How have you as an educator transformed your

learning environment?
Prior to the implementation of one-to-one iPod Touches in my Grade
6 and 7 French Immersion classes, my teaching was didactic; I was
seen as the arbiter of nowledge while my students were passi!e in
the learning process" I tried to implement di#erentiation and student
choice, but was limited to only creating a few options that were
based on my assumptions of what students needed" $owe!er, once
I started the one-to-one program, my entire teaching style began to
transform" %tudents now had more access to the base-le!el content
that I would typically relay to them, thus my role transformed from
content deli!erer to learning facilitator" %tudents now ha!e limitless
possibilities in the information they access and the ways in which
they demonstrate their nowledge"
For e&ample, in my Grade 6 %ocial %tudies class, I ha!e students
create a museum of artifacts representing ancient models of
democracy" 'ather than being limited to the information presented
in their te&tboos, the iPods ha!e allowed us to create a classroom
without walls; one in which students can access information beyond
what is presented in a te&tboo" (iewise, the artifacts students
create are far more comple& and representational of their personal
sills than pro)ects that were assigned prior to implementing these
de!ices"
%ince implementing the iPod Touch in my classroom, I ha!e
recogni*ed the di#erent capabilities of !arious applications that go
far beyond accessing the Internet" Through +pps lie iTal and iTal
%ync, for e&ample, I can now gain a more authentic sense of what
students, oral language pro-ciency is as they learn a second
language" Prior to the iPods, my assessment of students, language
de!elopment was mainly through written wor" +s I further progress
in transforming my second-language pedagogy to include more
conte&tuali*ed language learning, I ha!e utili*ed new technologies
to ensure that students are de!eloping all language competencies"
Illustrate how Apple technologies have helped in
this transformation.
The iPod Touch pro!ides many features that are bene-cial to
students" .e chose to implement the iPod for se!eral reasons/
a#ordability; portability; familiarity; and +pp capabilities" .ith a
limited amount of funding a!ailable to public schools, a#ordability is
a ey concern when maing choices regarding technology" .e can
out-t roughly 0 classrooms with one-to-one iPods for the same cost
of pro!iding one classroom with one-to-one laptops" The iPods a#ord
us the ability to complete the bul of our in-class tass 1research,
te&t creation, !ideo recording, etc2, but we still use i3acs and
3ac4oos for our larger multimedia pro)ects that re5uire stronger
hardware" (iewise, portability is a ey bene-t to the iPod Touch"
%tudents are able to easily carry their de!ice between home and
school"
3any of the students I teach already own iPods or similar de!ices"
+s digital nati!es, they are familiar with how these products wor"
%tudents can easily na!igate the a!ailable options" Therefore,
implementing these technologies does not re5uire much training
from the teacher" (astly, the !ariety of educational apps a!ailable
has been a huge boon for the iPods in my classroom" For e&ample,
the %tarFinder +pp has my students learning beyond the classroom
as they attempt to trac and identify constellations on a nightly
basis"
3y most recent foray in implementing emerging +pple products
includes using i4oos +uthor to create, in collaboration with my
students, le!el-appropriate resources for my Grade 7 (ate French
Immersion 1(FI2 students" 6nlie the Grade 6 7ontinuing French
Immersion students I teach, the Grade 7s are )ust beginning their
)ourney in second-language ac5uisition" %ince (FI resources are hard
to come by, I ha!e adapted the a!ailable resources, such as the
te&tboo, to be more suitable for my students" +s we wor on
themes co!ered in the curriculum, students engage in in5uiry
5uestions in order to de!elop content nowledge" .e then
consolidate the content and focus on creating te&t that is at their
le!el of language de!elopment" This has resulted in the creation of a
(FI appropriate te&tboo using i4oos +uthor, which I manage and
then share with the students !ia the iPods" Initially, I !iewed the iPod
Touch as an inno!ated classroom tools, but now technology has
become a ey focus of my practice"
What successes have you seen with your learners?
I ha!e seen countless e&amples of students reaching high-le!el of
achie!ement and engagement with the use of this technology, but
the best e!idence I ha!e is of one particular student" This student,
8ason, was in my class 9 years ago" $e was a Gifted student, but lie
many similar students, he also faced some challenges" $is greatest
challenge was that he hated the act of writing" $e would ha!e
wonderful stories to tell, but was unable to commit them to paper"
This resulted in frustration, missed assignments, and worst of all, a
lac of con-dence in his capabilities" .hen the iPods were brought
in later on in that school year, he 5uicly learned to use the
:oice3emo option" 'ather than sit and stare at an empty page, he
recorded his story orally and later transcribed it" +lthough this was a
di#erent writing process of what was typically taught, 8ason learned
to mae it wor; it was a prime e&ample of the personal choice that I
wanted to promote in my students" This resulted in him scoring
within the %tandard of ;&cellence on the Pro!incial +chie!ement
Test, and more importantly, de!eloping con-dence as a storyteller
and writer" .ithout the implementation of this technology, 8ason,s
talents would not ha!e been disco!ered"
+s I support other teachers in implementing technology in their
classrooms, I also get to share in the successes they see with their
students" I wor closely with a %pecial ;ducation teacher who uses
iPads with her students with +utism to promote their literacy, social,
and their -ne motor sills" %he has reported a mared impro!ement
in her students since using the iPads"
How do you share these successes to infuence the
broader education community?
.hen I was initially approached and ased to sign up for the one-to-
one iPod pro)ect, I was unaware of the professional )ourney on which
I was about to embar" The pro)ect, led by <aren Pegler and =uncan
.hite>both of whom are +=;s--, was meant to be a study on the
feasibility of mobile de!ices in the classroom" That was three years
ago and I ha!e continued to embrace the use of mobile de!ices and
technology continuously" Two years ago, I applied and was accepted
into the 3aster of ;ducational Technology program at the 6ni!ersity
of 4ritish 7olumbia with the goal of e!entually woring with the
7algary 4oard of ;ducation,s 174;2 (earning Inno!ations team" In
the meantime, I ha!e shared my e&periences implementing and
managing technologies in the classroom with a wide-range of
colleagues" .ithin my own school, I ha!e held an administrati!e
position as (earning (eader in addition to being a classroom teacher
for two years" +s (earning (eader, I ha!e led Professional
=e!elopment sessions on technology implementation in two
di#erent schools" I ha!e also assisted in presenting at the 7algary
7ity Teachers, 7on!ention, sharing my e&perience with o!er ?@@
teachers" I ha!e also established a strong Personal (earning Aetwor
1P(A2 through my presence on di#erent %ocial 3edia sites as well as
at !arious conferences and symposiums surrounding educational
technologies" I stri!e to mae myself a!ailable to my colleagues and
members of my P(A not only to share my e&periences and success
with them, but to also learn of their e&periences as I continue to
e!ol!e my practice"