UNEED a PDF Annotator: Try UPAD!

On Friday, I had the opportunity to help out at another school in my district during a morning of iPad-themed professional development for our future 1:1 teachers.

I led sessions about UPAD, the PDF annotating app that we primarily use.  (We also have students evaluating Good Reader so we can compare before distributing more iPads next year.)  Anyway, the experience was really fun and rewarding.  UPAD is probably the app our pilot students use the most so it seems a bit mundane at this point, but introducing it to a fresh set of eyes really reminded me about how much the app can augment and modify certain tasks.

After looking at some samples of student and teacher work in UPAD, we reviewed how to convert Word, Pages, and Google documents into PDF's.  Then it was time for to explore the app! Here is the practice activity I created as a simple way for the participating teachers to explore the common tools in the app.  We practiced free writing, typing, highlighting, and inserting images, while looking at lots of other settings and features!


The most interesting part of each session was the discussion that ensued throughout.  Here are some of the highlights:

If you're just doing guided notes or fill in the blank, how is this really different from using paper? 
Until you have an iPad every day, it's really not very different from completing the task on paper.  It's simple substitution.  When our pilot students were surveyed, however, the #1 advantage they see in having an iPad is their organization.  Organization has improved, students lose less work, and students have work available at all times.  At that point, UPAD becomes a necessary part of your workflow.

And along with that, how does the app make things better? 
How many times do you have a student ask you for a pencil every day? No student is going to forget his or her iPad!  Three of my favorite features are:
1.  User has access to a bunch of different pen colors
2.  User has access to a bunch of different highlighter colors
Great tool for locating different elements in non-fiction reading!
3.  User can quickly insert (and annotate on) images from the camera or camera roll
Excellent for science lab reports!

How are you teaching students to use this app? When do you do it - during the core class? 
Ideally, this type of learning is integrated at the time that the students use the app.  One practice that we have found successful is learning to use apps in "low stakes situations."  For example, we often show students some of the basic features of an app during a Homeroom period, and then give them the time to explore the app on their own or with a partner.  Sometimes we even include a "low stakes" assignment to accompany this exploration.  We also know that students are excellent at exploring apps on their own.  We often encourage students to look at an app at home before we know we are going to use it in school. Because of the nature of the teacher teams and student schedules, that's what has worked for us.


I highly recommend UPAD if you're looking for a PDF annotator.  We've run into a few cases of the disappearing document, but since students back up each night, we've been able to retrieve all work. And like all apps, don't be afraid to let the students explore (never play with) the app and teach each other and you!  For example, our students are the ones who figured out how to create folders and color code them in alignment with their regular paper folders. And your teachers will find great ways to use it too!  In one class, when students digitally submit work, the first page is always the rubric.  The teacher can then open the assignment in UPAD and mark up the rubric on her iPad.  Work is then sent back to the students digitally, rubric included!  It's pretty amazing how a simple app can completely change the workflow of a classroom for the better!

The Importance Prepping Parents for 1:1

Here we are about three months in to our 1:1 iPad Pilot, and we have just received the Survey Monkey results from our first parent survey.  Now I will say that some of the pilot teachers were a bit frustrated, but deep down we all realize that none of the feedback was much of a surprise.  And now we have confirmation that we are on the right track, and we know exactly what we need to improve.  Like I told one (the most upset) pilot teacher, "the good thing is, we can only go up from here!"  (That makes it sound like the feedback was awful, and it really wasn't, but sometimes we can take things a little seriously and personally.) 

The BIGGEST trend we saw in parent open-ended feedback was this: 
"I don't know what my child is doing in school anymore!" 

Here's the my-school-specific disclaimer: this is always a major concern from parents in the transition from 5th to 6th grade, but we know there are ways the iPads have intensified this parent frustration.  

So, here are our lessons learned that you can hopefully use to your advantage: 

1. Don't spend so much time supporting the teachers and students that you forget about parents.  One parent night at the beginning of the program isn't enough!
2. Try to feature something about the iPad or other device (hopefully in a nice, integrated manner) in the email updates you already send home to parents.  A lot of the surveyed parents didn't know how the iPad is affecting their student, because they don't really know what their student is doing, and in particular, creating on the iPad!
3. In general, communicate with the parents about what great things are being done with or on the iPads.  Send sample projects home, have students email their work to their parents, let parents know what, specifically, they should ask their child to show them.  This was the hardest thing to take for us.  We know we've done some amazing things that have required a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but guess what? The parents have no idea!        
4. Provide parent education.  Parents want to know what apps their children are using.  What are they using to take notes?  Are they keeping a calendar?  How did they make that really cool podcast you emailed us?  Even send them articles about how to support a child in a 1:1 program. 
5. This one's tough - Remind parents to talk to their children about school.  Okay, I might be a little snotty on this one, but it's hard to feel bad that you can't go in to your child's backpack while they're asleep anymore and look through their folders.  Sit down with your child.  Have a conversation.  Ask him or her to show you two things from the school day.  And now I'm really going on a rant, but if we're so afraid that technology de-socializes us, why aren't we TALKING more?! 

So, let's get back to the professional stuff.  Here's what we're doing at my school to make parent communication in the pilot program better.  Most of this was in the works a few weeks ago, but now we've realized we need to speed up the process a bit.  

1. Distributing Schoology parent access codes.  Teachers were very hesitant about this, but now that we've had a chance to explore the parent view, we are just about ready to grant parent access.  Parents will have access to each course calendar, assignment, and teacher feedback on individual assignments.  Of course, this does require parent education. 
2. Creating student-driven team blogs.  One team is creating a blog, which will be updated weekly by assigned students, to share what exciting things are being done in class.  Parents can subscribe to email updates from the blog.  Pictures and other media will be included.  In fact, I just got the team news reporters started on this today! 
3. Hosting a parent night.  We envision something where our students teach parents how to use the apps and share some of the things they've done in class this year.  This is the one thing we've got to hash out the most.  

In general, you will find, like us, that parents are excited and happy with the program.  Most of their multiple choice responses were "good" or "very good," but it was clear, whether they came out and said it (and you know they did) or they implied it, that they just want to be more in the loop.  And I WANT them to be in the loop.  I WANT them to know how amazing the iPads are, and I WANT them to see all the exciting things we are doing in and out of class.    

1:1 iPad Rollout

We did it!  We distribute over 100 iPads to 4 sixth grade homerooms on Wednesday.  Phew.  What a sigh of relief! 

We started with the entire pilot group in the cafeteria (oh yeah, air conditioning!) where the tech director got the kids pumped (like that was even necessary!) and had a discussion with students about caring for the iPads and appropriate use.  Then, we passed out each iPad clad in its monstrous Otterbox case.

Then, students went back to their homerooms where we spent first period setting pass codes, setting up email on the iPad, and practicing downloading an app from a link distributed to students.  Every homeroom teacher had at least one other tech teacher or tech support specialist in the room as well.  When the bell rang, the students were sure to lock their iPads in their lockers and head off to PE.  Throughout the day, every student was given the opportunity to use the iPad in small ways.  

Here's what I experienced, saw, and heard on day 1: 

During everyone's 2nd period prep immediately after the distribution....

• One team of the pilot teachers hugged it out with giant smiles on their faces.  Success, relief, excitement...whatever it was, it was awesome. 
• I got several high fives.  Everyone was happy with the way the morning had started.    
• Our 6th grade administrator asked us each what our favorite candy bar was.  We all deserved a treat! 
• We had conversations about how tech savvy our students are.  What did we expect when we asked who already had some kind of iOS device and every single student raised his or her hand?!  

Throughout the day...

• In Math, students viewed a document of geometry questions posted to their teacher's website.  They completed their work and wrote their answers in their notebooks.  The teacher was thrilled with what he was able to do with color on the worksheet.  It's not like he could print color copies for everyone before! 
• In Writing, students used UPAD to start their 6 Traits of Writing chart - a document they will continue to add to and refer to throughout the year.  
• In another Writing class, students logged into Google Docs, set up a folder, and started writing! 

All along, the teachers had been told, "You don't need to use the iPads on Day 1."  All five of them agreed, though, that using them for an hour in the morning to set things up and then putting them away all day was more stressful than trying to incorporate them in some way.  These were just little ways to incorporate the iPads.  Was it anything transformational?  Not really, but we'll get there.  

I'm not gonna' lie, the day was pretty stressful.  iPads, after all, aren't the only piece of technology used in the building on any day.  Plus, there were students who didn't remember their iTunes passwords or an entire class of iPads that lost their wifi connection.  But as I write this, all I can do is smile.  We got through it, and everyone problem solved.  I'm so looking forward to seeing where we go with this program.