Anyone who has attempted to use a new technology with students knows the value of patience and determination. At Perspectives II, we introduced 5 iPads in January 2017. These were to be used to complement the class set of Chromebooks that is housed in the ELA classroom and shared by all students.
Although the students are familiar with using these devices and mastered use of the e-books quickly, we still encountered a few hiccups.
- Some of our enhanced books did not play any sound.Solution: We realized the issue was on the supplier end, so the librarian enquired with the provider, who looked into the issue. It turned out to be an error with some of the digital files that the publisher provided to the supplier. New files were uploaded within 24 hours and the situation was resolved.
- A few of the students reported that the books they had borrowed were no longer in their digital bookshelves.Solution: We realized that the students were not logging out of their accounts before exiting the class and students in the next class period were unknowingly borrowing books in the first student’s account. We explained the importance of logging out of the digital platforms.
- One of the ebook platforms did not allow the students to start the audio recording at a place of their own choosing within the text (they needed to start at the beginning of each chapter).Solution: The librarian called the platform developer who advised students to set bookmarks. We posted instructions for setting and using bookmarks in a visible spot in the classroom.
- The WIFI bottomed out one day.Solution: The teachers distributed old-fashioned printed materials and facilitated classroom discussion.
Overall, we’ve been fortunate to report that the early positive reactions from students have outweighed the technical problems (so far). In our next post, we will share some initial student feedback.
(For more information about our pilot project, please refer to the blog posts about our classroom experiences.)
Accessible Reading Quebec 