NOVA Series Medical iPad Apps

The NOVA Series boasts an innovative new technology that allows the user to navigate around the body (or body part) using a photorealistic 3D model. Users can rotate, cut, zoom, get superior/inferior views and view animations all with the simple stroke of the finger. The primary use of the NOVA series is as a learning tool but it can also be used as a fast and innovative reference tool by utilizing the index function which allows the user to select an item and the app will automatically zoom in and identify it. To find out more view the video to the left to view for a 2minute overview of the series and for more information about the individual apps please click on an icon below.

Site:

http://applications.3d4medical.com/apps.php#

Mini-Monsters iPad App

3D4Medical.com in partnership with Science Photo Library present Mini Monsters: A photographic and educational exploration of the wonderful microscopic world of insects, bugs, spiders, beetles, worms and countless other creepy crawlies.

iTunes Link:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mini-monsters/id460061725#

Developer Site:

http://www.3d4medical.com/

Reading Rainbow to be rebooted for iPad

Article:

http://www.fastcompany.com/1779937/reading-rainbow-rrkidz-levar-burton

It's the Pedagogy, Stupid: Lessons from an iPad Lending Program

http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=1999656

Apple's iPad and Other Tablets Make Digital Textbooks Cool on Campus

http://www.cnbc.com/id/43428070

iPads in Class

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3755865

A Principal's Reflections: My Quick List of iPad apps

http://esheninger.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-quick-list-of-ipad-apps.html

Teach with your iPad Wiki

http://teachwithyouripad.wikispaces.com/

Bloom's Taxonomy with Apps!

http://teachwithyouripad.wikispaces.com/Blooms%20Taxonomy%20with%20Apps

Massachusetts School Launches 1:1 iPad Program for Students in Grades 3-8

This fall Tower School, an independent elementary school in Marblehead, Mass., will launch a tablet computer program that will put iPads in the hands of all students in grades 3-8. The program highlights the school's commitment to combining the best of traditional and innovative educational practices.

Read more:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/7/prweb8657014.htm

Going One-to-One with iPads: Learning on the Leading Edge

http://ipadacademy.com/2010/11/going-one-to-one-with-ipads-learning-on-the-leading-edge

GoodReader for iPad App

GoodReader is the super-robust PDF reader for iPad - the #1 selling non-Apple app for iPad in USA in 2010! Mashable describes it as “a Swiss Army knife of awesome!” Reviews worldwide hail it as “essential,” “the best,” “magnificent” and “the killer app”. With GoodReader on your iPad, you can read virtually anything, anywhere: books, movies, maps, pictures. Use it once and you’ll be hooked. Soon you'll be wondering how you ever managed to use your iPad without GoodReader.

iTunes Link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goodreader-for-ipad/id363448914?mt=8#

Developer site:
http://www.goodreader.net/goodreader.html

OmniFocus for iPad App

OmniFocus for iPad combines the in-depth task management functionality of a desktop app with the advanced mobile experience of the iPad. With flexible viewing options, location-aware task lists, and on-the-fly task entry with voice notes and image attachments, OmniFocus for iPad is the trusted system you need for managing everything in your busy life.

iTunes Link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/omnifocus-for-ipad/id383804552?mt=8patnerId%3D30#

Developer site:
http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnifocus-ipad

Essential iPad Apps for Principals

http://www.eduleadership.org/2010/09/01/essential-ipad-apps-for-principals/

iPads for Administrators?

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2010/05/01/ipads-for-administrators/

Mid-Hudson Regional Information Center's iPad Resources for Administrators

http://www.mhric.org/ipad/index.html

Apps from the Federal Government

No, these are not like government cheese...

http://apps.usa.gov/?v=all

LiveBinder of iPod touch & iPad resources for preK-12 educators

http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit/36989

iPad 2 Starter Guide by Macworld Editors

The Macworld iPad 2 starter guide contains the essential information a new iPad 2 owner needs to get started with their new device.

It has easy-to-understand explanations of the iPad 2's basic features, navigation, settings, and included apps. There are also sections on the other Apple iPad apps: Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Garage Band, iMovie, and iBooks. Looking to expand your app collection? We have a list of the top 10 third-party apps every new iPad owner should download.

When it comes to Apple hardware and software, there is no better team of experts than the writers and editors at Macworld, the world's foremost authority on everything Apple.

iTunes link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/ipad-2-starter-guide/id429336326?mt=11

Apple Reveals Big Plans to Integrate Projectors into iOS Devices

From Patently Apple:

http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2011/08/apple-reveals-big-plans-to-integrate-projectors-into-ios-devices.html

Macworld's Education App Reviews

http://www.macworld.com/appguide/browse.html?cat=Education

Templates for Keynote Pro App

Check out this app for more templates in Keynote for iOS:

iTunes link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/templates-for-keynote-pro/id442970576?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Developer Site:
http://emendo-media.com/

Maclife Review:
http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/templates_keynote_pro_review

How To Manage Address Groups in iOS

Check out this article from MacLife:

http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_manage_address_groups_ios

Florida School Will be Giving Students iPads Instead of Textbooks This Year

From idownloadblog.com:

Typically, gadgets are frowned on by teachers and affiliated staff (or as I like to call them, education enforcers). But that doesn’t seem to be the case at Lake Minneola High School in Lake County Florida.

According to the SunSentinel, Lake Minneola will be the first public school in Central Florida to purchase an iPad for every student. The move is part of a state pilot program designed to save money on textbooks, and offer a new approach to education…

Administrators used capital funding to pay for the 1,750 iPads, which costs nearly $700,000. The school must report the costs and savings associated with the program at the end of the year, as well as how the tablets improved student learning.

Teachers have already begun planning lessons on the slates, with a slue of educational apps and iBook-formated textbooks. Educators are especially excited about the iPad’s ability to quiz students running specialized software, and calculate classroom results within seconds.

The whole state of Florida will undoubtedly be watching the progress of the high school, as all Florida public schools are expected to completely adopt digital instruction materials by 2015. Teachers, students, and even parents seem to be excited about the digital transition:

“I think it’s great as far as the technology side,” said Lori Sokoloski, whose two sons will get iPads in the fall. “I think they’re more apt to go on the iPad and learn than to open a textbook.”

To be honest, the iPad does present itself as a remarkable learning tool. Unlike a computer, an iPad is easy to pick up and start using, and rarely displays off-putting error messages. It’ll be really interesting to see the effects it has on the student’s grades.

Digital cameras predicted to be the next casualty of smartphones and iPads

Check out this article from AppleInsider:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/07/29/digital_cameras_predicted_to_be_the_next_casualty_of_smartphones_and_ipads.html

Brand new "iOS 4 Education Deployment Guide" PDF now available!

http://images.apple.com/education/docs/20110727_IOS_4_Education_Deployment_Guide.pdf

North Carolina town buys Apple iPads to save taxpayers’ money

From Macdailynews:

“While Apple started selling iPads to the public only 15 months ago, the 1.5-pound tablet computers seem well on their way toward ubiquity. This year, Alaska Airlines began issuing them to pilots to replace the 25 pounds of paper flight manuals they were required to carry on flights,” Timothy Williams reports for The New York Times. “Now, Cornelius, N.C., with a population of about 25,000, has stopped printing meeting agenda packages for town commissioners and has given them iPads instead.”

Anthony Roberts, the town manager (with Bence Hoyle, the police chief), discusses:

Q: Why use iPads for your agendas?

A: The short version is, unlike a lot of governments, we try to operate as much as a business as possible. At the end of the day, when you are printing agendas around 200 pages apiece and after the meeting they go into the recycling bin, you say, “Why are we doing it like this?” We have to run 20 agendas at 200 pages per agenda. That’s 4,000 pages just on that one, and that’s not including the time to put it together. And you usually don’t get it right the first time because everything changes. I would think it takes over eight hours per packet.

(Chief Hoyle cuts in) And the Police Department would actually deliver it to the board members to make sure they got it and had time to study it.

(Mr. Roberts continues) We see it as a money-saving measure. We see it as saving our taxpayers money.

iOS Keynote Tip

In Keynote, when editing a slide, quickly pinch open over the slide to switch the view from Fit in screen to Full Screen view.

iOS 5 to allow AirPort, Time Capsule configuration

From MacNN:

The completed version of iOS 5 should allow people to configure AirPort and Time Capsule routers without having to go through a desktop or notebook, a series of images from an AppleInsider reader show. Within the firmware's Wi-Fi Networks menu, located under Settings, a new "Set up an AirPort Base Station" option is present, listing any AirPort or Time Capsule peripherals in the immediate area. Tapping this prompts users to either create a new network or "Do something different."...

The iPad's incredible effect on the PC industry is only beginning

From TUAW:

We already know based on Apple's latest quarterly earnings report that the iPad is pretty much eating the PC industry's lunch. Writing for Forbes, Bob Evans points out that as impressive as the iPad's effect on the industry has been thus far, we've only begun to see the sea change Apple's tablet device is triggering.

Evans offers five reasons why the iPad seems to be taking over the industry, and in each case he believes the iPad's real disruptive potential has yet to be realized. First, he repeats Apple COO Tim Cook's remarks from the last financial call, where he stated that while Apple was seeing slight cannibalization of Mac sales because of the iPad, the effect was relatively small compared to the devastation present in the rest of the PC industry. Mac sales were up 14 percent last quarter, but growth in the rest of the industry is a far smaller 2.6 percent.

It's not just everyday consumers driving the iPad's growth, either. Multiple studies have come out showing how eagerly businesses are adopting the iPad for enterprise applications, and the recent launch of Apple's B2B volume purchasing program is likely to drive even greater adoption of the iOS platform. As Evans points out, part of the reason enterprise adoption of the iPad is so high is that businesses are finding uses for the device that Apple never expected.

Apple's retail stores are another reason Evans offers for the iPad's success. Apple Stores arguably made the Mac, iPod, and iPhone more successful than they would have been otherwise, and it's no stretch to say the same is true of the iPad.

Perhaps the most important predictor of the iPad's future success is iPad use by children. Young kids in particular are growing up in a world where touchscreen tablets are a fact of life. I grew up with the Apple II already part of the toolset in my kindergarten, so it's almost impossible for me to comprehend a world without personal computers. Will today's kindergarteners feel the same way about hardware like the iPad? It's entirely possible.

As Evans says, the iPad has been on the market for less than a year and a half. We're only seeing the beginning of its effects on the industry. Think back to the mid-80s, when the Mac first came out, and consider how long it took before GUI-based computers became a home appliance every bit as "necessary" as the T.V. Or think back to the early 2000s, and how many years it took before the iPod supplanted both CD players and other mp3 players as the king of the portable music player industry. The iPad has already had a huge impact, but it's only the beginning.

By Chris Rawson
Jul 27th 2011 at 1:30AM 

An Education Accessibility Seminar

An Education Accessibility Seminar
Thursday, August 11th
Westchester Institute for Human Development
Cedarwood Hall
Valhalla, NY 10595

The Apple Education Accessibility Seminar for K-12 gives education leaders the opportunity to experience the many features built into Mac, iPod, and iPad devices that accommodate special needs students.

Every Mac comes equipped with dozens of assistive technologies, and now with the development of universal access features for iPod, iPhone, and iPad, Apple is taking these technologies - and the opportunities for all learners to succeed - to a new level.   See the ease of use and quick customization for individual needs and learning styles. Explore how you can stretch your dollars and accommodate the needs of more students.

Presenters:

David Niemeijer, founder and CEO of AssistiveWare, will showcase Proloquo2Go and various products for special needs students.

Sarah Herrlinger, Senior Manager, Apple Education, will examine how accessibility features can be used to address the needs of those with sensory, learning and other disabilities.

Who Should Attend?
Administrators, Special Needs Personnel, Technology Directors, IDEA Coordinators, Teachers and Parents.

To Register:
Please go to  http://edseminars.apple.com/event/5015

Check out Macworld's guide to Google apps:

http://www.macworld.com/appguide/browse.html?collection=8986

How to Access Your Dropbox Account in iWork for iOS

An interesting article from Maclife, although you'd have to pay $5 a month to do it...

http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_access_your_dropbox_account_iwork_ios

Best Case Scenario: Smart Cases for your Smart Cover

Got a Smart Cover? Check out this article:

http://www.maclife.com/article/columns/best_case_scenario_smart_cases_your_smart_cover

How To Get Photos or Videos Back On Your iPad Camera Roll

Check out this article from MacLife:

http://www.maclife.com/article/news/how_get_photos_or_videos_back_your_ipad_camera_roll

How to Print from iOS Devices Directly to Dropbox

Check out this article from Maclife:

http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_print_ios_devices_directly_dropbox

Developer Website:
http://www.ecamm.com/mac/printopia/

Sign Of The Times: iPad Now Bigger Than The Mac

From MacLife:

You’ve probably heard by now that Apple Inc. had another boffo quarter, with plenty of facts and figures to prove it -- not to mention record revenue of $28.57 billion. But one of the most interesting numbers shows how the iPad has overtaken the Mac in less than a year and a half.

SplatF has posted an interesting analysis of one key component of Apple’s Q3 2011 financials on Tuesday: The company’s iPad, which is less than a year and a half old, has already passed Apple’s 27-year-old Mac business in revenue.

In the last three months, the company sold 9.2 million iPads, racking up $6 billion in revenue. By comparison, Apple sold 3.9 million Macs and “only” made $6.1 billion in revenue. “Apple even admitted that some of the iPad’s success was at the Mac’s expense,” comments Dan Frommer.

”We do believe that some customers chose to purchase an iPad instead of a new Mac during the quarter, but we also believe that even more customers chose to purchase an iPad over a Windows PC,” explained Apple COO Tim Cook during Tuesday’s financial report with analysts.

Posted 07/20/2011 at 5:46am | by J.R. Bookwalter 

(Image courtesy of SplatF with Dan Frommer)

How and Where to Rent E-textbooks

Check out this article on Maclife:

http://www.maclife.com/article/features/how_and_where_rent_etextbooks

Rumor: Apple May Buy Barnes & Noble

From MacLife:

BGR reports that an "unproven source" delivered a tip that Apple is considering buying Barnes & Noble for approximately $1.5 billion. Interesting idea, as Apple could absorb B&N's vast ebook library into iBooks, and possibly convert several of the retail stores into new Apple stores.

Apple certainly has the money, could this be one of the "strategic opportunities" Steve Jobs was alluding to? A move like this makes a lot of sense and would tie in nicely with growing the iBooks platform, particularly if it would expand the capabilities to buy and rent textbooks.

Again, BGR makes it clear that the source is unproven, but is allegedly someone claiming to have knowledge of discussions within Apple regarding this deal.

Posted 07/29/2011 at 1:48pm | by Adrian Hoppel 

InClass App

An app for students, InClass aims to be a universal go-to app for high school and college kids. Featuring a calendar, assignments with classes attached, also viewable from the calendar, an in-app notetaking tool with built-in voice recorder, InClass may very well be the right fit for many students who don't want to bother with three or four separate apps.

There's a Backup feature for InClass which will allow you to pack up your data and move it to another device, as the app is available for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Take a look at the demo below.

iTunes Link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inclass/id374986430?mt=8

Developer Website:
http://www.inclassapp.com/

Demo:
http://video.aol.com/aolvideo/tuaw/tuaw-app-demo-inclass/1042620242001

The iPad's incredible effect on the PC industry is only beginning

From TUAW

We already know based on Apple's latest quarterly earnings report that the iPad is pretty much eating the PC industry's lunch. Writing for Forbes, Bob Evans points out that as impressive as the iPad's effect on the industry has been thus far, we've only begun to see the sea change Apple's tablet device is triggering.

Evans offers five reasons why the iPad seems to be taking over the industry, and in each case he believes the iPad's real disruptive potential has yet to be realized. First, he repeats Apple COO Tim Cook's remarks from the last financial call, where he stated that while Apple was seeing slight cannibalization of Mac sales because of the iPad, the effect was relatively small compared to the devastation present in the rest of the PC industry. Mac sales were up 14 percent last quarter, but growth in the rest of the industry is a far smaller 2.6 percent.

It's not just everyday consumers driving the iPad's growth, either. Multiple studies have come out showing how eagerly businesses are adopting the iPad for enterprise applications, and the recent launch of Apple's B2B volume purchasing program is likely to drive even greater adoption of the iOS platform. As Evans points out, part of the reason enterprise adoption of the iPad is so high is that businesses are finding uses for the device that Apple never expected.

Apple's retail stores are another reason Evans offers for the iPad's success. Apple Stores arguably made the Mac, iPod, and iPhone more successful than they would have been otherwise, and it's no stretch to say the same is true of the iPad.

Perhaps the most important predictor of the iPad's future success is iPad use by children. Young kids in particular are growing up in a world where touchscreen tablets are a fact of life. I grew up with the Apple II already part of the toolset in my kindergarten, so it's almost impossible for me to comprehend a world without personal computers. Will today's kindergarteners feel the same way about hardware like the iPad? It's entirely possible.

As Evans says, the iPad has been on the market for less than a year and a half. We're only seeing the beginning of its effects on the industry. Think back to the mid-80s, when the Mac first came out, and consider how long it took before GUI-based computers became a home appliance every bit as "necessary" as the T.V. Or think back to the early 2000s, and how many years it took before the iPod supplanted both CD players and other mp3 players as the king of the portable music player industry. The iPad has already had a huge impact, but it's only the beginning.

By Chris Rawson
Jul 27th 2011 at 1:30AM 

Google updates its search page for the iPad

From TUAW:

Google is rolling out an update to its google.com search page that'll make it even more tablet-friendly. Text, buttons and other page elements are now slightly bigger and easy to touch with those big, fat fingers. Like it or not, the page now shares that Google+ look as well. The improved interface is available for the iPad and Android 3.1 tablets across 36 different languages. It's a rolling update so if you don't see it at first, keep checking back.

By Kelly Hodgkins
Jul 29th 2011 at 5:00PM

Apple’s App Store Downloads Top 15 Billion

From Apple press info:

CUPERTINO, California—July 7, 2011—Apple® today announced that over 15 billion apps have been downloaded from its revolutionary App Store™ by the more than 200 million iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch® users worldwide. The App Store offers more than 425,000 apps and developers have created an incredible array of over 100,000 native iPad apps.

“In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads.”

“We sparked musical magic when iPhone users experienced Ocarina three years ago,” said Dr. Ge Wang, a Smule co-founder and assistant professor at Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. “And now with iPad, we’ve created the Magic Piano and Magic Fiddle apps. Who could’ve dreamt an iPad would make its way into the San Francisco Symphony?”

“iPad provides us with an unparalleled mobile device for creating gorgeous, immersive games,” said Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder of Epic Games. “Infinity Blade has been a runaway hit with customers around the world and we couldn’t be more excited about our success on iOS devices.”

“We’re bringing Martha Stewart, Angelina Ballerina, Sesame Street and many more of the world’s most popular books and magazines to iPad,” said Nicholas Callaway, CEO of Callaway Digital Arts. “We knew the iPad was going to be a revolutionary storytelling device, but never could have anticipated it would become so popular, so quickly.” 

More than 15 billion apps have been downloaded from the revolutionary App Store and more than 425,000 apps are available, including more than 100,000 native iPad apps, to consumers in 90 countries. Users of the more than 200 million iOS devices around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, education, sports, health, reference and travel. Apple has paid developers over $2.5 billion to date.

Singapore to hand out iPads to its soldiers

The Defence Ministry of Singapore said on Monday that it will be issuing 8,000 iPads to new recruits this year. Armed with the iPad, new soldiers will be able to snap photos and videos of the battlefield which can be uploaded to a central database. They can also communicate with officers and other soldiers via messaging. The Singapore Armed Forces wants to expand the iPad's capabilities and is working with private contractors to create secure apps for military use. The iPad program begins this year with new recruits and will extend to other soldiers next year.

This is not the first example of militaries using the iPad. U.S. Marine Corp aviators recently replaced their paper-based navigation system with one driven by the iPad and the Army is working on its own secure App Store. In the UK, soldiers are using the iPad to train for combat before their deployment for Afghanistan. The Army App Store is work in progress, while the USMC and UK programs are considered a success by their respective military units.

By Kelly Hodgkins
Jun 27th 2011 at 10:00AM 

MARYSVILLE -- Students in David Cort's fourth-grade class finished their school year having successfully built an iPhone app together.

From HeraldNet.com:

The Marysville Cooperative Education Program fourth-graders call themselves "Mr. Cort's Cogitators." The class of 24 students worked on collections of their original writing throughout the year to include in the app, "We Love Writing!" "App" is shorthand for application, or a program for smartphones.

Each student wrote thesis statements, bulleted main ideas and revised drafts of the personal narratives, expository essays, fiction, nonfiction and fantasy pieces they chose to include as part of the app. Their original stories and illustrations were scanned onto a computer and their voices were recorded as they read their stories. Cort, who is also an app developer, worked on building the app's codes. 

The project took a lot of work to finish, said Montana Vanover, 10. Knowing more people would read it made her work even harder on her writing.

"It made me want to revise and edit a lot more knowing that not just classmates and people I know would be looking at it, but people from all over the world would actually be reading it," she said.

Users of the app can choose from a menu of student stories and read text written in the students' handwriting. They can also listen to students read their own stories. The "We Love Writing!" app costs $4.99 and became available through the iTunes store last week. Proceeds from the sale of the app will be given to the school.

About two apps are sold a day, Cort said, and it has been purchased in England and The Netherlands.

Cort brought up the idea of designing a class app to his students at the beginning of the school year. This is the first time his students have helped him create an app. His students listened intently Thursday morning as he shared fan mail and the first review of the app.

"It's a new experience for them," Cort said. "We've been pushing and pushing to get it done."

Mackenzie Konsor wrote "Pacific Ocean," about a trip she and her family took several years ago. Working on the piece helped her learn to use vivid details when she writes, she said. In her narrative, Mackenzie, 10, described the rocks that she found on the beach and a trick she played on her mom.

"She told me I could only have as many rocks as five but I stuffed some of my favorite rocks in my pants pocket," she said. 

Mackenzie's story is funny, said her classmate, Hailey Oaks. She wrote a fictional story about a missing girl found in a treasure chest. Hailey, 10, said she didn't like hearing her voice on the app.

"I think I sound like a 4-year-old preschooler when I read my story," she said. "It sounds cooler in my head."

Her family downloaded the app to their iPod, said Kate Michal, 10. Her younger sister enjoys listening to the stories.

"She really, really loves the app," Kate said. "She can click the 'Listen' button and have the stories read to her."

The app project was a good way to engage students, regardless of their skill level, said Kate's mother, Kristen Michal. 

"All of them have had a lot of fun doing this," she said. "The stories are hysterical. It's so fun to see what fourth-graders are thinking about."

Find the app

The "We Love Writing!" app created by David Cort's fourth-grade class costs $4.99 and is available through the iTunes store. Search for "We Love Writing!" or "FizzBrain" to locate the app, see a description and view several screenshots. The app works on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.

Getting Started with Apple iOS devices: (PDF)

http://images.apple.com/education/docs/Getting_Started_with_Apple_iOS_Devices_20110331.pdf

Mac OS X Lion With 250 New Features Available in July From Mac App Store

Apple's official Lion press release:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/06/06lion.html

OSX Lion website:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/

New Version of iOS Includes Notification Center, iMessage, Newsstand, Twitter Integration Among 200 New Features

Apple's official iOS 5 press release:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/06/06ios.html

Apple Introduces iCloud

Apple's official press release on iCloud:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/06/06icloud.html

Stillwater teacher Susan O'Malley hopes iPads will improve students' reading skills

From The Troy Record (TroyRecord.com):

STILLWATER — In the midst of a tight budget crunch, the Stillwater school district has tapped into private funds to support bringing the latest technology into the classroom for some of its youngest students.

Each of the district’s first grade classrooms is being outfitted with five Apple iPads. The devices will not only allow teachers to tap into a host of computer related educational tools, but also have the capacity to be updated as more resources become available.

The use of the iPads in the classroom, the brainchild of first grade teacher Susan O'Malley, is expected to spark the youngsters to explore learning in ways never before thought possible. “Providing a cluster of iPads to each of our classrooms will enable us to expose more kids to the technology,” O'Malley said. “We anticipate that each of our students get to use the iPad once or twice a day.”

O'Malley obtained the iPads after her grant proposal titled “Love of Learning Through iPads” was approved by the locally-based Stillwater Educational Foundation, a group comprised of community residents who raise funds for innovative educational programming in the Stillwater school district.

The plan for using the iPads includes a focus on improving the literacy and reading skills of first graders. Stillwater's first grade curriculum already includes the Daily Five Literacy Program, which tackles literacy from several different directions including writing, listening, word work, reading to oneself and reading to a partner.

Literacy has long been considered a crucial skill which must be mastered if students are to be successful over the long haul and the Stillwater district has made it a central focus of its curriculum throughout all grade levels. The use of iPads will make it possible for the young readers to take advantage of hands-on technology. O'Malley has expressed some hope that the latest devices will help motivate those children who are struggling to learn important concepts. She also believes the new touch screen iPads may have the effect of encouraging independent learning.

“I'm so thankful to the Educational Foundation,” O'Malley said. “They truly go above and beyond to support student achievement, dependent on our needs. If this program is successful at the first grade level, there is potential is could grow.”

By Jamie D. Gilkey
Special to The Record

Five ways readers are using iPads in the classroom

eSN readers discuss their experiences using the iPad with their students:

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/05/27/five-ways-readers-are-using-ipads-in-the-classroom/?

Survey highlights changing teacher opinions on ed tech

Survey results show that educators are becoming more technology-savvy:

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/05/10/survey-highlights-changing-teacher-opinions-on-ed-tech/