links to tags

Filter by: LS     MS     US     Tech in the Classroom     Launch Projects



Tuesday, February 8, 2011

iPad Research and Exploration


In my research and exploration of the iPad, I have found that it is superhandy for media viewing, internet browsing, doing research and keeping my calendar organized. However, in my attempts to use it as I use the tablet PC for teaching, I found it was severely limited in three very important ways: 1. Projectability 2. Note-taking 3. Syncing. Currently, I use my Tablet PC for all of my classroom work: grading, lesson planning, scaffolding, modeling, etc. The Tablet allows me to write over text or documents, so I can project the text of a book we are reading, add to a lesson agenda, model proper mechanics, edit an essay. This is where the iPad falls short as a teaching tool because only a limited numbers of apps can a. be projected and b. allow me to write with a stylus on a document (none of the e-book readers that I have explored allow this).

Additionally, I have yet to find the best way to sync and access all of documents and OneNote files (my planner) on the iPad. That said, if we were to have a class set, I could see the iPad being a great tool in English for graphic organizer, reading, organizer, researching, brainstorming and collaborating. Additionally, students could use the iPad as an electronic notebook, binder, research tool and textbook. I think it would be really cool to pilot a program in which a group of students uses iPads for the entire year in place of traditional educational gear (pen, pencil, paper, notebook, binder, books, computer) to see how effective it could be.

Useful Sites & Resources


Rachel Jamison, MS English Teacher