Decisions, Decisions...

I attended the SERU Special Education Expo last week. I had the opportunity to test drive many apps for the iPad's. I've made myself a quite a long list. Greg O'Connor from Spectronics gave some good advice to avoid Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS). I can see how easily I could be sucked into SOS. I really need to remember what my student needs are and not what looks like good entertainment value. Of course there is an element of entertainment to the iPad, but I don't want the main use of the iPad's to be entertainment. I will use the SETT Framework developed by Joy Zabala to decide on apps. It will help me make informed decisions about what apps will be most useful for my students and hopefully avoid SOS.
I have set up the iTunes account for my class. Currently this is on my personal laptop as the IT guy is concerned that iTunes will slow our network. No one knows for sure. I'm breaking into new territory here! I did make a mistake by using my work email, which was a not a good idea if I happen to leave the school. I have since created a gmail account for the class and have created a new account in iTunes. That way if I leave the school at anytime the email details can passed on without too much trouble.
I have also been thinking about how to introduce the iPad's to the class. I think they are going to need some very specific rules about their use. The class is usually pretty good with the care of technology, but iPad's are a little more fragile than a laptop. I think they are also going to need some free exploration time before asking them to use the iPad's as a learning tool.
As far as the research project goes I'm going to focus on engagement levels. I have collected some base line data, but I still need a couple of more weeks to get a good snap shot of behaviour in my class. I'm going to assume that a descrease in disruptive behaviour will be due to an increase in student engagement. An increase in engagement will increase quality learning time.
My head is still spinning with information. Next step is to decide what apps I'm going to start with.