SlideShark App

As part of assignment # 3 I had to do a PowerPoint presentation on creative and effective iPad usage in educational settings. After I was done with the PowerPoint I decided to display my PP slides to iPad via SlideShark, a free app that Dr. Sotillo recommended on her blog. I hit the App Store on the iPad, searched for SlideShark and then tapped the install button. As the install progressed, I then registered an account which was easy and straightforward process. I returned my focus to my PP file on my Drop Box account and opened if with SlideShark. Now I can view and share PowerPoint presentations on the iPad the way they were meant to be seen. It works great, and there are no problems. Highly recommended!

Disadvantages of the iPad in Education

Although the iPad has many advantages in the classroom, it also has disadvantages and it important that we are aware of them. While the iPad brings new opportunities, I agree that it is not a replacement for the laptop. They lack the memory and the operating system of a traditional laptop, resulting in fewer features and the lack of ability to multitask. In addition, the price of the iPad is a primary concern since many school districts are facing current budget cuts and they cannot afford to supply iPads to every student? The absence of the USB port also makes it difficult to transfer materials from one device to another. Other than these I believe that iPads are great, and I believe that each generation of the iPad will resolve these issues and will make it more appealing to include the device in the educational curriculum.

Will iPad change education?

If every student in a classroom had a tablet the publisher/textbook industry would change. We will all “go green” because the textbooks would no longer be printed on paper, instead the publishers could then charge a “Rental” fee, subscription or we would just buy eBooks. When the rental time expires there is nothing to throw away or take up space. I would definitely like this change and I could see it happen in every school in a decade or two. Imagine the learning that could occur when students and teachers are connected in a way that desktops and even laptops cannot provide. Imagine a student reading about a concept or topic, and being able to click on a link that brings up any manner of related items (video, interactive exercises, web links, sound for pronunciations, etc.). Students not only would be motivated to learn what you want them to, they might even be interested to dig deeper into any subject.

iAnnotate App

Thank you Dr. Sotillo for suggesting iAnnotate. I wish I had known earlier about this wonderful app so that I could have used it when assessing the student read. It has extremely powerful annotation features: Highlighting, Underlining, Crossing out, Comments, and more. I just searched about this app today and it seems that each of these features is done really well, and is fun to use. What I liked the most is that iAnnotate allow you to create pencil annotations, free drawings, notes, highlighter pens and many others which makes it similar to the actual paper reading experience.

iPad has helped me not only for this class but for my other classes as well. For a school assignment I am currently working with a student and assessing his reading skills. I met with him 5 times throughout the semester in order to help him improve his literacy skills. On the first meeting I found out that he reads only material that is required in school but he was interested in reading “the Blue Portal” by Eric Brown. The student already had this book available on iPhone but to make it easier for him I downloaded it on my iPad because since the screen is bigger it is easier for him to read it. If I didn’t have the iPad I wouldn’t have been able to assess the student reading what he would enjoy, being that the book is only available on iPhone, iPad, or Kindle. Thanks to iPad I had a really fun experience on this assignment.

Research Project

The iPad has helped me a lot this week with my project. I am working on my research project in which I am conducting a study on how blogs are used as a technological tool in education. The purpose of this study is to find out the benefits of blogs as an educational tool. The research will examine how the rise of online communication through blogs has affected the way students are taught. Recently I posted a survey on this blog and I also sent it to my classmates’ email to gather their opinions and information on how blogs are used. I was happy to find out that many of my classmates took the survey through their iPads. The use of iPads made it easier for my classmates and for me as well because I was able to get the feedback faster. Instead of waiting for them to go home and take the survey, thanks to iPad most of them took it in class.  

Survey

The following URL will link you to my online survey:

https://surveys.montclair.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1334272809650

Your participation is greatly appreciated!!!!!

Thank you

Luljana