Are There Educational Appls For My Learners?

This week in my graduate course we are exploring applications that can be used in the classroom with students.  At this time I have downloaded a number of applications to my student iPads for my students to use and explore, but I have yet to create any significant lessons or activities around any particular application.  My hope is that at the end of this assignment I will have a few ideas of how I can do just that and a list of ten easy to integrate and use STEM applications for iPads (and middle school students).  

During the 2012 - 2013 school year I used the iPads with my students as much as I could, which was still not as frequently as they should have been used.  First, I did not have an Apple ID or the ability to download applications until January (half way through the school year).  Second, I was limited on time when it came to exploring and previewing applications for the classroom (content and safety) and then cloning my iPads (we are talking at least 8 hours of work.)  So ultimately I found a few applications that I felt were appropriate for my classroom, cloned the iPads, and then created an opportunity for the students to explore and play.  During the second semester I created rotating STEM centers for my students to participate in when we were between units.  These centers (click here to read all about them in a previous post) allow the students the opportunity to explore ANYTHING related to STEM.  For the Game On! center the students can sign out an iPad and play/explore with any of the applications on the iPad.  Normally I like to have more structure to an activity, but by allowing the students the freedom on the iPads I was able to observe what they used the most and what they liked about the different applications.  This way I will be able to determine what I can turn into a lesson activity and what I may want to remove all together from my iPads.  

As for my thoughts on iPads in the classroom...
I recently took a class called iPads in Education and read a variety of interesting articles (they were not journals and were not based on research).  Many of these articles slammed the iPad as a classroom tool, labeling it as a distraction from learning.  One article in particular compared it to a hammer.  They said that the iPad is no more valuable than a hammer (a very expensive hammer).  To that I responded with my students' thoughts.  I asked my students (since we were learning about simple machines) if they would rather look at a picture of a hammer or be given one and sent out to fix some things in the courtyard and report back on what worked and didn't work with a hammer.  My 7th graders immediately wanted the hammers.  Now if I were just laying the hammers on the tables for the students to pick up and look at (a visual aid) or allowing them to hit stuff with no educational meaning, then they serve little purpose.  Just like an iPad is not serving a significant purpose in a classroom where it is used only to search the Internet.  However, when a teacher uses the iPad to ENGAGE learners with MEANINGFUL activities and CONTENT driven by the Common Core, the iPad becomes a very valuable tool.  While technology will continue to change and the needs of our students will adjust, in today's classroom there is definitely room for the iPad.  Anytime our students are actively engaged in important content and taking ownership of their learning, it is a very good day!