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- CommonMan
- Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Educational Consultant. I have been a teacher, Director of Technology, School Improvement, and Assessment.
34 comments:
I am enjoying the iPad so far! I uploaded a few creative art Apps. My IB Visual Arts students experimented a little too. I have one student who uses a Wacom tablet for some of her drawings. I look forward to her comparison of that and the drawing Apps on the iPad.
I downloaded a new app, Flashcards Lite. I was looking for a way to encourage students using flashcards as a way of keeping notes for certain classes, or for learning vocabulary. I downloaded the free version, so I think that it is somewhat limited in its capabilities,such as how many cards you can have in a deck, and how many decks you can have. So, you fill out one side of the flashcard and tap the iPad screen to feel out the other side. I can see this being a great study guide for students, and more interactive to use than traditional flashcards. Also, when you turn the card over, you can swipe either to the left or the right to indicate whether your answer was right or wrong, giving you a percentage at the end. The app tracks your progress, and will even shuffle the cards based on what cards you miss the most. I work with a lot of students on study strategies, so this app is great, and I think the fact that you can always have the flash cards as a study guide, instead of the paper flashcards that are easily lost is great!
Having only had the IPad the last couple weeks, I have already found it to be quite useful. I have not found any apps as of yet that are relevant to my particular use, but I have been able to use the IPad during observations and while assessing students. It essentially acts as a portable computer in which i can take notes as I observe either in the classroom or as I complete an assessment. This then saves me time later as I do not have to type what I have previously handwritten. And with so many kids needing to be evaluated, any time I can save is a huge plus.
Bronwyn
I have to say I was a little frazzled last night. My 3 year old kids absolutely LOVE the IPad, well my son has figured out how to delete/ move around the apps. I really don’t think he wants to delete or move things, I truly think he just likes to watch the apps wiggle! Last night he had everything moved around, at first I thought he had deleted things, but luckily I have found all of the items I was looking for.
I think the list is great! I like the sort feature which would have me time if I was looking for specific skill.
Check out this collection on iTunes U regarding Autism Resources from OCALI (Ohio center for autism and low incidence). They also have a you tube channel with PD videos about a variety of disabilities.
To comment on Ms. Throated post....search apps by ABA flashcards, you will find many free apps that give verbal prompts with picture and written word. I have downloaded a few to use with students who are working on categories.
Also, nice meeting and chatting with you today!
Melanie
I used a math series app for missing numbers to 20 today in the regular KDG class to work with a few students during their computer time. They enjoyed working on the iPad and I think that allowing a different way for them to demonstrate the 'product' helped, especially for a couple of the ELL kiddos I worked with.
Melanie
I was looking at iBooks a little more this week. I put a book on that I am reading and I really liked that. I also like the features that if a student was reading something that they could look up a word, highlight, or even take notes on a section of text. I am going to do a little more investigating this week.
I was browsing the iBook choices for children, there is a pretty big selection but some authors are not on there yet. I wasn't totally impressed with price either, you can still get books cheaper with Scholastic.
Another big disadvantage I see is that it doesn't connect with the Smartboard. Of course, the Smartboard is the biggest piece of technology I use everyday in my classroom and it would be great if the iPad would connect with it. I know you can put it under the document camera, but it just not the same. If they worked together it would be fantastic! I am sure that is in the works somewhere.
CNN article about iPad 2 and interesting stats about current version.....nearly $5 billion worth of iPads have been sold and it hasn't been out an entire year yet!
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/02/09/ipad.2.production.mashable/index.html?hpt=T2
I used the I Pad last week for taking notes at a conference. It was amazing. It was so much easier than paper/pencil, and the battery lasted all day. I was then able to send my notes to my email and forward to others. I still have not figured out the whole copy and paste thing....so if anyone has any insight that they can share with me that would be great.
I just came across a neat app....
BrainPOP movie a day
Today's movie was about F.D.R. Just in time for President's day. I played with if for a few minutes so I can't give a full review......but it have video section and quiiz section. It looks like it would keep student attention with the animation. Probably not as appropriate for my students, but will trial if I video of interest appears.
Info about app provided by developer:
Visit BrainPOP to explore hundreds of animated movies, quizzes, high-interest readings, activity pages, lesson plans, and more. Our curriculum-based topics span Math, Science, Social Studies, English, Engineering, Technology, Arts & Music, and Health. All are aligned to and searchable by academic standards. BrainPOP resources are used by millions of students in thousands of schools across the U.S. and worldwide.
Trusted by parents and teachers alike since our 1999 launch, we have been honored with numerous awards and recognitions from outlets including Technology & Learning magazine, Learning magazine, the Association of Educational Publishers, and Edutopia.
Melanie, I have used Brain Pop. The movies are very interesting, and I am learning all kinds of new things. How did your students like it? My 5th graders liked it.
I love the IPad and its flexibility and portability. I have downloaded tons of games and apps. The biggest draw back is not having wireless in my classroom. All of my downloading I have to do at home. Some can't work without the wireless option. This is great for my small group as well.
Melissa, If you put your finger on the text you want to select to copy and hold it there, a little box will pop up to give you that option. Do the same in the spot where you want to paste it and the option to do that will pop up too. I was frustrated without the option too until I figured that out:)
Lindsay, Thank you so much! It works perfectly.
One of my IB Art students, Erin P. is currently painting a Still Life using the Sketchbook Pro App. In IB Art, the investigative portion of the class requires students to make connections with the world around them, document their working process, and reflect on their finished artworks. I suggested Erin look up David Hockney. Hockney is a famous contemporary artist who began creating paintings on his iPhone early in the morning and then emailing them to his friends so they could see "the sunrise that they'd missed." He now carries around an iPad so he has more room to work. Here is an artcile about this work, his process, and the exhibit of the work. http://www.npr.org/2010/12/07/131854461/in-paris-a-display-from-hockney-s-pixelated-period
I also have a Non-lab lesson planned for my Photo 2 class using the iPad. Students will look at the LIFE photography App and make a list of photos based on a list of adjectives that I give them: one photo that they feel is best described by the adjective and why. The more photos they look at the better photographers they will become. I think they will be excited abotu using this technology to view them, especially since you can zoom in to view details so easily!
I just looked through the top 10 website that was emailed today and all I can say is WOW! There is so much information. I was very interested in The iPad in Education website from the UK. In my research for technology information regarding special education, site from the UK are often more advanced than some of the things we have been doing in the states. I look forward to reading more about the use of the iPad there and if they discuss special education usage.
Looking for a relaxing task that will allow you to be creative? The Pottery HD Lite App is really cool! You can throw virtual ceramic pots on the wheel, fire them, and sell them. You can collect coins from your "sales" to purchase glaze colors and brush designs. It's addictive and a great way to relieve stress!
Functional Systems Series has functional life skills apps. They are very similar to the program that is used here at the high school in the Life Centered Career Education classes. There is a life skills, literacy skills, social skills app. They include short videos that go over different scenarios (ie. greetings and closings, applications, etc.) ...and its free!
My students and I are enjoying the iPad. Favorites of my students in the after school program are: Rocket Math which is interactive with lots of "bells and whistles." includes practice of a variety of math skills. AB Math is another favorite for practicing a variety of math skills. For those who enjoy the challenges of word games, Whirly Words offers a variety of word games to challenge your word knowledge. Have fun!
From the last list Tim sent, I found 2 more great apps. There were so many on the list! The first one was called I learn multiplication. My third graders are working on learning their facts. What I really like about this app is that you can study one set or multiple sets of facts. If a student is working on 6's you can set the app for that. It has three components to it study, fact table, and then a quiz. The kids loved it.
The other app we are using is iCardsort. We took all of our animal kingdom words and made card in this app. Then the student can move the cards around and sort them into the appropriate categories. This is great for vocabulary development, especially my ELL students.
With all the talk about the iPad 2 and other tablets that are trying to compete with apple, I was wondering if anyone has had experience with a tablet other than an iPad?
If so: how do you like it? Similarities/differences? what does the app selection look like?
My guess is that the functioning of the tablet is similar; however, non-apple tablets are limited on apps. Kind of like my Nokia cell phone that looks nice and has a few good features, but finding useful apps is a struggle.
Thanks!
In regards to the question about other tablets...a friend of mine just got the Samsung Galaxy Tablet. From what he has said, it is better than the iPad, however, I think that is personal preference, and will always be debated, similar to the iPhone vs. Droid phone debate. The Galaxy Tab operates on the Droid network, so it is very similar to my cell phone, which is also a Samsung. So any app that can be downloaded from the Droid Market can also be downloaded on the Galaxy Tab. I haven't really looked into the Tab as far as educational resources, but I do have a lot of apps on my phone, that I know are also available on the iPad....
I just started a lesson with my Photo 2 students using the LIFE App. I gave students a list of adjectives and asked them to write down the title of a photo that could be described by each word on the list. This challenges their ability to interpret meaning and emotion in visual images so they can transfer the ability and shoot better photographs. They love the LIFE App and looking at photographs with the ability to scroll and zoom so easily. The wireless internet here at school is not that great though. My classroom is right next door to a room with a wireless hotspot (the Viking Room) and we have difficulty maintaining a connection. Something we need to troubleshoot if we decide to go wireless with students!
Interesting article.....
Is the iPad a 'miracle device' for Autism?
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/03/09/can-apple-ipad-cure-autism/
Melanie
I have had the opportunity to use the iPad for about a month now and honestly feel like it has made me more effecient. As a School Psychologist, I use the device with students infrequently. I have used it as a reward for some of our students with behavioral challenges and found that rewarding for them (they love angry birds). I am also still exploring the thousands of apps available and think I might be able to find some activities to use with children who are having difficulty expressing themselves in words (i.e., feelings pictures, etc.). Day to day I find that taking notes during meetings and completing observations on the iPad has been great. I email these documents to myself and can then send them out for distrbution or add to a report. I feel like I am a novice and there is still so much to learn!
I found the IPad resource that was sent out yesterday by Mr. Dugan very useful. I have added many new apps that I am going to test out. I will let you know how they go.
I do have 2 questions…..Does anyone know how to “lock the apps”, so that they can’t be deleted? Does anyone know if there is a way to see what apps have been deleted (ie. Recycle bin)? Last night my son moved around all of my apps, I believe he deleted some, but I have no clue which ones.
Also I think I am creating technology monsters in my 3 year old twins. My daughter keeps insisting that her and my son each need an IPad. Last night she kept telling me that the new IPad came out. I said “It did, how did you know that?”.....I guess I have talked about it too much!! :)
iPad Reflection Questions:
1) If you were at the middle/high school level, Where do you see ipads being used?
I think that having a classroom set of iPads would be better than having a cart or something like that so that individual teachers can be responsible for maintenance, updates, Apps specific to the class, etc. Another option might be to have a set for a specific Dept. For example, if the Art Dept. had a set, we could rotate use so that each Studio class could benefit from them.
2) For everyone: Select one or two uses and discuss them (could be internet access, or a particular app).
-Internet Access is great because it is fast and literally at the tip of your fingers. Some of the Apps allow you to view specific images or information based on a narrowed theme. For example, my students used the LIFE Photo App.
-Favorite Classroom Apps:
Pottery HD became an addiction within my Art classes. Students who finish their work early, love to "throw" ceramic vessels using this App. They actually have a competition going for how much their pots sell for since the App gives each completed vessel a dollar value.
Sketchbook Pro seems to be the favorite creative drawing App in my class. The tools, layers, and quality seem to be high. While it is probably not as high quality as using a Wacom Tablet to draw with on Photoshop, it is much less expensive.
Picasa HD is useful for viewing and sharing images. Anyone with a Google account can use it on line and viewing photos on the iPad is really great because you can zoom in to see details.
Getty Images is another Photography App that allows a user to see photographs from all over the world. You can search by category, region, event, date, etc. So for example, if you wanted to see photos of the devastation resulting from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, you can search that and see amazing photographs that were taken earlier that same day.
iPad Reflections
Overall Comments: First of all, thank you for the wonderful opportunity to use this new piece of technology. I can say that I really love it and don't really want to give it back tomorrow! Before I start I believe there are a lot of great advantages to the iPad and I think the more time it is around the more and more things its is going to be able to do. I have even been thinking of some apps that I could suggest that should be made.
1. Strengths and Weaknesses - The battery life is fantastic as well as the internet speed. Both of these things make it very user friendly in a classroom. As for teacher use, I loved the calendar and notes apps. These were very useful and productive in meetings. You could take notes and then email them to the appropriate groups quickly. It was also easy to grade papers and enter them in Progressbook, as well as progress monitor students and enter scores in Aimsweb. The iPad made the process much faster. During parent teacher conferences you could pull up progress monitoring charts immediately for parents to see their child's progress. Again, very effective. Earlier into the process I found myself asking the question why would I need an iPad when I already have a laptop? Well, the answer came very easily, multitasking. When writing my lesson plans I found myself using the iPad for the calendar and searching the internet. I could add what I found right into my plans.
As for strengths for students right off they were immediately engaged anytime they used the iPad, Whether through a group lesson or for independent practice. There are so many apps its amazing. I especially liked it for reinforcing skills such as sight words, vocabulary, math facts, and geography. With only one, many times had students work in pairs and they did great together. I do wish I would have tried Pages or Keynote.
A few weaknesses for me would be the lack of a USB port. Another things is in most apps I would like to see some kind of student monitoring just because when they are working on it I would like to see the end result and was not always able to. iBooks was a little disappointment just because it doesn't have a lot of children's books titles (or at least not the ones I was looking for) and I also though they were a little prices. I am sure more titles will be added with time.
iPad Reflections Part 2
3. Laptops Carts in the Elementary - My vote would be to DEFINITELY REPLACE THEM. I can't tell you how many times this year I have prepared a nice lesson only for it to be totally ruined by "My laptop isn't working." I think the iPad would serve the same purpose and its battery life is so much better than the laptops. It could be used for skill practice, Study Island, and many other things. If we did get iPads to replace the laptop carts I would like to see each of them have Pages and Keynote. We may also need some more wireless drops. I am not sure what the cost difference is between the laptops and the iPads, but if we could get more that would also be valuable. Right now with two laptop carts in the building we only have a 45 minute time each week with the cart. (I know we are in tough financial times, though.)
3. 2 Favorite Uses/Apps
Well, my favorite teacher app was Confer Lit. This app was designed by a second grade teacher for conferencing during reading and writing workshop. I used it for my unit on personal narratives. It allowed me to take notes on each students progress and then go back and group them by need. It made it easy to differentiate instruction. I would love to use it in many other areas.
My other favorite app I just found not too long ago and it is called iCardSort. This was great for vocabulary development. I put all the words we were using in science on cards and then students had to sort them according to their learning and relationships. After they were sorted we discussed their arrangements. This app would be useful in all areas and at any level. My next step would be to have student create their own sort coming up with their own words.
I also really liked iMultiply and ArithmeTick they were great apps for math practice.
There really are so many more apps to explore.
Again, this has been a great opportunity. Thank you!
I also dowloaded the Flashcards Lite, as well as a couple of "Today in History" apps for my students to use when they produce the school's morning announcements.
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