10 iPad tips every teacher should know. Over the last couple of months I have just about switched from my trusty old laptop to the iPad as my primary work computer. Basically, the iPad does everything I could do on my PC and a great deal more through all of the apps available specifically for teaching. As a result of this, more of our staff are fronting up to work with iPads as they can also see the benefits in using a tablet for conferencing with students, checking email and using with their interactive white boards. The first questions I get from new users are generally "What can I do with it? " And "What apps should I have on it? " I think we have covered in detail more than once many of the great apps that are out their for education so today we are going to look at 10 tips are specifically useful for teachers who use an iPad.
So here are a few tips that you might find useful. Disable In-App Purchases Use iCloud to sync your calendar, events and emails. Connect to a HDTV, Data Projector or Interactive Whiteboard. Use AirPrint. Pearltrees - Visual Content Curating. iPad Spectrum For Teachers. Ipad blooms progression.
Dark Side of the iPad ~ Collecting student projects is difficult! Since its release the iPad has garnered arguments regarding whether it is primarily a device for consumption or creation. I have always believed that it is a device capable of creation. One simply needs to consider apps such as Avid Studio, DemiBooks Composer, Pages, Keynote, Minecraft Pocket Edition, Art Rage, SketchBook Pro, Comic Life and many others. These and many other apps all allow the user to tap into their talents and produce output of which they can be proud. Of course the iPad is also a worthy consumption device. Think of FlipBoard, Reeder, Safari, Guardian Eyewitness, The Elements, Solar Walk, and any other app that allows anyone to easily explore information, imagery and data on the web or embedded within the app.
[Note: A number of readers have begun adding comments below which may also interest you. The Dark Side Yet, the iPad has a dark side. Which interface!? Transferring files is not easily accomplished, if at all. Why? So, what are some of the stumbling blocks? iTunes. Apple iPad: 10 tips and tricks. Mobile Devices in the Classroom. Only 1 iPad in the Classroom? [for additional ELA/Reading specific apps and ideas see Reading on the iPad] Is only one iPad in a classroom worth it? This question keeps reappearing on the EC Ning and in other blog spaces. The answer is easy: YES, especially if the teacher has access to a Mac desktop or (preferably) laptop and a wifi network in the classroom. It is an even larger YES if the Mac device has the most current operating system.
Having a computer to which the iPad can sync is not absolutely necessary, but it is a Best Idea. If you are not feeling confident, get your IT person or another teacher to help you out with setup. I am focused here on apps to install for MS and HS - and then what to do with them. If more iPads are in the future, you might want to check out iPad App Reviews and iPad 3C's: Some Planning Questions.
Setup and Projection You will definitely need to set up a unique Apple ID (iTunes acct.) with a password that is kept secret from the students. OK - I have apps, now what can I do with them? iPad implementation. iPads can’t improve learning without good teaching Pt 1. Clearly there is a lot of buzz around iPads in schools at the moment. You can’t log on to the Web without reading about another school or entire district or department investing massive coin in a sparkling set of the Wonder Tablets, excited that they will cure all the ills of the current education systems around the world.
From reading my blog, you would be no doubt convinced that I am very much in this Pro-iPad camp. Make no mistake I am. However, no matter how versatile and potentially powerful a product the iPad is, it is merely an extremely expensive placemat without creative, well planned teaching behind its use. Its about Teaching and Learning, not iPads The kind of shift in learning the iPad (and other tablets) can initiate is dependent on good teaching practice and preparation. So let’s look at how we have gone about teaching up until now and examine how the iPad can fit in to our current programs.
NEXT POST – Writing. IPad in Education. iPads in Education. iPads in Education | Case Studies.