Apple Foundations Training + iPad Academy + Ongoing PD = Recipe for Success for iPad Roll Out

Bellevue Public Schools has effectively rolled out iPads to teachers as a result of the powerful training and coaching model that has been developed by the instructional technology team.  Bellevue Public Schools has two Apple Foundations Trainers, Ann Feldmann and Jennifer Krzystowczyk, who have been trained by Apple.    As a result, they offer Apple Foundations Training with the Apple Curriculum to teachers in the district. This training provides teachers with a learning experience grounded in best practice, pedagogy, and research.  Once teachers successfully complete six days of Apple Foundations Training they are eligible to the iPad Academy.  The BPS iPad Academy Model is based on training, coaching, and collaboration.  It has been proven to be effective, sustainable, and allows teachers the opportunity to create powerful learning environments.  You can read more about the iPad Academy Model in a previous post here.

We now have 164 teachers in Bellevue Public Schools that have completed Apple Foundations Training and 37 teachers currently in our iPad Academy. Transformation of teaching and learning is happening at an incredible rate as teachers move to being innovators in the classroom.  It is exciting to be instrumental in this change in classroom culture.

Our teachers are delivering curriculum via iTunes U Courses and creating content with iBooks. In addition, they are transforming the way they teach by establishing paperless, learner centered, creative classrooms.   Classrooms are student driven, learning is individualized, creativity is valued, formative assessments provide timely feedback, engagement has increased, behavior issues have decreased, and material is differentiated for each student.  This shift in classroom culture has been fascinating to witness and is a direct result of the Apple Foundations training and the ongoing professional development and coaching in the iPad Academy Model.

Teachers have met with compelling evidence of success. In fact, others have been fascinated too. We have hosted four site visits this past school year for teachers and administrators from other districts.  They spend the entire day in the district. We provide them an overview of our model and then send them off to our iPad Academy classrooms where they interact with the teachers and students.  They are impressed with the flexible learning environments, level of engagement, learner centered approach, and self-directed learners.

Learn more about Apple Foundations Training and the iPad Academy from the words of our teachers. Below are direct links to blog posts from 14 of our teachers.  Feel free to drop them a comment. You can find a complete listing of iPad Academy Teacher blogs linked to our Tech Tools 4 Teaching Blog at http://technologytools4teaching.blogspot.com .  You can also interact with our Bellevue Public Schools iPad Academy on Twitter by following the hashtag #ipadacademy.  

Apple Foundations Training

1.  Ms. Braasch, 4th Grade - Why iPad?

2.  Mrs.  Lambert, 8th Grade - AFT Reflections

iPad Academy

1.  Mrs. Evon - 3rd Grade (moving to 4th next year)

Project Based Learning Summer School

Guided Math in an iPad Classroom

Guided Reading with iPads

2.  Mrs. Hoglund - high school math

App Smashing in Algebra

3.  Mrs. Carlson - high school business

How I Know What My Students Know  - Digital Portfolios in the iPad Classroom

4.  Mrs. Schneider - middle school English

To Kill A Mockingbird Projects

5.  Mr. Sims - 4th Grade

What iPads has changed for me

Teachers are Miracle Workers

6.  Mrs. Brown  - 2nd Grade

iPad Share Day

7.  Mrs. Klamm - 2nd Grade

iCan iPad at Student Led Conferences

Science, Student Teacher and the iPads

8.  Mrs. Manning - 3rd Grade

Showcasing Student Work

9.  Mrs. Geldes - 4th Grade

Teaching Perspective

10.  Mrs. Smeby - 4th Grade

iPaddling Through the Day

11.  Mrs. Rowse - high school English

A Flipping Long Post

12.  Mrs. Hall - 5th grade

iPads in the Classroom

Written by Ann Feldmann

@annfeldmann1

Bellevue Public Schools iPad Academy Model

How did iPad Academy (#ipadacademy) begin in Bellevue Public Schools?

We have had many people ask this question.  

My colleague, Jenny Krzystowczk and I experienced first hand six days of intense Apple training in Cupertino, CA. We returned inspired to recreate a similar experience for interested teachers in Bellevue Public Schools.  The Bellevue Public Schools iPad Academy is a training and coaching model based on the research and pedagogy from our Apple Academy training. All interested teachers must complete six days of Apple Foundations Training with Jenny and I. Teachers learn OSX, iLife, iWorks, iBooks Author, and iOS.  Then, upon successful completion of the training, teachers may apply to the iPad Academy.   Once selected for the iPad Academy, teachers receive a set of devices and an iPad Coach.

Our iPad Academy model is unique, successful, sustainable, and an inspiration to other districts rolling out iPads because it is grounded pedagogy, research, and instructional support.  Our teachers have truly transformed their classrooms under this model which involves extensive training, coaching, and establishing a culture that is transforming teaching and learning in our classrooms in Bellevue Public Schools.  

This summer, 30 teachers spent 6 days of their summer vacation in Apple Foundations Training (AFT) with Jenny and I. They joined the 110 teachers Jenny and I trained this past school year and they are now eligible to apply to for four spots in fall iPad Academy.  Interested teachers fill out an online application.  Applications are reviewed and teachers are selected.  Currently, we have 37 teachers in the iPad Academy with iPads in grades 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and HAL (high ability learner) in the elementary. Additionally, we have iPads in the high schools in science, math, history, English, Spanish, Business, and SPED.

iPad Academy Details

Participants:  Teachers who successfully completed six days of intense Apple Foundations Training (AFT) are eligible to apply to the iPad Academy. Participants for the iPad Academy are chosen based the application.

Description:  Participants receive 15-30 iPads depending on the teacher’s classroom size as well as necessary accessories for success, such as headphones, styluses, and apps.  Teachers are then partnered with a coach for at least one semester.  Coaching occurs over a continuum of methods from co-teaching, collaboration days,  planning sessions, G+ Hangouts, blogging, journaling, Twitter,  and meetings.  iPads then remain with the teacher until further notice.  Teachers who have completed the iPad Academy are expected to be able to share their knowledge and provide support to future iPad Academy participants.  Teachers are members of two private Google Communities for both Apple Foundations Training and iPad Academy to share, support, and provide teachers feedback. All admins, iPad coaches, and teachers from AFT and iPad Academy are members of the community.

iPad Coaching topics covered include but are not limited to:

SAMR Model Classroom Management with iPads: Cart, iPads, Charging, Personalizing iPads Learning to use a core set of APPS Google workflow on the iPads Reflector Troubleshooting The Global Classroom

Creativity in the Classroom Pedagogy with iPads Classroom environment Collaboration with peers (student collaboration) Cooperative Learning Digital citizenship Take home model Differentiation ITunes U iBooks

Interested in learning more?

• Read more about how the iPads are transforming the classroom from our iPad Academy teachers!  All our #ipadacademy teacher blogs are linked to our blog at http://technologytools4teaching.blogspot.com/
• Click HERE to view #ipadacademy teacher contact information, twitter handles,  and links to their blogs!
• Follow iPadAcademy happenings on Twitter at  #ipadacademy
• Here are a few more details about the #ipadacademy

Written by Ann Feldmann @annfeldmann1

Transformation Begins with Mobility

One app transforming our #ipadacademy classrooms is installed on the computer, not the iPad!  Reflector http://www.airsquirrels.com/reflector/ is an inexpensive app for the computer that has huge benefits in redefining the classroom! This software allows teachers and students wireless airplay the iPad on the computer.  Anything on the iPad will be reflected, including the audio! Sound transformational? It is!

The result?  A redefined classroom!

Benefits of using Reflector?

1. Teachers are mobile! Teaching from the front, middle, or back of the room is now possible. A wonderful way to gain a new perspective on the classroom.
2. Students easily hop on and off reflector to informally share creations and receive feedback.  Have more than one student reflect at once to amplify the sharing.  This is a great way to add engagement to the classroom.

Click here for a handout on Reflector tips and tricks.  

Written by Ann Feldmann
@annfeldmann1

We Learn Better Together

In the rush of a 47 minute high school class period,  there is little time for sharing and peer review.  Today Jeff Bernadt (@jbernadt) dedicated the period for students to share and provide feedback to one another. The gift of time was a home run.

Students, with headphones hanging around their necks like stethoscopes,  moved into groups and started sharing their projects.  Mr. Bernadt joined them on the floor, plugged in his headphones, and enjoyed their creations.  Students created video projects in Doceri over a topic in the 1950's such as politics, fashion, and business.  As one student played his/her video for the group, group members listened and then each person provided feedback in the form of two stars and a wish, two things that were outstanding and one wish for improvement. 

What happened next, was mind blowing.  They started spontaneously revising their work.  That's right, without being told!  What they thought was their final project containing all the required elements when they walked in the door, morphed into something they had not yet conceived thanks to the ideas and inspiration from peer projects and constructive feedback from one another.

"Kids are evaluating their projects by collaboration and then improving the product they are putting out because of it," Jeff Bernadt (@JBernadt ) said.  " We learn better together."

Mr. Bernadt (purple shirt) joins his students and listens to their projects.

Lessons learned:
1.  If its worth assigning, each one is worth sharing. 
2.  Feedback is a HUGE motivator, inspires students, and directly leads to ownership.
3.  Peer feedback, sharing, and revision are keys to learner driven classrooms.

Golden Nugget:

All students used the Belkin audio splitter allowing up to five headphones to be used in at one time.  Headphones made it easy for all students to hear the videos and eliminated outside distractions.  A must have!

Belkin 5 Way Audio Splitter

Written by Ann Feldmann
@techiefeldie

Five Great Presentation Mobile Apps

  

Allowing students to create presentations to demonstrate their understanding becomes a powerful activity when paired with an iPad.  Presentations on an iPad are cool because videos, hyperlinks, texts, and images become powerful information tools.  

A lot of districts, like us, have a generation of kids that I like to call the Power Point students.  You know the ones- they know how to put together a PowerPoint on any topic.  They’ve had lots of training on this tool.  I used to show thirds grade kids PowerPoint.  Sometimes I’d like to shout,  “DEATH TO POWER POINT”.   We see our students using it to death.  It isn’t that we don’t think PowerPoint is ok.  Years ago PowerPoint was powerful, but not anymore.  There are so many great alternatives to engage students and allow them to create powerful examples of their comprehension.
Recently high school students have stated how much they love Keynote and iMovie.  I like using the keynote for PowerPoint because it lets you be able to be more creative with your power point and let's you express yourself.  Also iMovie because it's fun to create movies!!  I like the tactilize app because everything is on one page and you can organize it however you like. I liked keynote a million times better than PowerPoint because it is a lot easier to move everything wherever you like.
These are five awesome apps we use in our classrooms that allow for creativity in coming up with products demonstrating knowledge and understanding.

iMovie-The perfect video and movie trailer creation app for the iPad.  Movies can be shared out to YouTube or iTunes.  The videos look professional and it integrates all of your media content.  

Tactilize-Tactilize allows multiple interactive content on one card.  The cards are published to the Tactilize server and you can search for cards by username or topic.  It incorporates the feel of social media as well as others can “like” your card.  Students find this very validating.  

Keynote-A creative alternative to PowerPoint that integrates your Apple media from iphoto, to iTunes to your videos.  The mobile version is quickly becoming more preferable than the laptop version for ease of use.

Videolicious-Videolicious is a free app that lets you pop in images and then narrative over the images.  It  is similar to sonic pics, but provides some fun theme music that you can add as well as special effects.  If your district cannot afford iMovie for devices, then definitely go with Videolicious.  

Doceri- Doceri is quickly becoming the go to app when needing students to demonstrate their thinking while problem solving, drawing, speaking, and typing.  It is like watching student comprehension happen in real time.  It records a whiteboard with narration from the students.  Doceris can also be exported out to Drive.

Written By:  Jenny Krzystowczyk

@jennykbps

The Journey with iPads in the Classroom - The Honest Truth

I have been working with Jeff Bernadt (@jbernadt) and Breanne Campbell (@breanneshay) at Bellevue East the past four weeks using iPads in their history and English classrooms respectively. This blog post was created by the three of us with our take aways after a few weeks with them in the classroom.

What we have learned so far....
The iPads are personal devices not laptops. They work best in an ownership model where the students use the same iPad every day.  It takes considerable time to sign in and sign out of accounts when the iPads are shared. Also there is a tendency for students to mess with the settings and saved work of others when iPads are shared. - Ann

Block scheduling at the high school is a must to utilize class time more efficiently. This week when we had blocked class periods due to NeSA testing, the students were able to get so much done in class. It is my hope that when all students receive these devices the district will consider and advocate the need for block scheduling.  I do think, however, that if students had the ability to take the iPads home, the need for block scheduling would not be as great.  - Bre

Just because a student is absent, doesn’t mean she cannot collaborate with her partner. I had a student today who was absent and her partner who was present texted her and they were able to collaborate on their research together. This totally blew my mind.  - Bre

iPads gain valuable class time by minimizing time to transition between activities, hand in homework, and receive quiz/test results.  Additionally, there is no lost class time traveling to a computer lab or waiting to login to a computer.  No longer does lab availability drive when technology can be used in the classroom. Having quick access to the web and creation tools are essential to learning.  It is imperative the iPads be equipped with carefully vetted apps so students are not limited and can synthesize, create, collaborate, and construct new meaning with the information they are studying. These devices can transform learning as we have always known it. - Ann

To fail is to learn!!  What we have learned in failing?

• Always have Plan B (and C, D, E, F, and G too).  Jeff and I thought we would be able to have students leave comments on Jeff’s website.  We ran into issue with our Internet filters and quickly went to plan B. Instead we had the kids use the back channel at TodaysMeet.com. This turned out to be a hit! We loved the way the back channel worked for the class and we were delighted in how every student had a voice in the discussion!  It was fantastic.  We learned that it is important to roll with things and that there are multiple solutions to issues that arise, we just need to be creative in problem solving. Click HERE for our post on using Todays Meet. - Ann
• If you want students to have something for a lesson, don’t forget to email it to them. I had students completing Venn diagrams for our Revolution Research project and I forgot to email them the JPEG of the diagram. Some students didn’t even tell me, they just created one in Skitch and went from there. I didn’t realize it until halfway through the project. Oops! (Click here is a link to our post on using Skitch to annotate over charts.) - Bre
• We failed by not giving the kids enough time to learn the app.  It is important to understand the difficulty for students as they are learning a new app and at the same time they are interacting with new material.  When planning, teachers must plan time to teach the app and build in extra time to interact and play.  Keeping the material and expectations simple the first few times you have students using new apps is key.  I have learned this the hard way on a number of occasions already.  - Jeff

Written by: Jeff Bernadt, Bre Campbell, and Ann Feldmann

Spongy Learners Need to Get Moving!

Here is an interesting observation that I’ve been having while coaching our teachers in the #ipadacademy.  We’ve conditioned our students to sit, be still, and listen.  We expect them to be little sponges that will just soak up everything we say at them.  And don’t get me wrong, a lot of students are now really good at this.  What’s wrong with that you ask?  Well, now we are attempting to change the face of education with the use of ipads in our district.  

What my colleagues @techiefeldie and @catlett1 and I are finding is that the ipad requires a more active learner.  Students must tap here, tap there, look up information, create presentations, do some mind mapping, video taping, and publishing.  It’s an interesting change in the classroom and one that doesn’t happen as seamlessly as one might assume.  

What if those kids who were never good at listening in the first place start to make leaps and bounds, while the students who got really good at listening and taking notes suddenly start to slip?  Be on the lookout for the telltale signs of confusion at these new demands.  

Symptoms might look like this:
1.)  A look of panic when a student is told to log into “Drive”  Drive What?
2.)  Squinting at an online article, because a student didn’t know zooming was an option.
3.)  Taking an obsessively long time checking out images, because there are so many choices
4.)  Whining for attention from the teacher when he or she is supposed to be defining a word in the Dictionary App

These are just a few of the behaviors I’ve noticed recently and I hope that they begin to diminish soon as our learners becomes more active.  This environment also increases the opportunity for collaboration and students need the time to talk to each other and share ideas.  It’s a great time for education and I am hopeful that as they become more accustomed to these new demands students will inevitably become less of a sponge and more of a take charge kind of learner!  

Written by Jennifer Krzystowczyk
@jennykbps