TECH Performance Record - Tablets in Education

Uses of iPad in Education

What Will It Take for iPads to Upend Teaching & Learning?

• By using technology students will have the opportunity to take ownership of their own learning. This seems as a definite positive, however, what about students that are not self-motivated. How will we ensure that they will succeed just as much as the self-motivators?

• I liked Schwartz's explanation "for the most part, students aren’t doing anything on the iPad that they can’t do with pen and paper, although admittedly it’s much faster and more efficient to use the iPad. Instead of working on a paper worksheet, they’re filling out a digital one and emailing it to their teacher." Some of my struggle for understanding the "great need" for tablets is that it seems that generally a lot of the school apps seem to be the same things we've done for decades simply with technology instead of pen & paper, but with a much higher cost. However, it is good to know that it is indeed more efficient. Schwartz also speaks of how the use of iPads affects the kinesthetic learner in a positive way. 

Interesting Ways to Use an iPad in the Classroom

• SoundNote - a good way for students of different learning styles to take notes.
• Sliceit - I've played this game for fun and hadn't considered using it to teach math.
• Globe - I liked the idea of using a globe app so that all students can see what you are trying to point out at once. 
• I was kind of confused with this article because it claimed 55 ideas but the slide show only had 17 slides.

School Sees Rising Scores with iPads

• I appreciated that this article had quotes from students that showed how they felt about using iPads in the classroom. 
• About students who don't understand a video lesson, this was said, “They could watch the video 15 times, and no one has to know, and it takes away the stigma of not getting it,” he said. “This is a move toward personalized and individualized instruction so the students take more of a role in their learning.” This quote makes a lot of sense and shows me a little more what "taking hold of their education" means. 

Why Use iPads for Learning

• I always assumed that iPads would take more interaction with IT. However, many articles like this one seem to state a definite opposite opinion. 
• I had never considered the importance of the "auto-save" feature, which would definitely be useful for forgetful children. 

Comparative Use Factors in Education for Tablets

Gilber School Embracing eReader Technology with Nook Club

• This article seems to show a trial run of sorts with 6th graders and the use of Nooks as an eReader. 
• Although the Nook (at least the version spoken of this article) does well as an eReader, it would not be good as a tablet for classes other than literature as it does not have as many functions as an iPad.
• The article does illustrate how books are much cheaper electronically than physical copies.

Will the Kindle Change Education?

• Text-to-Speech capability seems as though it is of growing importance. It benefits students who learn better from hearing, students who are at lower reading levels, and students who have vision problems. 

How the Amazon Kindle Fire Fits Into Education

• This article seemed to reiterate most of what I have read in other articles on both the Kindle Fire an many other tablets. 
• The Kindle Fire saves money by offering electronic Textbooks at a fraction of the cost and allows users to save to a cloud storage.