2. Integration of ipads in ELT

A technology shift is under way. The PC’s promise to transform how learning happens in the classroom is being realized by iPad. The iPad may only be two years old, but it's already begun to change many things. The market for this type of device may only be in its infancy, but it's already becoming clear how it will revolutionize certain aspects our lives. Students and teachers in school through higher education are using the iPad to augment their lessons or to replace textbooks. The iPad is especially helpful for students with special needs. Its simplified touch interface and accessibility features help these children learn more independently; aftermarket accessories assist in making the iPad more classroom-friendly.

While more and more applications and uses for the iPad popping up all time, one great way to is to use it as an English teaching tool. iPad has proven to be a groundbreaking pedagogical tool, both in and out of the classroom for English teachers. The fact of the matter is, with all of the different language applications that are available for it, the access to the Internet and its ability to play both audio and video, the iPad makes an incredibly efficient teaching tool.

iPad - A revolutionary educational tool for English language learners

The applications on the iPad make it a more valuable tool than the personal computer in the classroom. It has everything that a PC can offer- mostly the Internet and the Word Processor. The iPad also has plenty of memory to store a variety of applications, documents and PDFs. So, anything you want or can do with a computer in the classroom you can also do with an iPad.

Struggling readers will find the tools available through iBooks absolutely indispensable. The highlighter, bookmark and note tools facilitate student comprehension and encourage students to use the reading strategies we have taught them to readily access the content of a text. By simply touching a word or phrase, they have the option to get the dictionary definition, highlight, annotate, or search. In addition to marking up a page, the student can find all the notes and bookmarks in one place when reviewing the text. They can also type in and search for key words or phrases within the text.

Students are able to download and store books and pdf files without breaking their backs with overloaded book bags. The library can then be sorted by title, author or category. On opening a book, students can browse the table of contents, flip through pages, or advance to any page in the book with one or two gestures. The brightness, font size, or page color can be adjusted to suit the reader’s preference. If you prefer to use a Kindle e-reader, you can download the app to your iPad and use that one as well. There is also an app called OverDrive, which allows you to borrow e-books from your local library!

The Notes application that comes standard with the iPad for the basic note-taking is much useful. However, several of the apps now available allow students to record a lecture while drawing, writing or typing their notes. This is very useful for English Language Learners (ELL). They can play back the lesson as many times as they like while reviewing and revising their notes. Notes Plus is one such app. inClass is an app that offers audio, video, and photo note-taking, as well as a student organizer. Other writing apps that are being used in school districts include Office2HD, PaperDesk and iAnnotatePDF. Dragon Dictation is a speech to text application that is great to use with Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE). Verbally is an assistive speech application that allows users to communicate by selecting from a word bank. Speak it! is a text to speech application that allows students to hear what they are typing. UYH Gold is a good for practicing handwriting with SIFE.

There are several good educational apps that are both fun and educationally useful for ELLs. Flipboard allows you to customize and browse the web in a magazine layout that is easy to scan and fun to read. There are also many good word game applications such as the traditional Boggle and Scrabble. There are also lots of flashcard apps, such as Index Card, that help students learn study skills. Apps like Stack the States and Star Walk help with content area studies.

Some other exciting iPad applications that support differentiation of instruction for English Language Learners

Integration Strategies

For the integration of ipads in your classroom you should allow your students to have a more dynamic and interactive lesson design. The more interactive the lesson plan, the easier it will be to integrate the iPad. For example, as an English teacher if you want to incorporate an iPad into a unit designed around a classic novel such as Pride and Prejudice you could have your students do research on what it would have been like to live in the 19th century and prepare a report, or you could have them all read the novel on their iPads. In fact, one of the best things about the iPad is that one of the free applications is the Amazon Kindle application. This application allows you to download thousands of free classics like Pride and Prejudice and then it synchronizes all your notes, highlights and last page every time you access the book. Finding enough copies of the book you are teaching, proves to be a challenge, this is a free way to ensure that every student has unlimited access to the novel.

Useful Websites to Enhance Engaged Learning

Discovery Education

It provides various tools for teachers to use in the classroom which are aimed at specific grade levels. It includes streaming videos, assignment builders, online quizzes, and lesson plans. Videos are submitted by such sources as: Discovery Communications, PBS, Scholastic, BBC, and Channel 4. Discovery Education works with state curriculums in order to focus their material for state standardized tests.

Brain POP

BrainPOP creates animated, curriculum-based content that supports educators and engages students. It has hundreds of short Flash-based movies covering topics within Math, Science, Social Studies, English, Technology, Arts & Music, and Health. All content is aligned to and searchable by state standards.

Dabbleboard

It works like a real whiteboard: fast, easy, and flexible. Makes it easy to draw quickly, visualize ideas, and share those ideas with others. It provides real-time collaboration with anyone anywhere in the world. It allows the reuse of previously-made drawings.

Inbee

A platform for students to publish their work , which gives students a sense of audience and allows them to collaborate on projects and help edit each others' work. It allows teachers to establish class blogs and promote online interaction and collaboration. It also provides a safe, controlled school networking environment. Teachers and Parents can work together closely to guide and teach about social responsibility online while increasing classroom learning.

While good old pencils and papers may still have their place for a while to come, the iPad can make for a diverse and economical teaching tool to supplement them. In addition to saving paper, it can also save a lot of preparation time, and give the teacher a freedom of movement in the lesson that usually isn’t possible using printed materials. Furthermore, if students would still like a copy of the work sheets from that day, they can be emailed directly to the students, so that they can choose to save them digitally or print them out themselves.

Tablets are slowly finding their way into classrooms, but it will be some time before they're affordable and easily deployable enough to make the kind of widespread impact everybody envisions. The device makes perfect sense for educational purposes, whether it is self-learning or a more formal classroom setting. Some predict that tablets will outnumber desktop computers in schools before we know it. There are still some kinks to iron out before we get there, but it's hard to imagine the classroom of the future without a glass touchscreen on every desk.