Fresh off a 12 day trip to Europe where my research team presented a paper at the SSSR 2010 Conference, I wanted to share the different iPad apps I traveled with. I loaded the device with a variety of apps and media that I hoped would allow me to be productive during the trip. It was my hope to use the iPad the entire time in place of the MacBook Air I normally rely on during travel. In the interest of full disclosure, I did have the Air with me. (Hey, you ALWAYS need to have a back-up plan!) Also important to note, while I did use a 3G model during the trip, the AT&T data service is not accessible in Europe, which limited the availability of some apps at certain times.
My iPad strategy for this trip was to use the iPad for both Creation and Consumption purposes. I really wanted to try to be productive during the 6-7 hours of both flights, not just spend the time watching movies and listening to music. I also wanted to diligently eliminate all that paper-based clutter (and weight) from my satchel, i.e., take text files with me rather than carry books, magazines, paper copies of articles and printed PDFs.
I’ve created a Google spreadsheet to share direct links to the iTunes App Store of all the apps I will share. The spreadsheet also includes a brief overview of the ways I find myself using each app and the cost of the app. This time around, I really tried to keep things free, but I did decide to try a few Paid apps. Currently, I have around $12 – $15 invested in the apps that will be showcasing. This post, we’ll focus on the apps I targeted for CONTENT CREATION.
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App Title: TumbleBooks ToGo Munsch 6-Pack
Grade Level: Pre-K – Grade 3
Description:
At the heart of early literacy experience is the storybook, which marks the young children’s entrée into literacy around the world. Its powerful role in literacy development is well documented in family literacy and early education. A staple of the bedtime (or nap) routine, the storybook shared between adult and child mediates what Don Holdaway referred to as an emerging literacy set: high expectations of print; models of book language; familiarity with written symbols; print conventions; listening skills; and de-contextualizing abilities (e.g., imaging) (Holdaway, 1979). Substantial research supports the claim that storybook reading prepares children for the learn-to-read process (Bus, 2001).
Roskos, K., & Brueck, J. (2009). The eBook as a Learning Object in an Online World. In A. Bus & S. Neuman (Eds.), Multimedia and Literacy Development (77-88). New York: Routeledge.
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And as a tech director, I am concerned that no one at Apple seems to have a good answer about managing sets of these devices. “The iPad is designed for end-user management” was the rather glib response we received from our local Apple rep. Buying software requires buying an iTunes gift card if one wants to use a PO. No attention that I can find has been given to educational licensing of any “apps” for the thing. Sigh…
I found the last paragraph of this excellent post by Doug Johnson to be particularly interesting. The management of a classroom set of iDevices has been a subject of discussion at the I Education Apps Review Ning for some time now. See the Forums titled “Management of iPod Touch,” “Organizing Apps on Multiple Touches” and “Can we finalize the discussion on licensing for multiple touch devices for schools?”
There seems to be a general lack of interest by Apple in helping educators unleash the full potential of the devices. I have personally reached out to an Apple exec who I met at METC 2010 on multiple occasions and received no follow-up reply. Yes, I’m talking about you, Mr. Morrie Reece (reece@apple.com), Apple’s Senior Education Development Executive. Was it all an act when you excitedly snapped pictures of my jailbroken Touch running Screensplitr & DemoGod as I explained how I needed to mirror Touch apps on my local computer for use at conference presentations and for creating screencasts for professional development and training purposes?
Posted via web from brueckj23’s posterous
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I’ve had the iPad for three days now and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the device. One part of me is totally in love with the device. Another though can’t help but feel a little unsatisfied. As of now, I’m planning to write a proper review after my first full week using the iPad.
Today, I’ve decided to focus instead on a short post using the WordPress app for iPad. Download and set-up of the app, which is free, was really simple. If you already have an existing WordPress blog, you simply enter the URL and your log-in credentials and you are ready to go. By default, the 25 most current posts load into the app.
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I Education Apps Review (IEAR) is looking for dedicated educational bloggers to contribute monthly reviews of current educational apps available in the iTunes store. Additionally, IEAR is interested in having blog posts regarding classroom uses of iPhones, Touches, or iPads contributed regularly.
If you are a passionate classroom teacher or administrator who would like to share your thoughts, ideas and insights into how iPhone/ iPod Touch / iPad applications can be used in the classroom setting, join our online community (
http://ieducationappsreview.ning.com/) and begin to share what you are doing (or want to do) in your classroom with iPhone, Touch, and iPad apps!
If you are interested in signing up to become an IEAR blogger/reviewer, look over the complete details below.
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