IPad+Class


 * Assignment 1:**

Both articles, “How Will the iPad Change Education?” and “Measuring the iPads Potential for Education” clearly agree that the iPad has a place in the classroom. The iPad is a tool that meets the requirements for a 21st century learner. The benefits to having a mobile device with reading and web capabilities in the classroom are great. As an English teacher the benefits I especially love were addressed by Blog expert Rob Reynolds, books would be paperless, immediately available, and always up to date. Our scary book room at school would probably be a lot cleaner!

McCrea (2010) addresses the first day the iPad was released, in which high school student Catherine Northstein got to see the new iPad. “I can’t believe they made it without a camera” was her initial response to the gadget. Now just over a year later the iPad 2 has been released and has two cameras for face time calling. Even more than she asked for is available on the iPad 2! The Ipad is also less money than a lap top and seems to be the obvious replacement for many classrooms.

McCrea, Bridget. (2010, January 27). // Measuring the ipad's potential for education //. Retrieved from []

Reynolds, Rob. (2010, January 27). // How the ipad will change education //. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/blog/2010/01/how-will-the-ipad-change-education/


 * 1) 1 “iPads in the Classroom”

By Jessica B. Mulloholland After having iPads in about 20 Chicago Public School for one year, results show that the iPad has had a great, positive and powerful impact on education. The device has been credited for engaging students. It allows for hands on actively engaging high-tech learning. Teacher Cho-M agiera impressively uses the iPad to place her students in groups by having them take a 3 or 4 question quiz. “The results are then formulated into a Google spreadsheet in real time, and she can immediately sort them and from work groups based on which students need help with different topics” (Mulholland, 2011). Teachers lucky enough to implement the iPads in the classroom had to submit an application. CPS also worked with Apple “to provide professional development and create a cohort of collaboration across the schools.”

Mulholland, Jessica. "IPads in the Classroom." // Government Technology: State & Local Government News Articles //. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. .

#2 “Pros and Cons of iPads in the Classroom” Elizabeth Woyke Woyke looks at the benefit of the iPad and the pros and cons of its use at the college level during a 7 week study at the University of Notre Dame. The overall response was quite positive. Originally intended to be used more as an e-reader the other benefits of the ipad were quickly realized. Students were able to work collaboratively by pulling “out their iPads to brainstorm and save results on an online file storage site like Dropbox…group members could easily access the saved files without emailing revisions back and forth” (2011). There were no issues with technology because it was the same system. Students also were inspired to research additional information on a topic, the tool increased their motivation to learn. But according to Woyke not all feedback was positive. Some found it difficult to highlight in the e-reader, found the iPad expensive, and did not like that the fact that you could not have more than one window open at a time (which in my app search I found one that allows you to have two open at a time). Overall, if you ask me the pros seem to far outweigh the cons. And to be a college student able to read, work collaboratively, research, take notes, download apps etc. on a device that is lightweight and convenient would be a dream from the neck aching English Literature books I carried around campus.

Woyke, Elizabeth. "Pros And Cons Of IPads In The Classroom - Elizabeth Woyke - Mobilized - Forbes." // Forbes //. 21 Jan. 2011. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. . By Devin Coldewey June 21, 2010 Coldeway addresses how the Kindle and Nook have dropped their prices. The e-readers will have to cut their prices even more with the competition of the iPad. They have put their app out on “as many platforms as possible” (2010) but the devices need to definitely focus on the longer battery life, lower cost and easier screen for reading to compete with the iPad.
 * 1) 3 “E-readers Race to the Bottom as the Tablet Market Solidifies”

Coldewey, Deviin. "E-readers Race to the Bottom as Tablet Market Solidifies." // CrunchGear //. 21 June 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. .

By Tina Barseghian In San Francisco, California a pilot program for the iPad in the classroom rather than textbooks is about half way complete. So far, the algebra class shows signs of improvement. Students are able to see how to solve the problem by watching videos on the iPad as many times as they want and learn how to get to the answer as opposed to the answer just in the back of a traditional textbook. “If the goal of learning is to figure out ‘how’ and not just the correct answer, the gadget is doing its job” (2011). But at first, the test scores actually went down, students needed to learn that they still have to think and learn, the machine helps them think and figure out how to get to the answers, not think for them.
 * 1) 4 “A Day in the Life of the iPad Classroom”

Barseghian, Tina. "A Day in the Life of the IPad Classroom | MindShift." // MindShift | How We Will Learn //. 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. .

By Winnie Hu January 4, 2011 The use of iPads in the classroom is an issue that is addressed more and more. Winnie Hu addresses the use of iPads in New York public schools. At a time with budget cuts and teacher lay offs, some wonder if they are an unnecessary extravagance and some doubt their ability to really educate. “There is very little evidence that kids learn more, faster, or better by using these machines,” said Larry Cuban, a professor at Stanford University. School leaders do not agree. The iPad is an engaging tool that has a variety of applications for educational uses. Schools are implementing pilot programs utilizing the iPad and clearly the implementation of technology is the future for education, “we are talking about changing the way we do business in the classroom.”
 * 1) 5 “Math that Moves: Schools Embrace iPad”


 * Assignment 2:**

1. [] Dictionary. Com is a great app to use in any classroom, each week in my English 9 students have 10 vocabulary words, and using the old fashioned dictionary is quite painful for them. 2. [] Netflix would be a great app to use in the classroom if you wanted to show a clip of something applicable to the classroom. If we use Netflix on the school’s network you get in trouble for using too much bandwith. On the i-pad, I would not be using the school’s network…now I just need a promethean board. 3. [] or nook or kindle I-books would be excellent to use in the classroom if I would be able to get a classroom set of I-pads. A classic already available is //Pride and Prejudice//. This would be a great way to have students choose some of their own books to read rather than always being told what to read, and once you have the i-pad…a whole lot cheaper! 4. [] You speak and it types it for you. This would be great to use as an accommodation for a student with needs. 5. [] The first app I found was $14, but did find a free one. This app would be great for group work and discussion or again if I had a promethean board to project it. It reads the play to you and provides a visual as well, great way to achieve more of an understanding of the play. 6. [] A great way to test student’s knowledge online. 7. [] The app allows you to just draw, change the background and play hangman, the box game, complete a maze, and much more. This would definitely entertain the kids and using some critical thinking skills as well. 8. [] Miss Spell tests the spelling of students by timing them while they decide whether the word is spelled correctly or not, there are over 10,000 words tested. It is actually quite challenging and many of my students could use this because even basic words are misspelled. These, however, are definitely more challenging words and find that I too could brush up on some spelling. 9 . Mad libs: This would be a fun 10 minute activity, especially with my freshmen; they would enjoy this. And there are also mini lessons on singular/plural and parts of speech that could be included as part of the activity. [] 10. Grammar Girl With the subscription you get the weekly podcast and an archive to search. This would be excellent to use in the classroom as a quick mini lesson, the archive includes anything from parts of speech, to writing, to capitalization. []


 * Personal Apps:**
 * 1. Nook: I am on my 5th book now since I got the iPad, I love reading on it. And have to slow down, or read a free classic, I can't keep buying a book a week when I have a whole shelf of ones to read yet. []
 * 2. Friendly Facebook: You have to have wi-fi but it is quick way to go on facebook. []
 * 3. Netflix [] If we travel a long distance I would probably get the internet service just to have internet capability and especially Netflix…it keeps the children entertained!
 * 4. Dragon Dictation:I have not used it yet, but it seems like one that my son might like. []
 * 5. Pages [] to type and attach in an email, it is a word processing device that I am sure I will use often.And did once for sub plans just to try it. It took me longer to type them but I am sure you can get used to typing on the iPad the more you use it.


 * Assignment 3:**

Grammar Girl has an app for $1.99, there are a lot of mini lessons that would be great to incorporate when reviewing parts of speech, writing and many more.


 * Assignment #4**

For pleasure: //Dead in the Family// is part of the Sookie Stackhouse series I have been reading. I have been wanting to read the next book and it was my first purchase and read on the nook app for the iPad. And it was good too! Harris, Charlaine. // Dead in the Family //. New York: Ace, 2010.

For Education: //The Hunger Games// is a science fiction novel in which a young girl is forced to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death as part of the rules in the Totalitarian ruled government. The futuristic novel would be a replacement perhaps for //Fahrenheit 451// by Ray Bradbury for the science fiction unit. Collins, Suzanne. // The Hunger Games //. New York: Scholastic, 2008.


 * Assignment #5**

Grammar Girl, a pod cast,is one I could implement into the English 9 classroom. There are mini lessons that would be beneficial in any English classroom. Students in English 9 need to prepare for WKCE and listening to Grammar Girl and her tip of the week would be good preparation because she focuses on punctuation and word choice. All English students also could always use a refresher on “a” versus “an”; first, second, and third person; plagiarism; active and passive voice; and many more mini lesson in the archive. I especially like that they are only about 5 minutes in length, long enough to get the information out and keep the student's attention.

I did find a pod cast on swearing. I downloaded it, and shared it with my English 12. The students listened at first because of the topic, but quickly lost interest after about 2 minutes. I think that today's kids probably benefit more from a visual as well as well as audio. Even in class when listening to a story read aloud, the students follow along with the book. Overall I probably would probably only use a pod cast in the classroom if I could not find a video on you tube and I really wanted something to reiterate the topic.

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 * Assignment #6 **


 * Assignment #6b **

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 * Assignment 7**


 * I think that students will continue to see the importance of technology in the classroom as teachers and school districts begin to embrace implementing these 21st century skills. The overall impact in the classroom is that students will acquire critical thinking skills and become better problem solvers as they learn to think for themselves rather than relying on the teacher. **


 * I plan to continue to use the iPad in my personal life daily. I absolutely love the Nook App and the fact that I can read at night while my husband is sleeping and not disturb him with the light! My children love it, and there are especially apps that I have been looking at for my 4 year old. One that I have been thinking about purchasing for him is one for speech so that I can work with him this summer on proper pronunciation. Professionally, I will implement the i-Pad in the classroom as much as my district allows me to. I am definitely thinking about writing a Grant for the i-Pads for that particular class we have coming up in the Marian Program. **


 * I enjoy listening to others and the apps that they have found to incorporate in their professional and personal lives. I would like to check out dropbox and how that would be beneficial to use when doing group work. **


 * The presentation I gave today included me sharing the Grammar Girl app, which as an English teacher is a quick podcast I could share with my students when we are reviewing parts of speech or working on writing. I also addressed in the various articles I read, that the pros of the i-Pad in the classroom clearly outweigh the cons. **