iPads in Education

Reflection 1 - This is the most stimulating year I have spent in teaching.

Reflection 2 - I'm concerned and it's all my fault!

One word sums up this dissonance - opportunity. The iPad has provided ..."

"Note-taking apps for the iPad come at a dime a dozen. From the more popular offerings such as Evernote and Simplenote to fairly obscure ones, there’s something out there on the App Store for almost every kind of iPad user. And now, with Beesy, from French developers BeesApps the business user is also covered as well. It’s received rave reviews from publications such as MacWorld and was recently featured as an Evernote Pick — a pretty astounding achievement, especially from such a massive and well-established company."

"I think almost everyone enjoys a good movie.  The cost of going to the theater, however, is becoming terribly cost prohibitive.  The last movie I saw in the theater was Lincoln.  It was a great film and it renewed my interest in the history of the Lincoln era and the Civil War.  Living in Charleston where the Civil War began, I am able to walk on the very cobblestone streets that Union and Confederate soldiers trod."

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Arguably, the iPad can be a great classroom tool. However, lately there have been concerns about Apple’s tablet and its current role in the classroom. For instance, many have suggested that some of our schools are making the iPad the center of classrooms instead of remembering that students must be at the center of the classroom. Inevitably, this raises questions about the future of the iPad in the classroom.

Does the iPad foster or hinder creativity? Is it a comprehensive tool or just a mere distraction? Do we use the iPad just because it makes our classroom look cool? Are we missing the forest for the trees here?"

Here are the 10 iPad I can't live without. They are the first apps I install on any new iPad or IPhone I buy.

"An iPad is a pricey gadget but not necessarily an entirely extravagant purchase. The App Store offers much more than "Angry Birds" and Instagram. Its stock includes educational tools for just about every high school subject and standardized exam. By providing access to no- and low-cost alternatives to other academic expenses such as graphing calculators, textbooks and tutors, iPads have the potential to save families money. At their best, educational apps empower students to customize their study methods so that every learning style has a path to academic achievement"

"Why do you want to use Evernote? There’s a lot I could say, but to begin I’ll say one thing: I willingly opened up my wallet to pay for a premium subscription to Evernote. I can count on one hand how many services have compelled me to do that."

"The vast majority of children at all grade levels – preschool (pre-k) through 12th grade, have access to an array of technology at home including mobile devices. This informative infographic from Grunwald.com highlights findings from the ‘Living and Learning with Mobile Devices’ report, about the use and learning benefits of mobile devices reported by parents."

"Critical Pedagogy includes relationships between teaching and learning. Its proponents claim that it is a continuous process of what they call “unlearning,” “learning,” and “relearning,” “reflection,” “evaluation,” and the impact that these actions have on the students, in particular students whom they believe have been historically and continue to be disenfranchised by what they call “traditional schooling.””"

"While we do tons of app reviews and weekly app picks, over and above all of that there are the apps that we think are simply best in class. These are the ones that we download on our iPhones immediately and use all the time.

These are the best apps for iPhone, as of the summer of 2013."

You can do a ton of great things with just an iPad, but some of the best uses are using it as an external controller for your computer.

"The iPad takeover of public education isn’t just confined to the mainstream classroom: Special needs educators, too, are finding that  iPads can be a vital tool to support independence. What sets the iPad apart from other devices is the simple and visually robust user interface that can be used by almost everyone. It’s also a highly customizable device that can be set up with applications and assistive features to support a variety of special needs."

Technology allows students to become more independent in the classroom. But is the change from teacher to facilitator a positive move for the profession? Mike Britland is firmly in favour

"I’ve shared some of my favorite iPad apps to practice pacing and stamina. Whether students are performing everyday tasks or in the middle of test prep, you might need a timer to help students self-monitor. The Best Sand Timer is a great free app that’s an alternative to traditional countdown clocks – try it out in your classroom!"

Have iPads? Getting iPads? Confused a bit about how to actually use iPads?

You're not alone. Tons of schools are jumping on the mobile tablet bandwagon. But they often jump on without giving teache..."

"Writing code on an iPad is a seductive idea with a lot of technical hurdles. That’s why developer/entrepreneur/Y Combinator alumnus Darshan Shankar created Binary, an iPad app that lets you write, test, and run code from just about anywhere."

"Use iPads in your classroom? Then you will need this collection of essential tools. All work on the iPad, either as a mobile app or an iPad-compatible website."

"A report released by the Center for American Progress states that schools are not using technology in a way that benefits students. The United States is spending billions of dollars on technology in schools across the country, yet students are using the equipment for “lower-order skills” like practice and drill programs.

    “Our findings suggest that many schools have yet to take full advantage of technology’s ability to improve the art of teaching and the process of learning,” said Ulrich Boser, author of the report and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. “In classrooms across the nation, many students are not using technology in very sophisticated ways. Students are too often using computers to do drill and practice instead of more intellectually engaging activities such as using statistical programs or spreadsheets.”"