The podcast that I listened to was Driving Questions with Kevin Honeycutt. In this podcast Kevin talked to two elementary school teachers about using the iPad in the classroom. One of the women interviewed was a para at the school and the other was a Title 1 teacher in the school.
Both teachers mentioned that they did have to take a little time to learn how to use the iPad themselves but that the students did not have any problems catching on. The para mentioned using the iPads with kindergartners and that they caught on right way with no problems. Both teachers mentioned that the kids LOVE the iPad's. They light up every time they get a chance to use them.
The Title 1 teacher said that she really liked to use the iPad's because it was a more one-on-one experience with the kids. This was especially important with students who have problems socially in the classroom, it is a way to connect with them. She mentioned that many of the apps are really engaging, one in particular that she uses is called spell board. This is a paid app that you can use with student to practice their vocabulary words. As the teacher you have many options from choosing to show the definition, or only parts of the words. You can also create quizzes for the kids to take. When they take the quiz they can draw out the vocabulary words with their finger and choose different colors to draw it in.
The para said that she likes to use the app called Fish. This app works on word sounds with the students. It is a good app to use for phonics or reading skills. The children have to fill in the missing letter or letters of a word. This is something she said the kids really enjoy and it is a great way to work with students one-on-one.
Kevin Honeycutt discussed how these teachers have made the iPads an actual part of their classroom. They are not just something that is used for enrichment activities or for free time but it has actually become a part of their lesson plans. He also mentioned a great site for teachers with iPads to check out that the is iear.org which stands for Education Apps Review. This site is a place for critiquing iPad apps and the great thing about it is that teachers are the ones commenting on these apps. So this would be a great resource to refer to before downloading any new apps on your iPad.
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