During the last school year, the Cleveland Parent Advisory Council (CPAC) funded the purchase of some new technology. Thanks CPAC.

I have spent some time lately “playing” with one of the new iPads, and I like it. I have used a variety of apps this week, including Evernote, Calendar, Pocket, Twitter, iBook, Quickoffice, Dropbox, Instagram, Metro news, and Sudoku, to name a few (I think I am getting good at Sudoku now). I’m not sure how all these will be used by students, but I’m enjoying my time with the device. I may explore iMovie and photos this week, and I am also interested in looking more at Hyperlapse.

iPads in the classroom have certainly been a topic of discussion over the last few years. We will be starting off with one iPad per classroom, and I encourage teachers to find creative ways to make use of these devices to support teaching, learning and creativity.

Some of the articles I have read about iPads include:

The Teacher’s Guide to the One iPad Classroom

The iPad as a Tool for Creation To Strengthen Learning

Why Some Schools Are Selling All Their iPads

When we get back to school, teachers will make use of a variety of tools, including iPads, to help children engage in learning. I look forward to the classroom visits and seeing students learning, sharing and growing during the 2014/2015 school year.

I also look forward to having a bunch of grade 6 and 7 students around so that I can ask them how to make better use of this iPad for teaching, creating and learning. I sure they will teach me a lot.

Take care