A Useful Speech Impediment Aid

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/verbally-turns-ipad-speech-impediment-aid-disabled/

Verbally – Turn the iPad Into A Useful Speech Impediment Aid For The Disabled

This is an article that talks about a new free app called verbally that is for people with special needs.  This app can be used for people who have muscular dystrophy, apraxia, stroke victims and even ESL students.  The app has preloaded words and phrases that you can press and it says it aloud.  You can also type your own phrase or word and even add the preloaded words and phrases in with it.  When you want it to read your phrase, it will ask you if you want a girl or boy voice.  You cannot personalize the app which is a drawback but for a free app it seems very functional.  The app has a prediction feature which allows you to add your contacts and other personal information to create more accurate predictions.  It also includes a repeat button and a button that when pressed the words are spoken as you type.  The most useful feature could be the button that makes a chiming sound.  When somebody is not able to talk it gets others attention for them.  Overall I think this is an awesome app that can help many people.

The iPad for Teachers

http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=67&entryid=533

The iPad for Administrators and Teachers by Vicki Windman

This is a blog that is different from the others I have looked at.  Instead of just how the iPad can improve students learning it tells us how the iPad can benefit the teacher.  There are many functions that the iPad can assist with including a grade book app and even a plan book app.  The teacher can make lesson plans on the iPad and add links to webpages and assignments.  They can use the grade book to track students’ attendance and grades.  There are other apps that enable you to read a pdfs.  You can use sticky notes to take notes and there is an app that lets you read and edit Google documents.  Another interesting app that the author talked about is the teacher assistant app that lets you track students behavior and other noteworthy things about the student.

I like how this website told what the teacher can use the iPad for in the classroom.  I would find having an iPad very useful when keeping track of student information such as grades and attendance.  I also think it would be great to make all your lessons using the iPad as your plan book.  It would keep everything in one place and easy to find and could be synced to a desktop computer. 

The iPad

http://www.ipadinschools.com/338/ipad-changing-schools/

The iPad is Changing Schools

This is an article about the ways the iPads are changing the way a classroom works.  It speaks of many pilot programs including one in Knox County that provides iPads to students.  These classrooms are using them for everything including taking notes and tests.  Some other ways the article mentions is to write papers and develop presentations.  I like the idea of using iMovie and other apps to make presentations but I am curious how students are writing papers on them.  The keyboard seems hard to type an entire paper on but maybe the next generation will be more adept to doing this. 

There are apps for pretty much anything you could want or need to do in a classroom. Teachers can use organization apps and students can use apps for subject content.  There are games to enhance their learning.  There are apps that help children with special needs and even apps to track health and fitness.  I think the iPad is a great resource in the classroom as long as the children are still learning collaboratively and given hands on experiences.  One of my concerns with them is the social aspect possibly being taken away from children and the possibility of the children venturing off to other apps and websites while the class is in the middle of a lesson.

Managing a Classroom Set of iPads

http://ipadschools.wikispaces.com/Managing+a+Classroom+Set+of+iPads

Managing a Classroom Set of iPads

This is a website about how to manage iPads in a classroom.  Students should each be given their own iPad that they grab from the charging station and return each day.  This will give the students ownership over their iPad and they should be taught how to care for the iPads.  The teacher should put screen protectors on them and even a case might be a good idea. 

This teacher suggests having one to two days practice with a new app and then all questions should not be asked during the lesson.  I like the ideas of having each student have their own iPad and the protective features for the devices.  I think it is too unrealistic for students not to be able to ask questions until after a lesson.  I feel like if the student got behind in the lesson because they could not figure out a feature on their iPad then they would stay behind and not understand the content.  As a teacher I want to integrate technology but my students learning the content is much more important to me.  This website gives an idea about setting up the iPads.  The teacher will need to open an iTunes account and add the iPads to the account and then download apps. 

Kindle Fire

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/education/the-kindle-fire-will-enable-the-next-generation-of-11-education-apps/4699

The Kindle Fire will enable the next generation of 1:1 education apps

This is another article on the Kindle Fire.  It mentions the how the Kindle is of a good size at 7 inches.  It is a perfect size for big and small hands and fits easily into bags.  It has traffic optimization which allows many Kindles to be used at one time.  I am not familiar with a lot of the technological vocabulary used in this article but it speaks a lot about the processor that the Kindle Fire uses.  I like that this article is so positive about the Kindle Fire and its features.  I also agree that the size of the Kindle Fire is better for younger children’s hands.  An iPad is so big compared to a child’s hands. 

The Amazon Kindle Fire

http://edudemic.com/2011/09/teachers-kindle-fire/

How The Amazon Kindle Fire Fits Into Education

This is an article about the Kindle Fire when it came out.  It talks about the specific features that the Kindle Fire contains. It does not have much storage but that is supplemented by the Amazon Cloud storage and it has to have a Wi-Fi connection for the internet.  The Kindle Fire uses the Android operating system and users have access to the android app market.  One comment the article makes about the apps available to the Kindle Fire is that they limit the apps to high quality and that do not contain offensive material.  If this is true, this is great for a classroom.

The Kindle Fire is really awesome and definitely has a place in the classroom.  I like the smaller size of the Kindle Fire compared to the iPad.  The Kindle Fire can be used by students as an e-reader and students can have access to many apps along with having internet access.  These could be used many ways in the classroom.

Kindle Change Education

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3752572

Will the Kindle Change Education? 

While this is an older article about the Kindle, It still has many good points.  At this time the Kindle was the one of the few e-readers available and it was very expensive.  The kindle can be used to distribute books and reading materials to students even when multiple children would like to read the same book.  This means that for even a reading group of 5 children can all read the same book.  The Kindle also offers alternatives to books such as magazines that might entice children to read more. 

Another point I had not considered is that this would make students back packs lighter.  The Kindle also has a text-to-speech feature which would be beneficial for children with special needs.  I like that the teacher presented in this article noted that the Kindle was a resource and did not take over the classroom.  I do not like children sitting in front of any digital screen for long periods of time but I believe with good instruction this can be avoided.  Teachers can incorporate this technology in the classroom but the students still are involved in hands on activities and learning through experiences.