How Two of our Freshmen Use Their iPad2s in the Classroom

Farm5 Flickr image

A few of our students own and use iPads for school.  How are they using them? I asked two of our Freshmen to share their experiences thus far with their iPads.

This is how my conversation with Jasmine and Ridge (interviewed separately) went:

How long have you had your iPad2?

J: I got my iPad at the end of 8th grade.

R: A year.

Why did you get an iPad and how has your perspective changed now that you've had it for a while?

J: I had wanted one to use for flash cards, quick notes, and the calendar. Now that I've had the iPad for a year, I learned about Twitter and Flipboard so I'm using those two apps regularly to keep up with updates and news. ... I'm interested in math, technology, and education, but I've also come to realize that I need a little balance in my life so I added Temple Run and Fruit Ninja to my iPad desktop. ... I didn't know about Facetime and Skype - I will use those to contact friends and family. ... Also, I like to borrow books from the public library that I can download to my iPad.

R: At first I used my iPad for lifestyle use - games, movies, email - for fun. Now I use it for school. These are some of the school apps I have on my iPad now:

For Spanish class - translator - SayHi - .99 - I like that you can talk it into it. I usually use it to look up the meaning of a word.

For English class - ereader - iBooks - free - The Color of Water - I didn't find that there were limitations for annotations.

For English class - dictionary - Dictionary.com - free - I like it because it's easy to use. It's the iPad version of the website.

How did you go about learning about what was on your iPad? Would you consider the iPad intuitive?

J: I read the Quick Manual online. That took about 5 minutes. And I set up my password right away. I went through the settings - it was easy to do. Then I downloaded apps. I went to the App Store and looked for specific subject apps.

R: My brother had an iPad, so I kinda knew what it was about. Also, I already had an iPhone, which is similar. Everything is pretty straightforward on the iPad.

Do you take notes on the iPad? What app do you use? (This question led to a demonstration by both).

J: I like using Evernote to take notes in every class.

Quick Evernote demo

R: I use Notability to take notes. I picked it out right away. I looked at the top 10 apps for Productivity in the App Store and chose Notability. I like the magnifying feature a lot.

Quick Notability demo

Ridge decided to get a stylus to use with Notability. His choice? Bamboo. "It's a nice weight and length. It's a little expensive, but worth it." Ridge keeps the stylus separately in his backpack and doesn't find that he needs to keep it with his iPad.

Do you have any advice for others considering purchasing an iPad?

J: I would definitely recommend it for flash card apps. ... At first, I uploaded bunches of apps, then I realized that I didn't use a lot of them. Now I have a few that I use regularly.

R: I would recommend the iPad because it will lighten your load. I now have a small backpack, I don't lose any papers, and I have my work neatly organized.

Both Jasmine and Ridge are very happy with their iPads. Ridge concludes:

"I'm hooked on it. Life is so much easier for me now."

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@mauilibrarian2

Teacher Tip Using Evernote: Skitch as a Teaching Tool

This is my first try at sending a Google Reader find to my blog.

Very simple!

I'm happy that it's a tip from a teacher!

Skitch as a Teaching Tool:

Name: Steve Lai Profession: Teacher, Guitar Tutor Location: Richmond, BC, Canada Blog: www.teachingwithipad.org Twitter: sly111

Bio:

Steve Lai teaches French as a second language to 6-10 year old students at Richmond Christian School. In addition to his day job, he teaches children how to play the guitar. Steve shares how he uses Skitch in the classroom to create colorful, interactive visuals that help students learn.

A different way to teach French

I love the simplicity of Skitch — using it with my students takes only a matter of seconds, and there are unlimited possibilities. 
Skitch has allowed me to teach French in an engaging and interactive way that resonates with my young students.

1. I snap pictures or take a screenshot of anything that visually displays a word or category of words, like clothing, colors, and diagrams of the body.
2. I hook up my iPad to a projector.
3. I use Skitch to annotate the image. My students are able to chime in and respond to what’s happening on the screen; for example, I’ll color in a pair of pants, then draw an arrow and prompt the students to name the color. Or, I’ll ask a student to come up and color another part of the image. I sometimes take pictures of (willing) faculty members and call on students to draw silly clothes or hairstyles on them. Skitch makes learning more fun, and turns it into a group activity that’s very engaging.

Skitch makes technology accessible. My students are really excited about using iPads, and Skitch gives them a fun and easy way to interact with them. They are amazingly proficient, and Skitch is so intuitive that they can go home and play around with it on their own almost immediately.
Skitch makes it easy to share. I can share all of the images we create in the classroom on my blog, so parents can see what their child has accomplished. Skitch then becomes not only a great teaching tool, but a great communication tool that can be used to keep parents updated with what’s going on in my classroom.
Skitch for illustrating motion. For French language instruction, my school uses the Accelerated Integrated Method which pairs words with actions in way that’s similar to sign language. Skitch is great for helping kids practice and learn the movements. To do this, I take a picture of myself posing in the correct position, then use arrows and text to describe the motion.
Skitch on the go. I work in a school where I switch classrooms throughout the day, and I have a cart of materials that I take with me between each class. With Skitch on my iPad, I can just snap photos so I don’t have to lug around a bunch of coloring books or other papers on my cart. All I need is my iPad and an HDMI cord/adapter!

Skitch for showing complex chords to my guitar students

In addition to teaching French, I’m also an avid guitar player and give lessons to students on the weekends and evenings. Before Skitch, I used to take pictures of my fingers’ positions for different chords and then just list them in order for my students to help them memorize the placement. Now I use Skitch to quickly label and share — it’s so much easier to keep track of what chord I’m trying to show them. I simply snap a photo of my fingers in the correct position, use Skitch’s text or drawing tool to label it, and share it via email. Marking up chords in Skitch is a cinch and it really helps students visualize where they need to place their fingers to get the right sound.
Do you use Skitch as a teaching tool? Leave your tips in the comments below!

How will we work, play, and communicate? Here's Corning's fantastical vision

I discovered and shared this fantastical video a year ago, and my friends were just as amazed as I was! It's Corning's vision for the future.



One year and 17 million+ hits later, I went back to look for the video to show to a student, and I was pleasantly surprised at what Corning came up with next (just a couple of weeks ago in fact, and already with almost a million hits).



Corning Hopes For Another Viral Hit With Sequel To Its 'A Day Made Of Glass' Video - Forbes details the story behind the two videos.(The first video was meant only for Corning investors' eyes.)

Portraying Corning's futuristic view with beautiful, translucent images, dream-like mood music and only a few words makes Corning's vision seem very dreamy and far-fetched, doesn't it?

Add the story behind the videos in "The Story Behind Corning's Vision" below, and suddenly the future seems within very close reach, and not fantastical at all.



I for one am excited about the possibilities!

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@mauilibrarian2