iPad+Assignments

=**Assignment 1- Education Articles on the iPad**=

**Article 1**
How Will the iPad Change Education (2010, January 27). In //PBS Teacherline//. Retrieved August 15, 2011, from http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/blog/2010/01/how-will-the-ipad-change-education/

The article enthusiastically highlights several advantages users of iPad's have in the world of education, and why iPad usage should spread to all students and teachers. It points out how textbooks are out of date and a stress on the environment, and iPads can alleviate these issues (however neglecting the fact parts of the iPad are made out of nonrenewable rare earth and metals in short supply). The article also points out the advantages the iPad has over laptop computers (not as mobile) and e-readers (limited scope of usage). The iPad is a 21st century tool that has wide uses in education combined with a low price tag which makes the iPad ideal for the teacher and student.

Article 2
McCrea, B. (2010, January 27). Measuring the iPad's Potential for Education. In //the Journal//. Retrieved August 15, 2011, from http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/index.php

This article examined the responses of three different people in the field of education, a student, two teachers, and software developer. With the exception of there not being a camera (something the iPad 2 fixed) the student was excited about the prospect of using the iPad in the classroom and thought it would be a big improvement. The teachers were happy with the iPad being a nice middle ground between the notebooks and laptops, and the importance of embracing new technology especially as it relates to instruction. The software developer was excited about the leaps the iPad made in technology especially in relation to easy accessible apps.

Waters, J. K. (2010, June 6). Enter the iPad (or not?). In //the Journal//. Retrieved August 15, 2011, from http://thejournal.com/Articles/2010/06/01/Enter-the-iPad-or-not.aspx

Tablet devices have been around for awhile, however they did not really catch on until the iPad. Previous tablets were expensive and did not live up to expectations. Apple built off of its base of the iPhone and iPod touch to create the iPad, which already had specific apps ready to use when it launched. The "innovative and diffent" apps are really what make the iPad such a great educational tool. The versatility of the iPad is an incredible add to education ENL students and teaching students in foreign languages.

**Article 4**
Crump, M. (2010, March 29). Pros and Cons of the iPad in Education. In //the Apple Blog//. Retrieved August 15, 2011, from http://gigaom.com/apple/pros-cons-ipad-education/

There are definite pros and cons about the iPad. Some of the pros of the iPad covered in the article are, the iPad's long battery life over laptops (I completely agree), cuts down on the users baggage, easier and more comfortable to do work on in different locations (ie: library), no wall between the student and teacher a laptop creates, Some of the cons the author points out are limited amount of e-textbooks, no camera (however apple remedy this with the iPad 2), Apple controlling the app store thus limiting other app products (ie: google), and the keyboard.

**Article 5**
Hu, W. (2011, January 5). More Schools Embrace the iPad [Electronic version]. //New York Times//, p. A16.

Many school districts across the U.S. are embracing iPads and investing thousands of dollars in purchasing in bulk iPads for teachers and students. Critics argue there needs to be studies done and evidence collected that support or refute the ability of iPads to increase student learning before such heavy investment is made by schools districts, and also districts should look into less costly but similar tools like the iPhone. However proponents argue it is easy to see the advantages of the iPad by looking into the education apps, and they can reduce costs of a school district in the long run if the iPad can substitute for textbook and printing costs.

=Assignment 2- see My Apps page=

=Assignment 3- App Presentation= [|Stack the States]

I wanted to present an app that could work for a social studies course at all levels, and Stack the States (or countries) would fit this criteria. This app would be challenging but fun for elementary level social studies. The game layout is geared more toward elementary age students. Middle and High School students would also have fun with the game and be challenged enough to make it interesting for them, especially if the teacher structured it into a class game with teams (will explain in the presentation).

=Assignment 4- iBooks=

Personal Book
Verne, J. (2010, April 3). Journey to the Interior of the Earth. In //Project Gutenberg//. Retrieved August 16, 2011, from iBooks. []

I could have gone with a lot of different selections from iBooks as I am an avid reader. This book stuck out though for a couple of reasons. The first reason is this book is a classic written by a great author, and I recently read another of his books "Journey Around the World In 80 Days", which I really enjoyed. Another reason is because the book is offered for free from Project Gutenberg on iBooks, which has many other great titles for free that I will definitely be checking out in the future.

**Classroom Book**
Lincoln, A. (2010, April 3). Speeches and Letters of Abraham Lincoln 1832-1865. In //Project Gutenberg//. Retrieved August 16, 2011, from iBooks. Edited by Merwin Roe []

This book contains a treasure trove of primary sources of one (if not the) greatest figures of American History, Abraham Lincoln. In my U.S. history courses with this resources I could easily bring up a famous speech by Lincoln for the class to connect to what we are learning (probably civil war), discuss, and debate the many aspects of the speech and the famous American.

=Assignment 5- Podcast for the Classroom= Kagan, D. (2009, October 6). //Ancient Greek History//. Retrieved August 16, 2011, from iTunesU. []

I will definitely use this app for my Ancient Greece and Rome class. I do not have a textbook for that class so these Yale lectures will come in handy. The lectures maybe a bit dry for high school students so I will have to keep it to 10-20 minute blocks and spread them out throughout the Ancient Greece portion of the class. Having this authoritative tool is very beneficial to me, especially with the absence of a textbook.

=Assignment 6-=

6a- Video for use in the classroom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2dTfY21thg&feature=youtube_gdata_player

This video is a Part 1 of 3 about life during the civil war. It is an award winning documentary, by Ken Burns that is broken into short segments which is good for my 9th grade history students who have short attention spans.

6b- Demonstrate Making a Animoto Video
I originally created a 15 photo video 1:06 long, but it was on the animoto app which I could not embed. So below is a short 4 photo video I made on my laptop

   

=Reflection=