students participated in a survey at the end of the writing test.  One of the questions asked is whether the students preferred to write using pencil and paper or write on a computer.  There is a growing amount of students who prefer to use a computer.  To my 5th graders, cursive might as well be Chinese, pencil and paper is comparison to the Stoneage and the computer seems to be the ONLY logical way to write something.  Enter iPad.  The students type a paper on GoogleDoc (maybe I should have said that GoogleDoc was an education need??)  Another student edits that student's paper using blue for conventions, purple for sentence fluency and green for word choice.  The student can make comments and insert changes and the teacher can watch the entire process.
So whether it is writing, science, or math the iPad has the ability to be put into any situation.

4. Relevant Research and Resources

• 3 Ways to get iPads in your classroom- This website shows 3 different ways to try and promote the use of iPads in the classroom. 
• A wiki dedicated to iPod and iPad usage in education
• iPad vs iTouch
• What is the research showing?
• Measuring the iPad's potential

What I learned: Same old story- there is NO simple solution.  Will the novelty of the iPad (or even iTouch) wear off? I'm sure.  Are we making excuses not to teach? Most definitely NO! Are we brining our students into the 21st century? Yes.  While there are pros and cons of using the iPad in the classroom, like most tools, it is all dependent on how teachers use them.  I'm sure there was once a time when people thought it was going to be absurd that a classroom have 6 computers or a school have a computer lab AND a mobile lab (laptops on carts).  But now that is the norm.  Parents and teachers expect to have computers and access to them.  So whether it be an iPad or a similar wireless internet device, we are moving towards the future and we need to make sure our classrooms and schools are as well.  

5. A plan for the portion you will implement during this course and the portion you will implement after this course completes. 
Monday marks my last full day of school.  Yes, this monday, as in tomorrow.  Therefore, I will not be able to implement my idea in the classroom.  (Which may lead me to change my project....I'm still waiting on feedback) However, my plan on implementation is actually looking into ways (grants, etc) to see if I could bring iPads into my classroom or school.  I will be going to a new school next year and I look forward to working with those teachers to discuss technology and how we could implement such a device and get together and write a grant or proposal.

6. How would you know you were successful? 
I wold consider myself successful if I was able to get the teachers on the same page and work together to write a grant or proposal.  iPads are not going to come overnight.  But stepping in the right direction and getting the staff and administration behind you will help me and the students to become successful.  If iPads are not available, I will look into iPods or other devices that could give the same effect.