Tablets in Your Classroom
So many benefits to using tablets with your students!
Why integrate tablets into your instruction?
Students are digital natives--this is their comfort zone!
Instruction with technology supports different learning styles.
Tech can make assessment easy for you and quick for your students.
Students need to be tech-savvy to be college and career-ready.
What are the benefits to your students?
Teaching with technology fosters:
Creativity
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Communication
Collaboration
How can technology help meet your education goals?
Global connections--many tech tools like video conferencing or e-pals can connect you with other classrooms around the globe.
Authentic audiences--posting student work to real social media sites can get your students’ work the kind of real-world audience that motivates them to do their best work, and will get them authentic feedback from outside the classroom.
Why choose tablets?
Tablets are easy to use, with features like touch-screens that allow students to swipe, pinch, type, record audio, and so much more! Our school offers Chromebooks and iPads, as 2 options.
Tablets are portable and thereby easy to use in almost any environment.
How can tablets help with your classroom management?
You can still use your desktop and Smartboard to showcase many of the apps students will use on their Chrome tablets. Just sign into your Google account.
Our district subscribes to Dyknow to help with monitoring what students are doing on their tablets. You will be able to view their activity from your own desktop or teacher Chromebook (Granata).
You can use apps like www.toonoisyapp.com to help with the noise level in your classroom!
www.classdojo.com can help motivate good behavior with assigning points to students.
You can also try “gamifying” your classroom with apps like www.classcraft.com to incentivize students to do their best!
5th grade teachers are using www.schoology.com this year for their management system. Grades 3-4 can use Google Classroom, and 2nd grade can continue with web.seesaw.me (Nield, 2016).
You can use many student-centered presentation tools with your tablets, such as:
www.bookcreator.com - create authentic e-books, then later share and download them
www.prezi.com - create visually dynamic presentations
Google Slides (app on your Chromebook tablet) - beautiful, interactive slideshows
www.easel.ly - create authentic infographics
www.smore.com - easy to create, dynamic newsletters
app.edu.buncee.com - kid-friendly, easy-to-create slideshows and digital posters
And many, many more!
Try STEAM-centered Makerspace projects in your classroom:
Students can create movies with iMovie or a stop-motion app on the iPads (Nield, 2016).
Borrow one of the Osmo coding kids from the library to use with your iPads for a coding-centered activity.
Film a video using the green screen app on the iPads, and transport your students to another exciting locale!
Students can create their own video games with the Bloxels kit (borrowable from the library) and the Bloxels iPad app.
And much more!
Which tablet should I choose?
CHROMEBOOKS
- Chromebooks are logged in with usernames and passwords by your students. This means that their experience is tailored to them, and their activity can be monitored by our IT department.
- Chromebooks integrate with Google applications, like Docs and Slides, very easily!
- Our Chromebooks have traditional keyboards, which is helpful for typing large chunks of text, and practicing keyboarding skills.
iPADS
- iPads are great for apps that allow students to create.
- iPads do not require a log-in, so they are easy to use quickly with the younger kids who have trouble typing in their username and password.
- Many students are familiar with the Apple apps from at-home use.
- The iPad is great for recording video and audio in many different apps.
References/Further Reading
(n.d.). Getting the most out of iPads in the classroom. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/tm/section/chat/2013/01/08/index.html
Granata, K. (n.d.). Elementary school teacher shares keys to using tablets successfully. Retrieved from https://www.educationworld.com/a_news/teacher-shares -keys-successful-tablet-implementation-1704277336
Hu, W. (2011, January 04). Math That Moves: Schools Embrace the iPad. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/education/05tablets.html
Nield, D. (2016, February 17). 20 ways to use a tablet in the classroom. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/feb/17/20-ways-to-use-a-tablet-in-the-classroom
So why not get started today?
~Christine Storz
Library Media Specialist
Technology Integration Lead Teacher