Transforming learning using iPods and Web 2.0 tools

In a world of rapid change and expansion of human knowledge, education must extend beyond a focus on basic competency in core subjects to include what have been termed the 4Cs (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation) (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2011). As school curriculums change, so too must the tools used by learners and teachers and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) will likely play a major role in such changes. The study on which this paper is based is planned as a five-year longitudinal investigation of learners’ and teachers’ perspectives about how best to use new technologies to facilitate student learning with an emphasis on the development of the 4Cs. This paper reports on activity from the first year of the study in which each student entering a regional Queensland secondary school was provided with an iPod Touch, capable of connecting to the school WiFi network, and with minimal restrictions on their access to Web 2.0 tools. Students have 24/7 access to the digital devices for use at school and home across the curriculum. This paper suggests a theoretical model for creativity in education contexts, which the study is developing, in order to determine the impact of the iPods on student creativity.