iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

Structuring a school around the arts can help students excel academically and develop social and emotional skills.

Eleven years ago Chris Lehmann and a committed team of educators started Science Leadership Academy (SLA), a public magnet school in Philadelphia that focuses on student inquiry through projects in a community that cultivates a culture of care. The school has been so successful over the last decade that the district has tapped Lehmann to help other schools get started or transform themselves.

“We’ve learned a lot and it’s been fascinating for me thinking about what it was like to go through the SLA process and then working with people who have different missions, different visions,” Lehmann told a room full of educators at the school’s yearly conference, EduCon. SLA is now part of an Innovation Network of eight district schools that each have their own take on transforming the traditional model of education. Throughout the process of opening or transforming schools, training staff and sustaining the work, Lehmann and others working on the Innovative Schools Network have gained some clarity on five areas that leaders need to consider for change to be successful.

"I have had the privilege of being able to plough new ground in my classroom with a class set of iPads. I now have over a year of experience in using them with my students everyday. Over that time I have had alot of trial, error and troubleshooting. But now into my second year I have the benefit of being familiar with iPads strengths and weaknesses. All of the apps in my list of 15 Ways to Use an iPad are ones that I have used with students."

School libraries are starting makerspaces all over the world. It’s an exciting time in education as we rediscover the power of creativity. But many schools rush to start makerspaces so quickly that they neglect building the maker culture. Developing a maker culture is a lot like developing a love of reading, it takes time and persistence and it’s totally worth it. Here’s a few ways that you can work to cultivate a love of making and creativity in your students.