Ready to put iPads in the hands of students? You need to establish expectations for care and use of the iPad. Enlist your students’ support.
Clarify behaviors around these activities involving the iPad: carrying, sharing, tapping and interacting with the screen, moving around the room, storage and charging.
Use strategies such as “Ask three before me” to encourage students to become reliant on each other for getting answers to iPad use questions.
Communicate appropriate use to students. This will help you avoid issues with students searching for inappropriate content
Use consistent key phrases to control usage. Use phrases such as “face down and hands on your heads,” “shut down,” “five-minute warning,” and/or “all eyes on me.”
Make posters that summarize guidelines for iPad use. You can find a variety of examples online
As you begin your journey with iPads in your classroom, remember to avoid being overly restrictive. Create a culture of care and learning. Remind students that taking care of classroom resources makes learning more fun and interactive.
“Avoid focusing on apps…focus on what students can create using iPads,” says Tom Daccord. “If [teachers] keep an open mind and look past subject-specific apps and integrate other apps with potential.” Many new iPad programs start with an app gold rush. Hoping to get apps that can provide tutorial services for young learners, new-to-iPad teachers will install apps that purport to teach children. No device can replace a teacher, no matter the cleverness of the app. Avoid the app gold rush. Instead, focus on projects that deepen reading and writing using blended media (e.g. video/audio). One way to accomplish that includes changing the way you teach to present students with projects and problems that require collaboration, communication, and problem-solving. Apps below, unless otherwise indicated, are free.
Some apps and activities that lend themselves to that include:
Paper slides and Shadow Puppet EDU: Show students how to use paper slides. Paper slides are a simple series of colored pieces of white paper or construction paper organized to convey an idea, story, or set of instructions. Using the iPad with the free Shadow Puppet EDU, film a presentation of your second graders.
Idea Summaries: Have students record summaries of books, concepts. Record those as audio only (to minimize stage fright) via Voxer app, then setup QR code for each recording. Print the QR code and then place it on the book cover or on a wall. Students can scan the book to get a summary of the idea or book from others. Do the same with Seesaw (more about it in the next step).
Concept Mapping: Create simple concept maps using a mostly free app, Doodle Buddy. Concept maps include concepts, usually enclosed in circles or boxes. Connecting lines indicate relationships between ideas. Use Doodle Buddy to create a concept map for stories or situations students are reading about or real life. Explore even more ideas with Doodle Buddy.
Learn Vocabulary: Use a simple app like ABC Magnetic Alphabet Lite for Kids. One activity uber-iPad maven, Peggy Reimers, suggests includes a large group activity. Give everyone a letter and assign them a number, then ask each to write a word with that particular letter. The group organizes themselves into alphabetical order.
These are simple, powerful ways to engage students. Use them for everything to get students thinking and making their thinking visible. Looking for more ideas? When you are ready, explore Dr. Wesley Fryer’s iPad Media Camp, Playing with Media video collection, Greg Kulowiec’s app smashing concept, and Lisa Johnson’s (@techchef4u) website. Kathy Schrock has a few resources for you, too. When you’re ready to buy apps, let me know. Green screen is one area you need to investigate more.
Looking to learn more about iPads in the Classroom? There are many resources available to support your learning. Here are a few to get you started.
TCEA’s iPad Certification (Level 1) ($99): Want to learn what you need to get started with iPads in your classroom? Complete this 100% online course that walks you through the basics. The purpose of the TCEA iPad Certification program is to help classroom teachers build foundation level skills in using the iPad as an effective instructional tool with their students. This program is completely online and self-paced, making it convenient for educators with busy schedules. Educators completing iPad Certification (Level 1) will have the knowledge and understanding to effectively integrate the iPad into their content and use it for a variety of engaging and meaningful instructional activities. TCEA also maintains a list of iOS apps you may want to carefully explore. Be sure to read the TCEA TechNotes blog entries focused on iPads.
Check out the daily list of educational apps gone free in TCEA’s Community. Free to members, this site will help you discover more amazing apps for your students to use for learning.
Sophia.org’s iPad in the Classroom courses: This is an assortment of free courses you can review. You will find a wide variety of uses for the iPad in classrooms. These courses feature some of those uses.
Georgetown ISD’s iPads for Teaching (Free): This resource, designed for Georgetown ISD teachers, covers topics such as iPad Basic Training. You can explore basic operations, email, calendar, web browsing, app management, and more. You can also find district-specific tutorials, some of which may be helpful to you. When reviewing resources from another district, it is important to know how your district’s policies and procedures differ.
Blog by: Miguel Guhlin - 2018