iPads in Education

With no surprise, the iPad has made its way into the education field. Not only does it have benefits for 21st century students, but provides huge help to the educators as well. It’s easy to believe that iPads would only be beneficial for upper elementary, junior high, and high school grades, but this is not true. The iPad has begun to show huge benefits in the lower elementary classrooms as well. 

Apple Inc. has made applications specifically designed for education. They have a wide selection so there are numerous options to choose from for all ages. One interesting thing they have done for the lower elementary grades is separate the applications into more specific categories such as learning to read, phonics, vocabulary, etc.  

An elementary school teacher, Laura Wright, has given a list of iPad applications she found especially helpful in the classroom.  One application that could be really effective in lower elementary classrooms would be “iWrite Words.” It is an easy to use application for young students that focuses on letter recognition and handwriting. To make it more appealing for young students, it is accompanied by fun sounds and images. 

Teachers have proven to benefit from using the iPad in their classroom for many reasons. It allows easy ways to stay organized, take attendance, etc. An article written by Samantha Miller gives a large list of 20 applications that could be useful for educators. Many of the applications in this article are geared for the teachers use. When teachers are more organized and prepared, they are able to give their students more attention in the right places. 

The application titled “Sundry Notes,” is one that would really help with organization. However, the application also serves a purpose other than simply organizing. The application has the capability to open pdf files, use search engines such as Google and Wikipedia, make recordings, download pictures, etc. Elementary math teachers especially find this application useful because it has virtual graph paper to work on. On top of all the other benefits, it’s free! Some other free applications that would help with organization are “Teacher Tools,” and “Teacher Pal.” There are even applications that cost as little as 99cents. For example, “Attendance,” a virtual way to keep track of attendance records and even match each student with a photo identification. 

Educators at High Point University have already began to use iPads to enhance their teaching experience. The university has even helped students in the local community at Montlieu Elementary by donating iPads for the school to use, learn, and grow. They even have staff that will be helping the school utilize the iPads for the rest of the year. High Point University is one of the many institutions in the nation that recognizes the importance of iPads in the classroom and there will surely be more following soon.