CBS 60 minutes video on the impact of iPads on students with autism (Oct. 23, 2011) is a very powerful (and moving) piece:
School fires up iPads to fine-tune phys-ed skills
How one PE teacher is successfully using iPads in his classroom to promote health, fitness and collaboration. (NOTE: You will need to create an account for eSchool News to read the whole article, if you don't already have one. It's a great resource, and it's free!)
Creating Content with iPads by Brad Flickinger-Brad was tired of people saying that the iPad is only for "consuming and not creating online digital content. There is no doubt that the iPad is a great device to browse the web, read an eBook and check email (consuming) but it can do so much more than that." You will see from the list in his article "that the iPad is far superior to the laptop in a lot of different areas of digital content creation."
eBook restrictions vex users | Policy | eSchoolNews.com Frank discussion of restrictions built into the various ebook readers.
Evaluating the iPad for Education A private liberal arts college in Oregon took Apple's iPad through its paces to test its value as a a tool for learning inside the classroom and out. The evaluation followed a pilot of Amazon's first-generation Kindle, which the college eventually decided against. In the words of the college's CIO, the Kindle just wasn't an adequate "alternative to paper." Did the iPad fare any better in the college's rigorous and methodical testing process? YES!
For autistic kids, iDevices are life changers - The Globe and Mail Great suggestions for using iPods/iPads with special needs students
New Jersey school that implemented an iPad-only curriculum for freshmen and seniors in six classes: Baroque art history, advanced geosciences, two Advanced Placement calculus courses and freshmen English and history courses.
Is 8GB Sufficient in an iPod? by Tony Vincent (blog entry dated Wed. Jan.14th, 2009)
Yes, it is, for most school application/usage, based on Tony's surveys of schools using iPods for teaching and learning. Just remember that an iPod doesn't come with an expansion slot, so do carefully consider what it is you are going to be doing with your iPod before you spend your hard-earned $.
edcommunity.apple.com/ali/item.php A downloadable Word document which is split up into four pages- Free apps; paid for apps; web based apps; plus tips and tricks. This was prepared for a presentation at the State Library of Victoria in November 2008 for a Digital Forum keynote.
A different, easier option for converting on line videos (like those on YouTube and TeacherTube) is now available. Tony Vincent wrote about in his Learning in Hand blog dated Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009. It's called "Kick YouTube" Tony also talks about how to use Zamzar, another online converter which can be used for other types of file formats as well.
Lorrie Jackson’s article “Sites to See: iPod Resources” at Education-World’s website. Included are case studies, info on podcasting, lesson plan ideas and discussion groups.
which has links to student consumed and student created podcasts as well as teacher’s tools. Karen is a teacher at the Springfield, IL School District.
Read about Culbreth Middle School's (Chapel Hill, NC) experiences and successes with using iPod touches with students.
Wesley Fryer's notes taken during Tony Vincent's presentation at NECC 2009 "Do So Much with an iPod Touch" and Tony Vincent's links to info he shared at that presentation.
Is that a walkman? 5 Ways to Use iPods for Education (short blog post from Learning Today-Educational Software blog) Here are a few ways you can use the iPod in your classroom as a reward, learning station, or integrated into your curriculum and some links to get you started.
Slide to Learn's Ning From our friends in Australia, a nice list of resources with an educational context as well as general hints and tips.
With 1-to-1 computing becoming more affordable since the advent of netbooks and media tablets (like iPads, etc.) this is a direction you may want to consider. In this time of rapidly changing information and standards, perhaps we need to be thinking about alternatives to the age-old textbooks. This article, "Open Content in Practice" from THE Journal, spotlights a virtual high school in Utah that shuns textbooks and relies on open content for 100 percent of its coursework.
iPads Invade the Computer Lab A private school on the Big Island of Hawaii not only adopted Apple's iPad for student learning; the school designed a whole facility around it. (Note: the article mentions that they scanned student textbooks and loaded them onto the iPads--not a recommended practice, since it essentially violates U.S. copyright law.)
iPad Lets Scientists Drag, Pinch and Swipe Real Molecules New software called iTweezers lets scientists drag molecules around the screen as easily as shooting angry birds at pigs. Not yet available via iTunes, but the possibilities are fascinating! "Feeling like you can directly touch cells and molecules can also help build an intuitive sense of the microscopic world" says physicist Richard Bowman of Scotland’s University of Glasgow, lead author of a paper in the March 4 Journal of Optics describing the new software.
Quick List of IPad Resources for the classroom. Steven Anderson has shared a plethora of links to websites with lessons, tips, apps and more.