Using iPads in the Classroom

The iPad. Apple, fun, games, apps, toy, Steve Jobs, big, expensive...those are the words that first come to mind when iPads are mentioned. A word that isn’t usually associated with it, education. Surprisingly enough, iPads being used in the classroom aren’t a bad idea. There’s an entire section in the app store devoted to apps for educational purposes. This section has everything from games to study tools. iPads can be used by all ages, from preschool to high school. But some of the best tools, are the ones that already come free with it. This includes the safari and the camera.

The safari can be used to access the internet. It is useful for teachers because they can find websites, and then have the students look at them and use them during class. Having an entire class on the same website at the same time, means that the teacher can assign work, or find games that are supplements to the lesson. The iPad provides a fun way to interact with the current unit.

The camera can be used in many ways. One of the ways is by taking pictures or screenshots, and then downloading an app that has the ability to make a collage. The students could make timelines, collages, anything with the pictures that they take themselves. For people who prefer to interact with the subject, it is a way to apply the lesson while using technology and creativity, and for people who are visual learners, it is a visual representation of what they are learning.

The video camera is also one of the best ways to interact with the lesson. Just today, in my history class, we used the iPad’s video camera and iMovie to film a short movie about the homework we had last night. It was really fun because we were able to be creative about how we choose to express the points we were supposed to make, but we were also learning since we had to have relevant information in the film. A bonus was that it provided a memorable way to remember the information.

The Apple iPad is a wonderful resource in the classroom. It can be used for all subjects: math, foreign language, english, social studies, and science. All students would be able to use it, and the way it adds to a lesson can often be useful for remembering the information. The iPad benefits both students and teachers, and gives the students a chance to express creativity in a way that they might not be able to otherwise.