Wednesday, September 12, 2012

How to Use the Ipad in Class

I have been using the Ipad in my classes for the last year and now can not live without it. Here are some ways to use the Ipad in class:

  1. For your lecture notes: you can download Dropbox or use the Apple Cloud to upload all of the notes you need for class. What is great about this is you can also easily share the notes with students via email.
  2. For grading and attendance: download Engrade, a free classroom management system. I use it for grading and attendance. You will have to input your students by name and ID but once that's done it is easy to use.
  3. For networking with students: download Twitter or Facebook and you can interact with your students at any time. I have a class Facebook page and a Twitter account that I use.
  4. For creativity: download Pinterest and have your students create Mood boards specific to the theme or topic. My students love this! I also use Ibook to upload books we are reading so I can easily go to a specific paragraph in class.
  5. For productivity: download apps such as CaptureNotes which allows you create notebooks that can be used in class for informational purpose. If you have second language speakers, try Word Lens which allows capture of any text (even on the board) and in one simple click it translates it to any language. Diigo lets you bookmark articles, images, etc. that you would like to read and saves them in different files.
  6. For viewing: Ipads can be hooked up via adaptors to some computers in the school; you will have to check first. There is a great software named VNC Viewer which actually allows you to use your Ipad as a type of mouse with the main computer in the room; this allows the teacher to move through the room while using the computer on screen.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Ellen, you are way ahead of me! I'm just getting started. But your 'list' of things you are already doing is most encouraging! Thanks.

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  2. Ellen, did you get a stylus with CaptureNotes or does it have to be purchased separately? Does anyone use Noteledge for Ipad? I am looking for a good program to write.

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  3. I wrote a whole paragragh but it disappeared. But I have been looking at apps and have used them for review in the clinical area.I found a bag to keep my ipad in while I am in the hospital. I paid five dollars for it in the Five and Under Store. It is a sac with a zipper keeps my bag clean and safe. It stays on me all the time. I downloaded some apps for NCLEX review which I hooked up to the classroom projector and it was very easy to use named Pediatric Nursing in a Flash cost $2.99. Students liked the review after my lecture. I also went to course smart and was allowed to download our text books so now I carry it on my ipad especially when I need to look over the information with the students in the hospital. It is easy and convenient. Students like the technology it seems to mesmorize them into becoming more involved with their learning. This is the 2nd post I do not know what happened to my first one. We do not have our nursing sections listed.
    JoAnne Diamantidis Associate Professor Nursing

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  4. I have been sampling several Note-taking Apps. I was hoping to find one that allows me to use the stylus to hand-write, display math formulas, and doodle. With SketchPad Lite the handwriting is not smooth, it looks unnatural due to the rigid geometric lines. Bamboo Paper and Notebook have a really nice interface for selecting pen width, pen and highlighter colors. They both offer lined note paper and I can use the stylus to create lines that are natural-looking with smoothed curves. I was able to use them like a SmartBoard to write colorful symbols and mathematical formulas. The major problem I have when using the Stylus to write, is that sometimes after writing something the words get erased. I believe this is happening because I am lefty. Maybe my hand is dragging over some hidden buttons that are in the upper left of the screen or maybe the dragging simulates some gesture that erases. So I was wondering if anyone else out there has had this same problem with these Apps. And if so, are you lefty or righty?

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