How a Single iPad Can Benefit a Whole Class

My class has one iPad. Just one. But I have found ways to put this single iPad to use in such a way that everyone in my class benefits. 

Having mastered one app -- the Show-Me app -- I have been able to create podcasts for my students, allowing them to access my help on their assignments while they are at home or when I am unavailable for face-to-face teaching or tutoring. 

After I became comfortable with using this app, I began to brainstorm ways I could use it within my classroom. One technique is to have my students create their own podcasts. The process looks like this:

With help from my technology coordinator, I learned how to project the podcasts that my students made onto my whiteboard. When students volunteer to show their podcasts publicly, everyone in the class receives additional opportunities to learn problem solving which may be different from the “teacher’s way.” 

Although the idea of students teaching each other is not new, utilizing this app as the means to do so provides additional benefits beyond the immediate process.

I have found that I can use student-produced podcasts as formative assessments. Being able to save their work allows me to watch their podcasts later. I can view the podcasts throughout the week and ascertain the standards with which my students are struggling. I make notes while I am reviewing their podcasts so that I know in which areas they show strength and can determine areas to be addressed during individual teacher-student conferences. If I notice that many students are having similar difficulties, I use that information to help me plan for future instruction.

Having only one iPad has not limited my ability to use technology effectively with my students. It is a great tool for analyzing what my students know and can do, and it definitely increases their participation, motivation, and success in the mathematics classroom.