The EdTech Roundup
Connect:
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Editorials & Press
  • Ed Tech Sites
  • Lesson Plans
    • Elementary
    • Secondary
  • Former Weekly Podcast
  • About Me
  • Contact

LearnPad in the Classroom: The Award-Winning Tablet, Designed Specifically for Education

3/22/2014

4 Comments

 
**Please Note** After posting this editorial I have received multiple accounts of
teachers and schools who have had very negative experiences with the LearnPad.  
​Some were sent via email, and some are posted in the comments below.  I would urge any educational organization to consider these accounts prior to making a purchase.
Picture
Over the past few months, we’ve mentioned the LearnPad Tablet from Educational Resources several times.  The tablet is designed specifically for classrooms and is ready to be put to use right out of the box.  And, while the LearnPad is the winner of multiple education technology awards, I have been curious to hear specific feedback from actual classrooms to find out how the device functions in the field.  

Fortunately, thanks to Marcia Feltes, the technology teacher at St. Peter School in Geneva, IL, I was given just such an opportunity.



How it all Began

St. Peter School began looking for a 1:1 device for their classrooms back in November of 2012.  They looked at other tablets, laptops, and discussed a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy as well.  Originally, they had planned on implementing a different tablet, but in July of 2013 Marcia discovered the LearnPad at the ISTE conference.  After seeing the device in action, and discussing the idea with the school administration, St. Peter School decided the LearnPad was the best option for their school.

The official rollout of the school’s 1:1 program began this school year (2013-2014) with the 8th grade class of 45 students.  Each student takes the device to every class and takes it home with them each night.  They also purchased 6 extra LearnPads which are currently being used as a “center” with the K-4th graders.  Next year, the 7th graders will be included in the 1:1 program, and it will continue to grow from there.

Picture

Professional Development

When the school received the LearnPads, the teachers and staff began with a full day of professional development last September.  Basic training on the device was given, and teachers had time to begin creating their own lessons.  

The next week, the LearnPads were distributed to the 8th graders.  Throughout the school year, the 8th grade teachers who are using the LearnPads have met regularly to develop lessons and work out issues.  During February, a representative from LearnPad visited the school to offer a half-day training session, which turned out to be incredibly helpful and supportive.

After talking with Marcia, she says the only thing she would change if given the opportunity to start fresh, would be to allow the teachers more time to work with the device before giving them to the students as well.  Overall, the process went fairly smoothly, but giving the teachers more time to familiarize themselves with the tablets would likely have led to a more effective rollout.


Challenges & Successes

According to Marcia, the biggest challenge they have faced so far has been finding enough time for teachers to work together on lessons and tackle the problems they have encountered along the way.  Additionally, the school is still having occasional issues with a few apps, the default and teacher toolkits, and syncing everything with Google Drive and Google Docs.  They have also met with challenges in the math classroom, as they need an app that would allow them to easily create documents using mathematics symbols.  With that being said, the technical support teams at Educational Resources have been wonderful in helping the staff resolve these issues and move forward in lesson development.
Picture
However, overall there have a been many successes as well, and as a whole, Marcia is very satisfied with the devices.  The teachers are integrating e-books and online learning activities into the curriculum, they are uploading guided notes so students can access the material at home, and some teachers even have posted all of their homework online so students can work exclusively from the LearnPad.  

Teachers are also exploring ways to flip their classrooms using sites like Kahn Academy.  As for Marcia, the technology teacher, she is using the device to create lessons (and share sample products) for Photoshop and Scratch that the students can explore through on the tablets.  This way, the students can follow the directions and look at samples on their tablets, while completing programming and design tasks on their desktop PCs.



Advice for Other Schools

With all that being said, Marcia would definitely recommend the LearnPad.  While they have had minor challenges along the way, the support from the LearnPad team has been terrific.  She also suggests allowing enough time for teacher training and practice before student rollout.  If teachers could begin PD in June (or even in the Spring semester), that would give them plenty of time to familiarize themselves with the tablet.  

Marcia also recommends giving plenty of time during the school year for teachers to work together on ironing out difficulties and sharing ideas.  Finally, for those teachers who excel with technology, they should be given the opportunity to share their ideas and successes with the rest of the staff.

Overall, the LearnPad is excellent, award-winning tablet, with the added benefit of being specifically designed for educational environments.  If your district is considering a 1:1 program, or purchasing sets of tablets for classroom use, you should definitely add the LearnPad to your prospective list.  You can find out more information on the LearnPad website.

4 Comments
Fabrice Raud
12/10/2015 02:20:52 pm

We purchased 18 learnpad devices in a bundle because we loved the portal. As with other brands we have, we expected the same quality and did not purchase accidental damage or extended warranty. the device were not put into the classroom before 6 month after purchase ( summer break, training.. etc) a little than a year after purchase, 3 of them have a broken screen even though we purchased the protection case and half of them have lose mini jack that prevent using headset which is a real drag in a classroom. All the Learnpad company could do for us is to refer us to a repair shop and give us nothing but a sorry to help finance the repairs. And they dare admin that this first generation of their product is not as tough as the new one which they advice we purchase..Stay away from this Learnpad company. And the tech support is a nightmare, I have been trying to get help for over 4 month on this.

Reply
Mike
12/10/2015 02:44:11 pm

Hi Fabrice,

So sorry to hear about your experience with Learnpad, that definitely sounds terrible. I appreciate you sharing though, and that's good to know!

Mike

Reply
Paula Garrett
12/1/2016 12:38:30 pm

Our district purchased 30 of these. Their operation is cryptic and extremely user unfriendly. It's not menu driven, and nothing is intuitive. There was no written manual during our 3 day training, and although I took notes as best I could while doing the exercises, ultimately, we could not use these, and there is ZERO tech support in the U.S.A. Do not recommend.

Reply
Mike
12/1/2016 01:28:07 pm

Hi Paula,

I am very sorry to hear about your negative experience. I have added a note to the top of this post to urge caution to others when considering the LearnPad. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Mike

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Editorials

    Here you can find the Round Up's collection of editorial pieces and press releases where we will discuss the latest trends and ideas in educational technology


    Picture

    Featured

    Picture
    Check out our featured review | ClassroomAPP: A Complete, K-12 Digital Platform for Online and In-Person Classrooms

    Teach.com

    Connect


    Awards

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

           
​Except where noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
Picture

Copyright 2020 | Mike Karlin, Ph.D.