Using iPads in the Classroom

Using technology in the classroom can help students become engaged and excited about lesson plans and learning. Interactive activities that utilize technological resources help appeal to the different learning styles of students. It is important that students become acclimated with different aspects of technology that they will use throughout their education and in their future professions. The pen-to-paper and chalkboard techniques of teaching in the past are no longer relevant or successful, and adding iPads to elementary classes is a positive way to update and refresh lessons in the 21st century classroom.

Infiltrating iPads into education helps teachers enable students development of skills, knowledge and behaviors they will need to live, learn and work in the 21st century. iPads will help students stay up to date on the globalized and interconnected world. An article in the New York Times talks about this fairly new phenomenon of bringing iPads into schools and how it allows teachers to expand learning beyond the classroom walls. A principal at a New York elementary school was even quoted saying, “I think this could very well be the biggest thing to hit school technology since the overhead projector.”

Teachers who are less familiar with what the iPad has to offer, educationally speaking, can check out websites such as this one that illustrates 55 ways to use iPads in the classroom. A free app called iDraw is a great suggestion for teachers, who can set up a math equation, and then allow students to create images to help them work through the problem. When it comes to literacy, teachers can record themselves reading along to books on the iPad, or have children record their own voice to play back for themselves, their peers, or their teacher for feedback. For teachers or students in higher grades, an iPad can also be utilized to create interactive presentations!

Only one iPad in your classroom? Not a problem! There are many ways to make one iPad go a long way. This website focuses on making a single iPad count in the classroom, and has helpful information on setup and projection, as well as finding relevant apps. There are suggested apps for each subject area, in addition to a section strictly on apps for teachers creative use. These include making videos, animations, book trailers, etc.

The following video is a great representation of how using iPads in the classroom can help motivate students to learn math concepts, while incorporating interactive games. The teacher in the video talks about how hard it can be to capture a student's attention with worksheets or flashcards. He then lets the students tell their own stories about how they've used iPads in school. Not only through their words, but by the excitement they have in talking about their experiences with the iPad, you can see how much they enjoy learning with the assistance of this technological resource.

In our society, with the infinite amount of online resources at our fingertips, it is important to get creative and bring technology into the classroom. 21st century learners are used to multi-tasking and being engaged in the virtual world. It is vital to our students that they become comfortable with using technology. iPads are a great way for teachers to educate students not only on proper use of technology, but on a wide variety of subjects, with the help of educational apps!

Hu, W. (2011, January 04). The new york times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/education/05tablets.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Interaction Education (2012, March 27). Math evolve: the best math game app for the ipad, iphone, and ipod. Retrieved January 30, 2013. from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mAw4H0Izrzw&noredirect=1

Lynch, L. (2013, January 30). iPads in the classroom. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=0AclS3lrlFkCIZGhuMnZjdjVfNzIxZ2RrNWp0ZDg&hl=en&pli=1

Sky-Micilvain, E. (2012, February 6). Only 1 iPad in the classroom? Retrieved from http://eskymaclj.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/only-1-ipad-in-classroom.html