Launchpads for Learning: A Host of Apps Are Helping the iPad Realize Its Potential as a Collaborative Device

is the fourth in six-part monthly series examining how different technologies can help schools enhance collaboration among students. Previous installments have covered social media, configurable furniture, and interactive devices. often read that there are 4 C's in true 21st century education: critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation. The iPad is success at engaging individual students in critical thinking and creativity, but how about collaboration? After all, tablets are consumer products, designed to be used by one person at time, not by teams of students. It's up to teachers and instructional technologists to figure out how best to deploy them in the classroom in way that supports project-based learning and fosters teamwork. asked several teachers involved in iPad initiatives which apps they've had the most success with on the collaboration front. Here is what they told us. Creativity and the Common Core Jennie Magiera is the digital learning coordinator for the Academy for Urban School Leadership, network of 25 Chicago public schools. She helps deploy iPads and other digital devices and also coaches teachers on their use. She is currently helping 31 classrooms that have 1-to-1 iPads. Her new favorite app to foster collaboration is Schoology, learning management/ social media system similar to Edmodo. She says she chose Schoology because it offers all the features she needed for free, including important discussion features. For instance, teachers can see who commented when in timeline, and Schoology allows students to reply directly to each other. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Magiera cites typical elementary school math class to describe how iPads and Schoology might be transformative. Instead of photocopying word problems and having students work on them individually on paper, she likes to pull ideas from curriculum designer Dan Meyer, whom she calls a math ed rock star. In lieu of word problem, for example, Meyer's approach might have teachers show students picture of crowded room with 40 people end three pizzas on table divided into eight slices each. The teacher then asks the students, What does this picture make you wonder? Rather than wait for students to start shouting out answers, teachers use Schoology as back-channel chat room. Students start raising questions, Magiera says. How many slices per person? How big is the diameter of the pizza? Some will comment that size doesn't matter. Some will suggest drawing picture to solve it. They then vote on each other's suggestions and approaches to solving the problem. This also allows the teacher to record and see the types of questions and answers all the students are offering, Megiara explains. You could walk around 30 students end try to assess that, but Schoology records it end it levels the playing field for the teacher, who can see the wallflowers as well as the children who are yelling over the other kids. The teacher uses this information to assess the quality of the questions that students ask, and this gets to the metacognitive thinking skills in the Common Core math standards, as modeling, critiquing arguments, using tools strategically, and reasoning abstractly, she says. And the teacher can read all that post-conversation and assess the interactions, so that is valuable. Magiera admits that there are still some assignments where it's easier for students to work together using Google Docs and Chromebooks. We try to remain device-agnostic end use the right tool for the job. But there are things that the iPads are much better at, she adds. You can't do the kind of 'Madden NFL' screen-casting type thing and annotating using the Chromebook and mouse. She says teachers try to come up with assignments that take advantage of mobility, such as going outside and taking pictures, where the iPad has the advantage. …