iPad

Showing 75 posts tagged iPad

iPad Summit 2: Innovations in Learning

While the theme of the second iPad Summit centered on the Apple device,” it was educational theory, not the hardware, that was the focus,” says participant and live blogger Jen Carey. “The conference gave priority attention to innovations in learning, and that’s what made it a worthwhile experience for me.”

Some highlights:

  • If you decide to go iPad, invest $$$ and time
  • A single device will never be the solution
  • Requires flexible and adaptable learning environments
Today is World Autism Awareness Day. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now estimates that a staggering 1 in 88 children, including 1 in 54 boys, in the US  has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Edudemic shared 4 apps that can aid autistic students to better communicate with parents, teachers, and caregivers. AutisMate is an app for iOS and Android devices that focuses on improving both communication and behavioral skills in both verbal and non-verbal individuals. Proloquo2Go is a full-featured augmentative and alternative communication solution for anyone who has difficulty speaking. TouchChat is an augmentative and alternative communication app, quite similar to Proloquo2Go. Autism Tracker Pro offers useful tracking for families that have an individual with autism. It allows you to track important items like mood, behavior, food, health, and more so that you can look at patterns, progress, and just keep track.

Today is World Autism Awareness Day.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) now estimates that a staggering 1 in 88 children, including 1 in 54 boys, in the US  has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

Edudemic shared 4 apps that can aid autistic students to better communicate with parents, teachers, and caregivers.

  1. AutisMate is an app for iOS and Android devices that focuses on improving both communication and behavioral skills in both verbal and non-verbal individuals.
  2. Proloquo2Go is a full-featured augmentative and alternative communication solution for anyone who has difficulty speaking.
  3. TouchChat is an augmentative and alternative communication app, quite similar to Proloquo2Go.
  4. Autism Tracker Pro offers useful tracking for families that have an individual with autism. It allows you to track important items like mood, behavior, food, health, and more so that you can look at patterns, progress, and just keep track.

Studies of iPad Use in Education

FreeTech4Teachers is a great resource for teachers and edtechs like me. This post in particular had a number of links to iPad usage studies, something I’m very interested so I’m putting it here for you, too.

  1. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development for Victoria, Australia iPads for Learning – In Their Hands field trial studied the use of iPads in nine schools
  2. The iPad as a Tool for Education is a study based on iPad use at Longfield Academy, Kent, England . There is strong emphasis on interpreting the data generated by surveying students and faculty.
  3. Reading With iPads – The Difference Makes a Difference studied the impact on the reading comprehension, knowledge of content, and analysis skills of boys aged 11 to 13 who read using iPads.
  4. Promoting Student Engagement by Integrating New Technology into Tertiary Education: The Role of the iPad studied the use of iPads by teachers and students in distance learning and in-person learning environments.
  5. The Impact of the iPad and iPhone on Education was published in 2010 and is speculative in nature as the students surveyed had not yet been given iPads.
5 Reasons The iPad Will Stay The King of the Classroom It’s a simple reality that if you give someone a way to do something that they can relate to, engage with and enjoy, they will do the job you give them better.  Students are vey workman-like when I give them laptops. They know what is ‘expected’ and they get on and do it. When I give them iPads, I don’t know what they’ll produce at the end of it and often neither do they. If that scares you as a teacher then iPads are probably not the right device for you. If this excites you, then try and get hold of just one. High-res

5 Reasons The iPad Will Stay The King of the Classroom

It’s a simple reality that if you give someone a way to do something that they can relate to, engage with and enjoy, they will do the job you give them better.  Students are vey workman-like when I give them laptops. They know what is ‘expected’ and they get on and do it. When I give them iPads, I don’t know what they’ll produce at the end of it and often neither do they. If that scares you as a teacher then iPads are probably not the right device for you. If this excites you, then try and get hold of just one.

Educational Apps Alone Won’t Teach Your Kid To Read Most of the top-selling reading apps appear to teach only the most basic of literacy skills. They lean toward easy-to-teach tasks, such as identifying the ABCs, but don’t address higher-level competencies that young children also need to become strong readers, such as developing vocabulary and understanding words in a narrative. A snapshot of the iTunes App Store’s most popular paid literacy apps showed that 45 percent targeted letters and sounds and half focused on phonics. Only 5 percent covered vocabulary, and none addressed comprehension or the ability to tell stories. Many “reading” apps are essentially flashy flashcards: Click on a set of letters and the audio kicks on, uttering the letter’s sounds. Move to the next set and repeat. photo via flickr:CC | kenleewrites

Educational Apps Alone Won’t Teach Your Kid To Read

Most of the top-selling reading apps appear to teach only the most basic of literacy skills. They lean toward easy-to-teach tasks, such as identifying the ABCs, but don’t address higher-level competencies that young children also need to become strong readers, such as developing vocabulary and understanding words in a narrative. A snapshot of the iTunes App Store’s most popular paid literacy apps showed that 45 percent targeted letters and sounds and half focused on phonics. Only 5 percent covered vocabulary, and none addressed comprehension or the ability to tell stories. Many “reading” apps are essentially flashy flashcards: Click on a set of letters and the audio kicks on, uttering the letter’s sounds. Move to the next set and repeat.

photo via flickr:CC | kenleewrites

10 Important Questions To Ask Before Using iPads in Class 1.   What are the goals for iPad implementation? Engagement, access to digital textbooks, access to digital environments, primarily media consumption, media production, or a blend of everything? 2.   What can the iPad do that is not possible–or is clunky and cumbersome–without it? That is, what learning problems does the iPad solve? I think these first 2 of the 10 questions are the most important. What can a iPad do that a tablet computer, laptop, or other resource that you may already have can’t? If you have laptops, is there an interactive equivalent? And moreover what can that resource you may already have do better than an iPad? Related to goals, is there a measure of achievement and learning that can be applied? photo via flickr:CC | brainpop_uk

10 Important Questions To Ask Before Using iPads in Class

1.   What are the goals for iPad implementation? Engagement, access to digital textbooks, access to digital environments, primarily media consumption, media production, or a blend of everything?

2.   What can the iPad do that is not possible–or is clunky and cumbersome–without it? That is, what learning problems does the iPad solve?

I think these first 2 of the 10 questions are the most important.

What can a iPad do that a tablet computer, laptop, or other resource that you may already have can’t? If you have laptops, is there an interactive equivalent? And moreover what can that resource you may already have do better than an iPad?

Related to goals, is there a measure of achievement and learning that can be applied?

photo via flickr:CC | brainpop_uk

The new iOS 6 has a very simple and powerful tool called Guided Access that lets you keep students focused on a single app of your choosing. It lets you disable the home button, restrict parts of the screen so they can’t be touched, and even stop responding to being turned over and upside down. It’s easy to implement and a great tool in the teacher’s toolkit. Here’s how to do it:

How To Use Guided Access

  • Go to SETTINGS then tap GENERAL
  • Toward the bottom, tap ACCESSIBILITY and then go to the LEARNING section
  • Now tap on GUIDED ACCESS and switch it to the ON position
  • Want to set up a passcode? You can do that now
  • Now go to the app you want to use. Tap the home button 3 times to launch the Guided Access options
  • Set the options as desired and then tap the home button 3 times again.
A Friendly Guide to Deploying iPads at Your School Deploying iPads at any kind of scale is just short of maddening. While the process of tapping around to install one app on one iPad isn’t too bad, installing a dozen apps on hundreds iPads isn’t a particularly appealing way to spend a month. If you are going to deploy iPads at scale, you need a strategy. Consider this a freshman level tutorial. We can cover more advance topics at a later date, if you’re interested. If you have further questions, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter. photo via flickr:CC | leondel

A Friendly Guide to Deploying iPads at Your School

Deploying iPads at any kind of scale is just short of maddening. While the process of tapping around to install one app on one iPad isn’t too bad, installing a dozen apps on hundreds iPads isn’t a particularly appealing way to spend a month. If you are going to deploy iPads at scale, you need a strategy.

Consider this a freshman level tutorial. We can cover more advance topics at a later date, if you’re interested. If you have further questions, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter.

photo via flickr:CC | leondel