"As anyone with a toddler knows, iPads are addictive for children. They seem to have some sort of special radar that lets them know when an iDevice is within their reach, and they'll do anything they can to get their hands on them. Resistance is futile, but instead of lamenting excessive screen time, you can make your child's iPad addiction a productive one with educational apps, including those that promote early reading.
With these 20 apps, children can learn how to write letters, improve phonics fluency, and even write their own books."
"I teach Middle School Science, mainly physical, environmental, and life to 6th and 8th graders. Through grants I have acquired 14 iPads for my students to use everyday. "
"One of the most powerful moments in my teaching journey was the summer I immersed myself in feedback and checking for understanding. It forced me to ask myself what and if my students were actually learning."
Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, author of the Langwitches blog, notes, “it is [the teacher's] responsibility to use it beyond a ‘glorified projector screen’. It requires a shift in thinking from the teacher’s part to see a SmartBoard not ‘only’ as a teaching tool, but as a learning tool”
I agree with the substantive point that many educators don't have skills to teach these things directly, but I do think we can create environments in which they can emerge and be developed.
The Roy Rosenzweig Centre for History and New Media offers a treasure torve of resources for history projects, including primary sources and also platforms for publication and collection.
"A few months ago I took a survey of my elementary kids to see what kind of mobile technology they had at home and it turned out that 53% of my students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades had iPads and 82% had iPods! With over half of my students having iPads, there is no doubt that soon they will be bringing these devices to school - so it go me thinking…"
Graham Attwell reports that the English education minister has called for an open source curriculum. "Gove said three main things that technology can do for learning:
- Disseminate knowledge incredibly widely.
- Change the way teachers teach, with adaptive software personalising learning.
- Allow teachers to assess pupils in more complex and sophisticated ways." Stephen Downes