First Impressions

We received the two iPads for our classroom yesterday afternoon. Today was the first full day of having them available for the students to use. Yesterday evening I spent a few hours sifting through the Apple iTunes app store to find free apps for these new tools in my classroom. I will compile a list of the apps I have found so far and post them later this week. But first here are some initial observations that I made today.

- Students are excited about using new technology are expressing their desire to use the iPads for research, reading, and other activities. When given the choice they choose to use the iPad rather than the workstations in the room or a laptop.
- Students have no difficulty whatsoever in learning the iOS interface. It is so intuitive that they just pick up the iPad and use it.
- The iPad Battery life is awesome. I love the fact that we used the iPads for many activities today and I did not bother plugging in the iPads this evening to charge because they still had over 60% battery left at the end of the day.
- Instant on and instant engagement in learning. Students appreciate the ability to press the home button and then have the device ready to use immediately. There is no waiting for it to wake up and start. This is perfect for those moments when we have only a few minutes left in class. For example, I can hand an iPad to a student to practice a multiplication skill using an app installed on the device. They can grab the device and be engaged in learning in a matter of seconds. If we were using a computer/netbook we would have waited for the device to boot up and would have to log on. By the time the students would have logged on and opened up the software they were going to use there would be no time left in the class.
- There are a lot of free utilities to be found for the iPad. From scientific calculators to learning your ABC's. There are tons of resources available in the app store and also online that can be accessed for free.
- Reading is cool again. I find that some of my reluctant readers are excited to read on the iPad. I have downloaded some free books and apps that contain information and find that these students will actually sit down and start reading because it is on a screen instead of in a book. Hopefully this novelty will not wear off over time. I guess we will know in a little while.
- Web research was a huge success on the iPads today. I found that the students who were using the iPads found more useful information and were able to gain more insights into the research we were doing on our project than those using the laptops and computers. I don't know why or if this was just an exception but I will be watching to see if this continues.


Overall things are looking fairly fun and positive. The students are excited and I am looking forward to learn about what these iPads have to offer. When all is said and done we must remember that these devices are just another tool for learning. They will not replace the current learning activities that have been proven to be effective in my classroom but rather they will hopefully complement the things that we are doing. I want to see them increase student engagement and efficiency in task completion without distracting from the learning that is already taking place.