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.

Textbook Rentals

http://allthingsd.com/20110718/amazon-tries-taking-the-kindle-to-school-again-with-textbook-rentals/

Amazon Tries Taking the Kindle to School, Again, With Textbook Rentals

This is a very short article on renting textbooks through the Kindle.  The textbooks are much cheaper this way but only available for a certain time period.  An interesting aspect is that you can see the highlights and notes after you have returned the book.

I really like that your notes will still be there after the rental expires.  This is something I had worried about especially for novels.  If a class has to read a piece of literature but the test is not for a few weeks than they will need to have their notes.  I think this program is mainly meant for college students but I am sure they could be used in all the grades.  Having the textbooks and the apps all in one device also would be a benefit.  I really like the idea of renting books for students and for myself.

Nook Tablet for an Elementary

http://www.maxextent.com/blog/evaluating-the-nook-tablet-for-an-elementary-school

Evaluating the Nook Tablet for an Elementary School

This is a review of the Nook e-reader for an Elementary school.  The school was contemplating whether it would be a good decision to buy a class set of 30 Nooks.  The school was trying to save money by not buying 30 copies of a regular book.  This author claims that digital versions of books are just as expensive as regular books so it they are not cost efficient.  This article goes on to explain that e-books are not as useful as presented.  Some books will read aloud but that is pretty much the extent of it.  This author was not impressed by Barnes and Noble’s presentation.  They apparently stated that these would be useful for the school because they introduce technology.  This author says that it is not good enough to have technology just because.  Although this article started off very negative, it does show some positive points.  Nooks and other e-readers are durable, some Nooks have internet access, Nook books can be used on other devises, and Nook has its own apps.  At the end of the article it eludes to the fact that the Kindle Fire is the better investment.

I do not have access to a Nook e-reader.  I understand that the Nook is mainly just for books and it is probable good for that but for a school I think the Kindle Fire would be the better choice.  I find it very interesting that this article states the exact opposite from the last article I read about the Nook as far as pricing is concerned.  I would find it interesting to compare the prices for e-books along with other e-reader’s books and regular books.  This article says that the Nook has apps for children but I wonder how many are available.  I personally prefer the android market and would be interested to see how the Nook apps compare.  If these were the schools only choice for an e-reader than I think they would be a great asset but compared with the alternatives they would not be my first choice.

E-reader Technology with Nook Club

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/03/27/20110327gilbert-school-e-reader-nook-club.html

Gilbert school embracing e-reader technology with Nook Club

This article is about a principal and librarian who created a book club in an elementary school.  They gave several students a Nook for two weeks.  The students were able to take their Nook home and read electronic books bought by the school. The six grade students rotated with the goal that they each would read at least one electronic book by the end of the year.  When the first set of students was done with the Nooks, they trained the next group of students.  They hoped that by giving students this technology they would become interesting in reading.  The Librarian stated that the e-reader is not a substitute for books but just a way to motivate students to read.  According to this article e-books are cheaper than paperback books.  Also, because all the Nooks are on the school account the librarian only has to buy the book once for all the Nooks.

I like this Librarian’s view on e-readers.  I like that it is a motivational tool and not taking the place of actual books.  I see a huge problem with children staring at any screen for long amounts of time.  I feel that actual books are better for the children’s visual health.  I like the idea of the Nook club but would not like my child staring at any e-reader screen all day.  This librarian has the right idea I think.  Get the children interested in reading and then maybe they will enjoy all types of books.  I think this type of e-reader club would be a great asset to a school.  I also like that the e-books are cheaper.  I did not know that you only had the buy the book once per account.  This would make a class set very efficient.  I see that these are useful but still do not think they are better for children than actual books.