iPads for Teaching and Learning
Kristy Haynes EED 409
There are many advantages to using iPads in the classroom.
One of the biggest advantages to using iPads as technology in the classroom is that it fits the students' lifestyle. iPads are used in many homes and students are comfortable with them. Even though it is a "everyday technology" it still brings a novelty to learning at school. Also, they are easier for most students to use and navigate than a desktop computer. Classrooms and students also benefit from iPads because it is an interactive and fully capable of online teaching. Teachers have a lot more ability to customize the learning to the individual students in the classroom. Another great advantage of iPads is that it is so easy for students to create and share their content and projects.
http://www.scilearn.com/blog/using-ipads-in-schools (This is a link to a website with several of the advantages to using iPads in the classroom. It had many that I had never thought of.)
Apple in Education - Learning With iPads (2011)
What can you do with an iPad?
There are so many ways that an iPad can be used in the classroom. For students, it can be used as a way to create an ebook and share it. Students doing a research project or a project for a PBL can use this feature to create a story about the subject and share it with other students and even the teacher. It can also be used by the students as a learning center. Many teachers download different math and spelling games for the students to play and learn. Older students can also take advantage of apps like Notability and Evernote. These apps can be used to enhance note taking in class. Teachers can also use the iPad to help with reading fluency for younger children. There are many books that will read aloud to the students while they follow along with the words of the story. Go here to find out more creative ways that iPads can be used in the classroom.
Transforming the Classroom with iPads
iBooks
This app can be used by students to download books. They have recreational and textbooks that can be purchased and put in the students iBook account. Students can also create a book through other apps and put them into their iBook account. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibooks/id364709193?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D8
Brain Pop Featured Movie
Brain Pop Featured Movie gives the students a different educational movie everyday. They learn about topics like volcanoes and the ocean floor. This app is fun and interactive with quizzes. It also gives the students the option of viewing related movies.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/brainpop-featured-movie/id364894352?mt=8
Science 360
This app gives students the ability to travel outside the classroom. They can learn about topics that are from all over the world. This app is created and all the information is provided by the National Science Foundation. This means that all of the information is accurate. The videos are also updated every couple of weeks.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/science360-for-ipad/id439928181?mt=8
12 Free Educational Apps for iPad
Teaching and Learning in the classroom with iPads.
This link gives several different ways that students and teachers use iPads for both teaching and learning. It also help to show why iPads are a good tool for kinesthetic learners.
Do iPads in the classroom help level the playing field for education?
It is proven that iPads in the classroom do in fact level the playing field for students, ranging from special needs to gifted, when it comes to education. Teachers can download apps on the iPad that help tailor the lesson to each individual child. With there being apps out there for almost everything, you usually don't have to look that hard to find an app that will meet the students specific need. Apps such as myOn can be put on the iPad to help promote student literacy. This app gives the student digital books to choose from. It also can read allowed to the student while they follow along with the words on the page.
iPads In The Classroom
Learning with textbooks is not fun. iPads make learning a game. Students learn more without even realizing it. They also pay more attention to the topic on an iPad because it is interactive. A teacher being in the front of the class and lecturing or reading from the book is not engaging for the students. The important thing with teaching is to get the students involved and with iPads you not only get the kids involved but they are in control. Note taking is also really easy on an iPad. There are many neat apps that effectively take notes. Go here to find out more.
There are many studies that have been conducted that say that iPads improve students learning. The studies show that iPads help students to be more engaged and hands on with their material. One of the examples is trying to teach about the solar system in the classroom before iPads. This topic was very difficult and unrealistic. But with the iPads you could see the planets and the iPads helped you to see the planets and there features were not exaggerated. You could actually see them to scale.
On the Apple website they give you results that they have seen from different schools around the United States. In each there is marked improvement in their academic performance. I feel that having iPads in the classroom is a game changer. It helps students to build confidence in their abilities to succeed at school. It helps to change the way teachers teach and the way students learn.
With iPads you can take your class anywhere on earth. If you are learning about Egyptian pyramids you can take a virtual field trip to Egypt and explore. The possibilities are absolutely endless. This website explores questions that are asked about virtual field trips and also gives many examples. It can help you create your own virtual field trip for your class. There are sites like polar husky that chronicles the dogsledding expeditions. Sites like this provide a free field trip for your students to explore the world and any topic that invests them.