I have observed my wife using the iPad for around 2 months. She uses it for writing, playing Scrabble™, checking e-mail, reading books, magazines, and creating her own electronic cookbook. I have no idea what we are going to do with all the extra space in the kitchen once we no longer need to consult cookbooks! In short, she uses it all the time. I would probably use it similarly, but I am trying to figure out how to use it in my teaching.
My classroom already has desktops, notebooks, netbooks, iPods, cameras, camcorders, etc. Students have free access to all of these tools in their daily work. What would the iPad add? I can see individual students bringing iPads to class to take notes, organize work, etc. To that end, I need to know how to help them with their own tools. But, a class set?
I think right now I see the iPad as an individual tool that I and others may choose to use. I am still exploring how to use this exciting new (lightweight) tool to further individual learning. I know I am not alone on this path. The exploration is fun!
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I certainly look forward to reading what you'll be learning about using the iPad in the classroom. But frankly, I'm more interested in the pedagogical significance of something else you write: "My classroom already has desktops, notebooks, netbooks, iPods, cameras, camcorders, etc. Students have free access to all of these tools in their daily work."
ReplyDeleteNot too long ago having computers in the classroom meant that every pupil sat in front of the same type of machine. But today that isn't the case. Instead, each pupil comes to class with his/her own highly-connected device in his/her pocket. It seems to me that this presents a considerably more interesting challenge to classroom learning than the inclusion of one additional tool like the iPad.