First, I had to learn a hard lesson: Just bringing new technology in your classroom and working it into day-to-day routines isn’t enough.
The iPads arrived two days before my students, and I quickly made plans to integrate them into our curriculum. Despite my high hopes, the next two months were less than successful. A casual observer would have witnessed a sea of students glued to glistening tablets, but the effects were superficial. The iPads were not helping my students make substantial progress toward self-efficacy, academic achievement, or social-emotional growth. Around the end of September, I took a step back—it was time to evaluate and reflect on what was happening.
I asked myself: "What have we been doing so far with this technology?" Students used math apps instead of math card games. They’d made slideshow presentations for isolated units. They’d done some research on the Internet. In short, things were going ... OK. Nothing to write home about. Not what I would consider "worthy" of a $20,000 grant. Clearly it was time for a change.
The problem, I began to realize, was my own understanding of how the iPads should be utilized in the classroom. I had seen them as a supplement to my pre-existing curriculum, trying to fit them into the structure of what I’d always done. This was the wrong approach: To truly change how my classroom worked, I needed a technology-based redefinition of my practice.
Dion Norman on 12 Jun 11There are so many apps available, it can be overwhelming to find the right ones. Here is a list of 15 free apps which I have found useful. I am using all of them on my iPad but many are also available for other mobile devices. 1. Flipboard This has become my favorite app and I use it more than anything else. It turns all of your social streams from sites like Facebook and Twitter into a virtual magazine. You can also add any other sites that you love to read to read on the go. The layout of this app is just beautiful.
