Tablets in education

When looking at different kinds of tablets and operating systems, it is important to determine what the device will be used for. There are seven general uses for all tablets. However, some tablets perform better in some areas than others. First, Tablets contain Apps. Apple is the outstanding leader in app production with Google coming in a close second. Another use for tablets is to purchase and read books. Apple's market for book buying is lagging in comparison to Google, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. Amazon, on the other hand has a plethora of options. The three softwares used in reading these books are Nook, kindle, and iBook. There are pros and cons to using each of these software programs. One con for iBooks is that it can only be operated on an Apple device. A pro for Kindle is that it can be operated on different types of devices. On my iPhone, I have a Kindle app that I use to read my books. Internet is another use for tablets. All of the systems have options for cellular connectivity on their tablets. One thing that isn't offered on Apple tablets with internet is Flash Player. Some videos on the internet are ran by Flash and will not play on Apple devices. All vendors have apps for newspapers and magazines. Apple, however has an app called Newstand that cannot be put in a folder. Therefore, it is always standing alone on a home screen. The next use for tablets is Movies/Tv/Video. There are some apps that offer videos for free such as YouTube and Hulu, both of which can be accessed on any tablet. There are some apps such as Hulu plus and Netflix that cost $7.99 per month, but have newer and more popular shows and movies. Apple offers an Itunes app where these things can also be purchased. Apple began the movement of buying music through tablets on Itunes as well. They gave customers the option of buying music by song instead of by album. Itunes is definitely the most popular place to purchase music, but other vendors offer options too. Software is the last use for tablets. Microsoft offers software for their devices at a price. Apple offers a software program and of course Google has Drive, but Microsoft is, by far, the most developed.

Our Nook Adventure
http://www.librarygirl.net/2010/11/our-ereader-adventure-part-i.html

This website is about a teacher's process to buy Nooks for her classroom. She goes through each step she took from unpacking them to registering them to buying apps. This blog would be helpful if ever buying Nooks for my classroom in the future.

How The Amazon Kindle Fire fits into Education
http://edudemic.com/2011/09/teachers-kindle-fire/

This blog is about the Kindle Fire. There is a video showing a briefing in Manhattan when it was released by Amazon. This tablet was in direct competition with the ipad and was sold for only 200 dollars.

Schools Abandon Textbooks to go all Ipad
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2012/03/23/schools-textbooks-ipad

This website contains an article and videos about schools who have purchased ipads for all of their students. One school that did this spent $500,000 on their ipads. The principal reported that this money came from other budget cuts. For example, they were able to buy the electronic textbooks through ibooks or amazon for a much smaller cost than actual textbooks. They also did away with their computer labs. They no longer had to update or maintenance computers since their students had electronic devices at their fingertips.

What started as "55 Ways to Use an iPad" is now up to 103+ (maybe more by the time you read this) - http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/05/interesting-ways-to-use-ipad-in.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freetech4teachers%2FcGEY+%28Free+Technology+for+Teachers%29&utm_content=Google+Reader orhttps://docs.google.com/a/tonykrug.info/present/edit?id=0AclS3lrlFkCIZGhuMnZjdjVfNzIxZ2RrNWp0ZDg&pli=1.

If I had to choose 5 Apps to use in my classroom, the first would be Book Creator. I remember my younger brother creating a book on the computer in elementary school and it was so neat to see his words and pictures in print bound into a book. He was so proud of it and it encouraged his creativity. On the Book Creator App, the children can write and illustrate their own book and then upload it onto ibooks. The next app I would have in my classroom would be The Globe. It is an app that shows the entire world in a globe. The students can spin it, zoom into a region or country, click on it, and data from that area is displayed on the screen. Not only are the students becoming familiar with geograohy, but they are also learning about different cultures. Another app i would use in my classroom is Pocket Phonics. I want to work with younger children and this app is perfect for teaching the alphabet and letter sounds. I have used this app before and it is easily navigatable, perfecct for children ages 3-6. 'Units' is another app that would find very helpful in the classroom. It is a measurement converter that would be a great resource when teaching children about measurements and converting them. The final app I would use in my classroom is Kids ABC order. The app displays lists of words and the object is for the student to arrange the words in alphabetical order. These were just my five favorites, but there were plenty of resourceful apps on this website and all of them could be implemented into the classroom in some way.