iPad Collaborative Research

Schools today are investing more time and resources into tablet computers -- and their ability to help improve teaching and learning. In this blog post, Justin Reich, a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society and co-Founder of EdTechTeacher, and Beth Holland, a senior associate with EdTechTeacher, write about the ability of the tablet to foster classroom collaboration and meaningful connections for students and teachers.

"School is just about to start, or has already started, and you have been armed with iPads for this year. Whether your students will be 1:1 or you have access to a handful of shared devices, the expectation now exists that these tools will be put to good use. So now what? How do you get started? What can you do in the first five days of school to get going on the right foot?"

"Graphite is a free service from Common Sense Media. Find the best apps, games, websites, and digital curricula rated for learning"

"Change 1: Personalized learning" Change 2: Creative interactivity Change 3: Online learning Change 4: Formative assessments Change 5: Change

"Developing and maintaining a productive workflow while using iPad is not an easy thing to do. It does not only take knowing and installing all the necessary apps, students need to build a momentum , working on their apps and using them judiciously. Building such a momentum is a process of habituation that calls for repeated actions. It does take some time for students to get used to develop these skills but once they do their use of iPad becomes fluently productive."

""In the shift to digital, it's not just about replacing textbooks but inventing new ways of learning," Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said. "Some of the education apps being developed for iPad are approaching learning in an entirely new way, and that's exciting." Sallie Severns, founder and CEO of iOS app Answer Underground, told Wired that tablets' simplicity, ease of use and the massive range of academically minded applications available are drawing teachers and educational technologists to the platform in droves."

"A host of apps are helping the iPad realize its potential as a collaborative device."

"A new survey from the Learning First Alliance and Grunwald Associates suggests that parents of young children, girls, and students who are required to use portable or mobile devices in school are more likely to see the educational potential of such devices."

"The majority educational iPad apps which are typically short form games used to support learning activities would fall into this category, but there are handful of disruptive technologies surfacing in the space which aim to completely redefine some classroom activities."

An awesome website with great ideas on creating art on ipads.

"1. Teaching requires planning. 2. Consider where we're spending our education dollars. 3. The iPad is primarily a consumption device. 4. Our students should be mobile multilingual."

The fourth in our six-part series on collaboration takes on iPads. They were created as devices for individual consumers, so teachers have their work cut out for them in using tablets for student collaboration. We highlight apps that help educators turn iPads into wePads.

"The author of iPad in Education for Dummies offers solid advice for unlocking the possibilities of iPads in a classroom."

"Laptop Vs Tablet Two educators in the trenches duke it out."

"A study is being conducted at three Queensland kindergartens to examine the educational benefits of iPad use for pre-school children."

"We really don't know the full neurological effects of these technologies yet," said Dr. Gary Small, director of the Longevity Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of "iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind." "Children, like adults, vary quite a lot, and some are more sensitive than others to an abundance of screen time.""

5 studies on use of iPad in schools. Study in Australia reports greater success in primary/special schools rather than secondary.

Researchers studying the use of iPads in classrooms in California's Encinitas Union School District say the devices generally are favored by students and parents. In the district, where every student in grades 3 to 6 has an iPad, 90% of students said the technology has helped them learn -- especially when used in math lessons. However, some parents say they want to ensure the technology does not replace hands-on learning, and teachers say the iPads can be distracting for students if not managed properly.