Apple vs. Android in Education: A Beneficial Competition

Many of the postings and the articles that I have read so far about this debate of apple vs. android seem to be biased based on personal use of either device. It makes sense, because if you have invested money into a device, chances are you at least looked into it and decided you liked it better than the other options. Or maybe you didn't have much of a choice in what to use, but you are used to it and that is what you stick with. It seems with this debate no matter what each side says there will never be a "right" answer. Even when it comes down to use in education, I see mixed results. So I picked an article that I thought outlines the differences in a simple way (by the way they give the edge to android- "What works best for Students- Android or Apple?"). A few of the differences include-

• Cost- Android devices are cheaper in general
• Apps- Apple's education apps "work better" and are easier to find. Android has more variety, but may not work well across all android devices
• Usability- Android is more customizable and is easier to transfer files, but apple is easier to use in general
• Aesthetics- You can make an android look however you want it to and use widgets to access apps right on a home screen. The apple is limited on what you can customize.

They give the edge to android because it can be customized, it is cheaper, and google is starting to develop more services and apps.

Personally, I use an android phone. I had “tested” an iphone a while ago when my friend got one. They let me “play” with it before I decided on which phone to get. For me, an iphone was too simple, I like the ability to customize my android. But when it comes to what I would use in my classroom or what I would tell other teachers to use, I would say, it depends. Again, no definitive answer.

I think it comes down to money and what the tool will be used for. If android steps up and makes more educational apps that are user friendly, then that can only benefit education. I see this debate as a good thing. If educators demand good apps for educational use and can pay for it, then the developers of these apps for apple and android will have pressure on them to keep making good applications for educating people. So if a school can get ipads and they have what the teachers are looking for then great, if they are looking to save money and hope google comes through with more ed apps, then go for an android. Either way, I hope the competition between the two results in greater ways to use these tools to help education in general.

Interactive Whiteboards and Learning

Interactive Whiteboards (IWB) are becoming a popular technology to add to the classroom. An IWB is a projector that is connects to a computer that displays an image on a board and the user can control the computer with a pen, finger, or other device through the board (Marzano, 2009).

The challenge that many teachers have in the classroom is keeping students engaged and participating in class. According to Smart technologies inc. IWB's can raise student engagement, motivate students, provide enthusiasm for learning, reach different learning styles and environments including helping vision and hearing impaired learners, and help teachers be more efficient in how they communicate to their classes (Smart Technologies Inc., 2006). The goal is for the boards to increases participation, interaction, focus, and overall engagement to help increase learning in the classroom (2006).

How does it work?

Students and teachers can interact with digital content and multimedia by-

- Manipulating text and images- Here's a demonstration of how text can be manipulated in a reading-

- Viewing websites as a group

- Demonstrating or using software at the front of a room without being tied to a computer- you can click on the whiteboard itself instead of having to use a mouse on your computer

- Creating digital lesson activities with templates, images and multimedia- there are many resources available that allow teacher to make activities

- Playing Games with students as shown in this video for reading comprehension-

- Track student progress- the following video demonstrates how a SMART board can be used to assess student learning in class.

- Making notes in digital ink-you can still "write" on the board with the IWB pen and save them

- Saving notes for later review by using e-mail, the Web or print- you can type or write out notes them keep them for later, you can also send them to your students for later review

- Writing notes over educational video clips

- Using presentation tools that are included with the white boarding software to enhance learning materials

- Showcasing student presentations

Here's a teacher demonstrating the many uses of a whiteboard that were described above. In particular he is using what's called a flipchart, which is a presentation tool that can be used with certain interactive whiteboards-

Promethean Board Flipchart Demo from LCPS-TV on Vimeo.

IWB's and Learning

Interactive Whiteboards touch upon many different learning theories that focus on a socio-constructivist approach (Winkler, 2011). That students construct their understanding through experiences in their environment. This includes the idea from Friedrich Froebel that play and interaction when young can influence how one learns later in life. In addition, Lev Vygotsky?s Zone of Proximal development suggests the learner benefits from the guidance of peers or adults than trying to master subjects alone (2011).

There are 5 tenets of modern constructivists (2011):

1) Learning results from exploration and discovery

2) Learning is a community activity facilitated by shared inquiry

3) Learning occurs during the constructivist process

4) Learning results from participation in authentic activities

5) Student background and experience will cause variation in the final product or outcome

Since interactive whiteboards can have clickers that students can use to interact with the content that is being taugh to students, this allows for students to learn though a tactile process and in a collaborative way since all students are expected to participate in clicker type activities (2011). For example, teachers can present questions in a formal or informal way (like a game). Students can participate and answer questions on the spot and the teacher can get immediate feedback on the student's progress. If a teacher does a game, they could have students on teams that have to work together to be successful. So all of the students are working together and participating instead of just one student at a time.

Another example of using the whiteboards is by creating virtual field trips. The teacher can create presentations that use videos and pictures of a place such as a museum or a certain geographic location and have their students explore a place they may not be able to see in person. For example, you could take a "trip" to the planetarium and break students into groups and they go through the field trip and pick out information that is of interest to them and research it further, then they could present the information to the class through the whiteboard (Lisa, 2011). If students are more advanced at researching, they could make their own field trips through a tool like google earth and then present them to the class.This allows the students to construct their own learning based on their interests and what they know already.

If the teacher develops lessons that are student centered, then the IWB can be an effective way to adapt current learning methods to meet the needs of 21st century learners. In addition, interactive whiteboards can be helpful for helping lower level students or students who do not have access to technology. The following video case study demonstrates how the use of whiteboards has improved student achievement in an "at risk" school district in Missouri.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Benefits

• Better presentation of content and materials
• Teachers can develop learning objects easily and adapt them to their learners needs
• It can free students from note taking allow for more discussion of the material in class
• Allow learners to work collaboratively around a shared task or work area.
• Has the potential for sharing of resources with students if they have technology at their desks
• Allows for instant assessment of student understanding

Weaknesses

• Expensive
• If damaged can be expensive to repair
• Students may send inappropriate responses to the board through clickers or remotes

The biggest weakness though does not have to deal with the technology as much as it has to do with the instructor using the board. The instructor needs to implement best practices with the whiteboards. In the study by Marzano, that found that 23% of teachers actually had better results when they did not use the whiteboards (Marzano, 2009). They researched why this was and found the following issues that teachers were doing:

• Using the voting devices but doing little with the findings. In many classrooms, teachers simply noted how many students obtained the correct answer instead of probing into why one answer was more appropriate than another.
• Not organizing or pacing the content well. In these cases, the teachers incorporated video segments from the Internet or images intended to represent important information in their digital flipcharts. However, they ran through the flipcharts so quickly that students, although impressed with the graphics, did not have time to analyze and interact with one another about the content.
• Using too many visuals. Digital flipchart pages were awash with visual stimuli; it was hard to identify the important content.
• Paying too much attention to reinforcing features. For example, when teachers who had worse results with the technology used the virtual applause feature to signal a correct answer, the emphasis seemed to be on eliciting the applause rather than on clarifying the content.

Training is needed for teachers who are new to the technology to be sure that they use the boards effectively. Equipment alone does not transform the teaching, but the teacher needs to assess how this resource can influence a greater understanding of their lessons. There is a need for understanding effective pedagogical practices when using interactive technologies (Winkler, 2011).

Conclusions

The interactive whiteboard can be a great way to get students engaged in learning, making the class student centered, and help the teacher present and assess material in more gratifying ways. But as with any technology, the best practices are necessary for implementing the technological tools for effective learning. If not used properly, it becomes just another regular projector. Marzano (2009) recommends that the teacher organizes the material and tools ahead of time to ensure effective implementation. Use the visual tools effectively, so do not throw a bunch of pictures on the board that may look nice to the students, but do not support their understanding of concepts. If the data from using the formative assessments shows students do not understand a concept, then be sure to correct misunderstanding instead of moving on. Finally, be sure that when ?celebrating? when students are doing well on assessment, be sure to keep the focus on why the answers are right to reinforce ideas. If teachers get the right support and take time to develop lessons, the interactive whiteboard has the potential to be a great learning tool in the classroom.

References

LakeshoreLearning1 (2011) [video] Interactive Whiteboard Game Demo: Educational Software for Reading Comprehension. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=045-YDrNxhQ

LCPS-TV (2012) [video] Promethean Board FlipChart Demo. Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/40477902

Lisa. (2011) 12 Activities for Interactive Whiteboards You Can Use today. Simple K12. Retrieved from http://blog.simplek12.com/education/12-activities-for-interactive-whiteboards-you-can-use-today/

Marzano, Robert J. (2009) Teaching with Interactive Whiteboards. Educational Leadership. Volume 67. Number 3. Multiple Measures Pages 80-82 Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov09/vol67/num03/Teaching-with-Interactive-Whiteboards.aspx

SMART classrooms (2008) [video] Video Case Study: Jennings School District. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zvmr7kB5iPA

SMART Classrooms (2010) [video] A fast and Effective way to assess learning. Retireved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3R6gewJ9xg

SMART Technologies inc. (2006) Interactive Whiteboards and Learning: Improving student learning outcomes and streamlining lesson planning. Retrieved fromhttp://downloads01.smarttech.com/media/research/whitepapers/int_whiteboard_research_whitepaper_update.pdf

southpacificpress (2009) [video] CSI and Interactive Whiteboards. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz21Xp8u76Q

TechLearn. (n.d) Interactive Whiteboards in Education. Retrieved from http://www.jisc.ac.uk/uploaded_documents/Interactivewhiteboards.pdf

Winkler, Robert Lee. (2011) Investigating the impact of interactive whiteboard professional development on lesson planning and student math achievement. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1457&context=doctoral