COWpads: Sharing iPads in a range of secondary school classrooms

Abstract

This article outlines a mid-point snapshot of the progress of a small teaching-as-inquiry project at Hillcrest High School in 2013. Three teachers (music, mathematics, French) volunteered to focus on using iPads in a COW (computers on wheels, hence the term COWPads) configuration with a junior class during 2013. Each teacher created their own teaching-as-inquiry question focused on specific aspects of their practice. A University of Waikato researcher supported the teachers by observing classes and meeting regularly for feedback, reflection and discussion. Halfway through the year the following themes have emerged: the technical challenges to using a device designed for personal use as a shared device; a positive impact on students’ concentration levels and spans when using iPads, and shifts in teachers’ pedagogical design and practice. The teachers individually contribute their voices to this article, describing their initial experiences of using iPads on a regular basis and what they concentrated on most during the first few months of the project.