We have been looking into the use of iPads in lessons and considering the possibility of buying a class set as a trial.
I am excited about this and think its a great move forward.
However, how will we use them? What Apps will we use?
As many people do not own one and some have not used one I thought it would be a good idea to put together a list of Apps we could use. Rather than simple say they need to be used for this lesson or that lesson, I thought it would be better to just say what the Apps can do. This way, people can come up with their own ideas.
This list is not definitive and there are a loads of Apps I could have mentioned. It just contain information on several Apps I think would be great for the classroom.
The Google Docs presentation is below. You can view the Sky Drive version here.
mattbritland.com 
From these apps which ones hold the most pedogogic value? From what I have seen almost all of these apps do things that can done on paper. There is danger of just replacing one (albeit paper) technology with another here. I think the real value in the iPad/tablet learning device is in changing the pedogogy in the classroom. Moving away from the student as the content consumer and creator towards a more holistic view of learning, The question for me is the “How can we use all of these new things together in new ways to learn new things?”
I think you are right. However, my intention for this post was not to answer the question you posed at the end of your comment. But, to simply point out useful apps. Is there anything wrong with using this technology as an engaging tool and a way of replacing paper? I think the iPad can be used for a variety of different reasons. To delve deeper into changing the pedogogy of the classroom I will have to wait until we have a class set of iPads.
I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on the question you posed.
I am sorry if there are any mistakes in this post. I am writing it on my phone.
Thanks.
I don’t think there is a wrong with replacing paper, but an iPad is quite an expensive paper replacement! I agree these apps would be useful and are a great starting point for beginning to use the Apple App Store range of apps.
My question “How can we use all of these new things together in new ways to learn new things?” can be answered along the lines of looking at what is the purpose of the activity that the device is being used for? Is it researching. and “copy and pasting” into a Powerpoint? Or using mixed media to learn complex and stimulating topics and explore those thing in different ways? I’m not sure about the answer, but I think we need to think about the question!
i think the way to use an ipad is to:
– allow students to take electronic notes (easier for students to re-read and they are less likely to lose notes – compared to pieces of paper)
– if students use iPads to make notes and answer questions, teachers can use them to give feedback; gets around the problem of pupils not being able to read teacher’s hand writing!
– load up digital textbooks for students
I think these are great uses for an iPad in schools. Plus combine that that many other uses and you have a real multi-purpose device.