It is only fitting that the first entry to this blog is being created with the iPad 2. Our tech director ordered us a handful of these for some of the teachers who she thought might use them the most, I was one of the lucky ones. For the last 24 hours I have been searching for apps to use in my American History class (reviews to come later). I feel like such a nerd I woke up around 4:30 just so I could play with it before school. I have always been a huge fan of technology I remember as a kid in school my favorite days were lab days, and they still are now as a teacher. I find it very rewarding when you can introduce a student to new ideas while using a tool that the enjoy. I have found in my short time as a teacher that if you can find something that will interest the kids on a technology level they become more involved in the content as well...that has a been a tough sell at times to other teachers and administrators.
One thing that I hope people will find from this blog is not just what a technology can do or what it does best but how I personally have used it or seen it used. All too often I search around for information and there is plenty of it but it can be so basic. What is hard to find is a real classroom experience, someone who has used the tool and can tell me how they used it in their room with their kids. Take for example google docs, I have searched for hours for how teachers are using the features of google docs in their class rooms, maybe I am looking in the wrong place but I am not seeing it. Hopefully this will fill that void. By the way this is not meant to be a bash on other bloggers by any means, some of the most useful information I have found in my teaching career (all 1.5 years) has been from blogs! Many of them are far more informative than some of the college classes I was "required" to take.
iPad 2 initial thoughts, short and sweet. Surprised at how easy it is to type on the screen when in landscape mode. I never guessed it would be this simple. That said I wouldn't want to write a term paper on it but that really isn't the intention of the device so all is good. Today I used Evernote, not so much for what it actually has to offer over other apps but because I didn't have much else to use to be honest. Students were working in groups and one thing about 8th graders is they are easily sidetracked. As I wondered around the room with the iPad I took notes of the conversations kids were having, they had no clue I was doing this they thought I was playing with my new toys! After about 5-10 minutes I stopped all of the groups and read them my notes, even they were amazed at how far off track they had gotten. After our talk and my note sharing I was pleased with the increase in productivity, they had no clue how unproductive they were being, what an ahha moment that was for both myself and my students. Evernote though was great, does exactly what it should do, short notes, not really meant for much more than that but syncs between iPad/iPod/phone/computer so you will always have access to your information.
I am hoping that this becomes something regular for me, maybe it will offer a chance to decompress, share thoughts, and hopefully help someone else along the way. Please comment if you have something to add, I really look for this to be a community space with lots of sharing of ideas and methods for integrating tech in your classroom!
