ipads in the Classroom

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Permalink Reply by Jane Plessl on September 7, 2011 at 3:28am

I used 3 iPads in my first grade classroom last year. My students loved them and I felt they were an asset to our learning and not a distraction. Each student used it everyday. I had to pair the students up in order to do this and we used it as a rotation choice during our literacy block. I had apps for all levels of students which had them working on phonics, reading, comprehension, grammar and many more. I also had many math apps such as measurement, money, time, addition and subtraction. We also produced two stories using the iPads. First we created a non fiction book about animals using story buddy and www.nationalgeographickids.com. We also made a fiction sock puppet play using the sock puppet app. Love the iPads and now I am in kindergarten and I introduced the iPads last week and they love it too.

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Permalink Reply by Cara Wilkinson on October 17, 2011 at 2:08pm

I think using iPads in the classroom are a huge advantage! With the countless apps. there is something for every learner!

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Permalink Reply by Cherith Brook Tipton on October 17, 2011 at 4:54pm

I think when used and being monitored in the correct way, iPads can be a wonderful asset to a classroom with all the different apps that can be used for the various types of learners.

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Permalink Reply by Azael Barrera on October 17, 2011 at 6:14pm

I think iPads and other fast response tablets can be a big asset for education, but most particularly at the grade levels where visual and tactile learning is developed most. I work in college level and have several students bring their own iPads to my math and physics classes (I use two Windows convertible tablet one small to move around). Some used it to take notes but the writing result was no good, so I told them how to make their own sharp iPad styli with conductive material (it works better than rubber styli) to take notes, which in turn were mostly the diagram we discuss when solving problems. At some moments they become distracted but that will depend how engaging you make the class. I used a Studio style of teaching where lecture, experiments or handout work and discussions of problems and real-life situations are intersped throughout the class time. One thing we do is use the iPads as shareable whiteboards, we discuss a problem or situation and they go to work in their iPads, in the end they share wirelessly their result with the others. So, it is a matter or full engagement, appropiate tools and apps, and skills development activities, and iPads or any other tablet could become a good teaching enhancement tool in the class and out of class. For lower grade levels the iPad apps are very good, for upper levels there still many room for development, at this point I prefer Android and Windows tablets and apps.

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Permalink Reply by Shelly Moses on January 11, 2012 at 2:43pm

I LOVE your idea of sharable whiteboards!  That would be a wonderful way to comapre thinking, build discussion, create and monitor expectations, and that is just my thinking now.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Powell on December 2, 2011 at 7:53pm

The website IXL.com has lots of math drills up to grade 9 level, and if you get the site licence it allows you to monitor each student's progress. Some drills require flash, but most work well on the iPad. The 30-day free membership gave me the opportunity to try it out with my grade 9's.

Flashcard apps seem useful for practice, especially if they allow connection to quizlet.com where there are lots of pre-made flashcard sets for all subjects, and they are editable too... did I mention it's all free?

Writing on the iPad using neu.annotate is clumsy, but many students like it. It is best if you prepare "handouts" as PDF's with lots (LOTS) of room to do the work on the iPad.  Teachers at my school distribute these PDF's by posting them on the class Moodle Page.

We're getting into the heavier duty polynomials now, and I'm looking for apps that can be useful for practicing the necessary skills for expanding binomial products, collecting like terms, and maybe solving equations. Hey, and while I'm at it, I suppose something that could help with factoring would be great.

Cheers from Canada!

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Permalink Reply by Ruchita Parat on December 5, 2011 at 4:42am

I think using iPads in the classroom give a huge advantage due to its countless apps...

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Permalink Reply by Faith McBride on December 5, 2011 at 7:58am

Our high school has an iPad lab. The students are definately engaged and excited about using them. For some things the iPad does help. For example the Psych students are studying the brain. One of the apps that the class used allowed students to manipulate and really "see" the different sections of the brain.

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Permalink Reply by Rita Lauren De Vries on December 5, 2011 at 10:37pm

I am not a huge fan of ipads in the classroom and do not necessarily believe they will enhance the educational environment, especially for those students who have learning disabilities. First, hyperstimulation. There are so many apps, colors, items flying in and out, and animations, it is difficult for students to concentrate on the information itself. One of the reasons why textbooks are designed the ways they are is to make sure the important information is ease to recognize by using a specific font or font size. Another reason is the lack of the ability to make little notes and other indicating signs when reading. You can’t just make little notes off to the side, swiggles, or any symbols you create to indicate a specific point when reading. One of the techniques used with reading comprehension is teaching students to underline key word, which is fine. However, yes, ok, it can be done on an ipad but that requires you to select the underlining function which maybe takes a millisecond to be done but with some students a millisecond is all the time they need to be distracted or lose their train of thought.

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Permalink Reply by Kaylee Truesdell on December 6, 2011 at 1:27pm

I feel like they are a great way to help students learn with certain programs. They would be great for learning centers and a lot of the students probably wouldn't even realize they're learning because they're so much fun!

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Permalink Reply by Ruchita Parat on December 9, 2011 at 4:31am

  Nowadays, iPads have  turned into a learning tool.....

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Permalink Reply by Richard Wood on January 3, 2012 at 7:47am

We are finding more and more schools are using this free digital resource on the iPad. Teachers and kids / students from over 90 countries are enjoying playing and practicing spelling. http://www.spellathon.net

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