Great resource for teachers using iPads

This is a great resource I found outlining innovative ways for teachers to use iPads in their classrooms. It is a public Google Doc and is constantly being updated by professionals.

http://edudemic.com/2011/04/ipads-in-school/

Teacher Survey Comments

I asked 2 questions for teachers to leave a comment on, here are the answers I got:

Use the box below to talk about anything you think is great about the iPads:

• The ability for students to listen to books (and read them) in different languages. The engagement that can occur with students when using the iPads. Some of the apps that are geared directly toward specific content areas can be extremely beneficial. The ability to take a picture of a frame and then email the picture to the teacher to be graded.


• Voice Over and Dictation


• The kids like them because it is a break from the old ways, and anything they like sure makes it easier to get them on board, so to speak.


• The newest technology is what makes kids excited about learning. They WANT to use the iPads to do research!


• I love them! The only thing that sucks is when they have wrong answers and there is nothing we can do to fix them.


• A great hook for the kiddos!


• Easy to use.


• The ease of use/transition to get them out and put them away. They also really seem to capture the students' attention.


• Very user friendly

Use the box below to talk about any struggles or concerns you have with the iPads:

• It would be nice to have more "open-ended" apps where teachers can input and borrow information that pertains to their classroom and then be able to have the app create games, practices, etc. based on the information given by the teacher.


• The need for wi-fi school wide.


• Wireless connectivity issues, videos not working, that sort of thing. Once you use them a couple of times, you get pretty comfortable with them.


• The screens get dirty


• Not being able to keep up with what the students know about them! And no way to constantly monitor what they are doing.


• Just typing, still feels weird!


• They can be really slow at times, to process a task or use apps.


• I have found no apps that pertain to my subject area beyond things that could only be classified as elementary or time wasters.

More survey results

Here is a rating scale used on the survey:

I was surprised at the number of teachers that still want more training. There is no in between, they either really don't want anymore, or definitely want more. I thought it was encouraging to see that the majority of respondents were looking for more apps that apply to their subject area, and that they wanted the iPads in their classroom more often. I was also glad to see that for the most part they think that they are benefitting student learning in the classroom.

Teacher Survey

I am in the process of gathering some data about the iPad use in the building. I put out a survey yesterday and asked teachers to answer a few questions. Here are the results I have so far...

1. Rate how comfortable you are using the iPads in your classroom on a scale of 1-5. 1 being completely uncomfortable, I do not use them, and 5 being completely comfortable.

2. Rate how comfortable your students are using the iPads on the same scale of 1-5.

These two questions show me that our teacher and student comfort level are pretty much on the same level which is great. I think that makes for a much better learning experience for everyone involved.

3. Rate the students attitudes toward using the iPads in your classroom.

I was excited about these answers, I am glad the teachers see the students are excited about using the iPads because hopefully that will make them wan to use them in their rooms more!

I will share more results later, these are all I have tallied so far.

Citing an App (MLA style)

This has been a big question we have had here. There are great resources on the iPad to use for research, but how do you cite them in a paper or project, or even include them on a Works Cited page? I have done some research and come up with NOTHING!!! All the answers say to use a citation machine, well all the citation machines I have looked at don't have "application" as an option. I know that it is similar to a website, but it isn't the same thing. SO.... I have taken it upon myself to create a way to cite an app here at the Freshman Center. We will use this format until an official one comes out, actually I am shocked we are still waiting for one! Author's name (if applicable). "Name of App." Name of company that makes the app. Date app became available. App. Date of Access. Hope this helps anyone running into the same problems.

iPad Training Reflections

I had each teacher fill out a reflection after their training, here is what I learned: Apps Wanted Grammar HD $1.99 Introweb News Browser (Debate) $0.99 iBeat (free) virtuosopiano (free) KeyWiz $.099 Questions Can we copy folders from practice to other iPads in Algebra Touch? Are there more programs that have content heavy material? Would a stylus for each iPad be worth paying for (art)? What is the best way to put a test on the iPads so they can be used for read aloud students? A good editing/revising app? How can I incorporate more use of podcasts into my classroom? How do you cite an app? Things I learned Creating PDF's to use the read to feature iWorks is Microsoft compatible Using real time Google Docs on the iPad epub/ibooks You can turn read to on at anytime How to change grocery orders to ipad (cooking class) Multitasking Project Gutenberg-Free books (classics) that open in iBooks How to take a screenshot and email to a teacher Read-to for ELL Things that would help further my learning Applications for read-to software Look into eclicker /Response Ware Quarterly have an iPad brainstorm session with other teachers or Mac representative I think you can see, we got some good stuff out of these sessions. I will be looking into the questions and posting my responses.

Finally iPad Training

Today we are finally doing our iPad training with the Apple Rep today. I was a little frustrated, thinking this is too late, no one needs it anymore, but we are halfway through the day and I am changing my attitiude. The teachers that have come in so far, I feel like have learned a lot, and it has been customized to their level of comfort and need! Observations so far: Very one on one Good ideas shared Lots of questions about apps specifically related to content Questions asked that didn't have a clear/ready answer, were written down for further investigation and emails were exchnged to provide further insight Good app recommendations-Our trainer downloaded a bunch of apps based on the subjects we teach here--very personalized! Better when more than one member of a department were together for training