I am making two exceptions with this post. I don’t normally cover k-12 (too large an area and too different from post-secondary education), and I don’t normally steal Richard Elliott’s thunder, but this item is so good I had to comment on it.
Richard Elliott’s monthly e-Learning Watch is always chock full of links to interesting e-learning sites and his latest is no exception. In this edition he directs us to the Victoria Government’s iPads for Learning web site, which is terrific, for a number of reasons.
First it has listed some of the educational affordances of iPads, most of which would apply to post-secondary education as well as schools.
Second it has produced a very pragmatic online handbook for planning, preparing, implementing and evaluation programs using iPads
Third it has suggestions for specific uses in the classroom by teachers.
Fourth it has a one-stop shop for a whole range of educational apps for the school sector, including reviews (although this is one feature that does not transfer quite so well to post-secondary education).
Lastly, it’s an easy-to-navigate, well-designed web site. (I particularly liked the video on the Animalia iPad app – definitely on my Christmas present list for my grandkids. Some of their photos of kids using the iPad – such as the one at the head of this post – are also excellent)
Above all, it constantly focuses on what learners can do.
If you’re hesitating about using an iPad in your teaching go to this site – it will convince you. All you need is a little imagination to transfer this to a post-secondary education context.
Dr. Tony Bates is the author of eleven books in the field of online learning and distance education. He has provided consulting services specializing in training in the planning and management of online learning and distance education, working with over 40 organizations in 25 countries. Tony is a Research Associate with Contact North | Contact Nord, Ontario’s Distance Education & Training Network.
Thanks for sharing, Tony! I really enjoy integrating higher technologies in a classical education process. Now we use Twitter, Facebook, iPads and iPhones in our class and distantly, and it yields great results! And I do not understand orthodox teachers, who prohibit children to use social media or innovative devices in education! It’s not right, I think!