iPads in Education

[Fred Bartels]

This is a discussion to share ideas and questions about using the iPad in schools. 

To get things started here are few questions.

Has anyone heard anything from Apple about ways to easily allow multiple purchases and easy distribution of iPad apps? 

What about imaging iPads?

(Maybe these questions have already been addressed at schools using sets of iPod Touches?)

Are there are any web sites out there devoted to exploring how to using iPads in education?

Looking forward to lively discussions on this topic.

Fred

[Fred Bartels]

Great news that lynda.com is now offering an iPad programming course. I've been working hard this summer to develop my knowledge of iPhone programming. Looking forward to developing a community of practice with other educators and students working on iOS programming.

http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=65722&utm_sou...

[Anne Bedrick]

Just read about and downloaded Flipboard to the iPad that I am borrowing for the summer. It has a lot of great potential. I especially like twitter via flipboard. http://www.flipboard.com/

[Page Lennig]

As of yesterday, we have editing GoogleDocs on the iPad. Though it is pretty bare-bones editing (no formatting tools), it is a start. I have really started to use the ipad for everyday use and am starting to see a benefit for older students (Middle and High School) to have these in their backpacks (instead of full laptops). I see Evernote, Dropbox, GoogleApps, ibooks, and WritePad as an essential core of productivity apps for students. It's a powerful tool. I am just starting to get more people interested in taking one for a test drive.

[Karl Schaefer]

Page,
I agree that the Google Docs editing is pretty limited but am hopeful it will continue to grow. I love Evernote, Dropbox, and while I do not love the iBook app over the Kindle, I do like how I can drop PDFs into the iBook app for reading. I have not tried this with Kindle so maybe I can do that as well but thought there was a charge to send PDFs. We are piloting a few iPads here and had not heard of WritePad so will take a look.

[Tim Cooper]

I like Evernote and drop box is useful. I think iAnnotate and Sundry Notes might be two apps I would stick in that mix. I have not had great success with Writepad, but I am wondering if I really need to convert my handwriting if the docs are tagged or findable enough. Coursenotes might have some possibilities.
For ereaders, I think the Nook might take off. B & N have been in the textbook business forever and through their studyguides and extras available on the computer side, I think they will bring more functionality to the ipad app.
I wonder if we could really wrap kids heads around Evernote or one of the similar programs, that this might be a game changing paradigm in education. In some ways, it is the most logical way to pour digital stuff into an organized framework, in other ways, it is daunting. Also, the iPad needs a camera, though I just use my iPhone and my pics just fall into the right Evernote notebook.

[Fred Bartels]

Has anyone figured out how to do 'in app' purchases via the volume purchasing program?

We've got the regular app purchasing process nailed but ran into this snag today. I didn't see any options on the VPP site but perhaps it is there somewhere.

Thanks,

Fred

[Matt Montagne]

Hey Fred,

I was intrigued by the volume purchasing plan earlier this fall, but after some investigation it didn't look like we'd be able to make most volume minimums for it to be worthwhile (we have 16 teachers who are piloting the use of iPads for their own personal use).

Instead we purchased iTunes $75 worth of iTunes gift cards for each participant in the group...this approach and the dollar amount seems to be working reasonably well for the participants in our group.

Regards,
Matt

[Fred Bartels]

Matt,

Right, that works. Thanks. :-)

Overfocused on one way of doing something.

Matt, Did you figure out a way to purchase the gift cards without paying tax?

Fred

[Fred Bartels]

Wondering if anyone has found a solution they like for quickly updating multiple iPads from one computer. Does using a USB hub speed up the process?

[Jim Heynderickx]

Thoughtful iPad entry over at Kassblog:  http://www.kassblog.com/2010/12/ipad-finding-the-grey/

 

Meanwhile, it's hard not to notice that the 11 inch Macbook airs are not much larger or heavier than an iPad.  I wonder if 130 would hold up in the hands of 8th graders without protective cases...

[Fred Bartels]

I'm having a problem when trying to sync a bunch of iPads to a single computer. I'm getting the message saying each iPad will use one of the 5 computers that can share the content of the iTunes account. Has anyone synced a bunch of iPads to one computer recently? If so can you share how you avoided the 5 computer thing.

 

Thanks,  Fred

[Pete Smith]

We thought about it, but we have so many that it is simply overwhelming.  The mass sync could work with the hardware, but I have been warned that the computer simply can't handle the idea of so many pads at one time.  The 5 machine max problem remains a problem.  The Cedars School in Scotland is another 1 to 1 program on a smaller scale than ours which manages their iPads using multiple computers with several different itunes accounts which is a way around it.  However, they do not have a bulk app distribution program yet and their rules about "distribution" are different than in the states.

Pete