iPads in the Classroom

What were the benefits of having a class set of iPads in the classroom?

The iPads were very helpful during class. It allowed every student to look up anything they wanted and have a mini computer at their fingertips. It was assisted me in class because I could look up anything I wanted instantly. It personally saved me time because teachers want everything to be typed up so it allowed me to get a head start on my assignment. It allowed me to ask my teacher things that I would normally wonder at home. They were also useful in terms of having a camera and making videos. It opened up the possibilities of projects that we could do in class. The iPads also were environmentally friendly, as our papers that we would receive in class were instead put into Dropbox. I liked this concept because most of the time, the papers that we receive in class are just used once and then they started cluttering up in my binder. Having the papers online also helped me access them on any computer. I even downloaded the apps on my phone do that I could reference them quicker. The iPad's also allowed us to have eBooks. These were helpful in class because it was possible to highlight them in class. I could also leave my book at home.

What were the limitations or problems with having a class set of iPads?

Although, the iPad’s helped me, they were only beneficial to a certain extent. When having an eBook, it was confusing because I could not read the book at home. The notes that I highlighted would not be on my book at home so it did not help if I was writing an essay at home. We only got to use them for one class period so it they did not have a big effect on my classes. I still had to write notes for other classes and it did not have a big effect on my grades because they were only used for one class. I also noticed that although there were a lot of applications installed on the iPad, we used very few of them. I think that there are more apps out there that we could use that would help in the classroom. We just did not utilize them. The iPads were very useful during the class however, I don't think they were used to their full potential.

Do you think the school district should have more iPad carts for students to use or move to a 1:1 environment where all students would have access to an iPad they would be able to take home and use during the school year.

I think that iPad’s would be beneficial to the school environment. They would provide every student with an equal opportunity to succeed in school. As we transition through school, more teachers are requiring their assignments to be typed up. It would save those kids who have to go to the library to work on their projects. I don’t think the iPad’s should be provided to elementary kids or middle school kids. It’s still important to have a strong penmanship and having iPad’s at such an early age would limit how much they would write. Writing out on paper has the advantages of letting students think before they write and they don’t have auto correct fixing their spellings. The only way the iPads would be successful however, is if the WiFi connection is available all throughout school. If it is not strong, students would spend most of their time trying to connect to the server instead of working productively.

Evernote

What did you like most about using Evernote to take notes in class?

Evernote was a very helpful application. The application automatically synced my notes so that I could access them on my phone or on the computer. This made it less stressful to email things home as my inbox would get full very quickly. You could save links, pictures, and audio clips on Evernote too. I like the layout of Evernote too because you can choose how you want to organize your notes. There is the option for the date you created or when you edit it. It also divides your notes up by month. You have the option to add tags so that you can easily find a group of notes. When my class was discussing The Great Gatsby, I wrote notes on each chapter. I tagged each one with the title of the book so that I could access them all at once. We also discussed a poem in class, and it was provided in a PDF file. Evernote saved the file in my note so that I could click it and see the poem and read my notes.

What problems or limitations did you encounter while using Evernote?

Overall, the app was pretty useful, but it was hard to edit things in the note. When I would get home, I would have to copy my note to a word document and edit it in there. I could figure out how to change the font or the size of it. It would be great if I could share notes with other people. This would be extremely helpful when doing a group project. It would reduce having to go to Dropbox and back. The program was also hard to use because of my school’s limited WiFi. It was strongly accessible in our classroom so we went into the hallway, we would have to come back into the room so that it could sync.

Do you have any other feedback or suggestion on making Evernote better?

I think that having this application for other classes would be extremely beneficial. It would make studying easier because of the tag feature. This would only happen if everyone had iPad’s into school. If this were to happen, it would be nice to have a due date feature. This would help keep students even more organized. Often at times, I find myself writing dates on my phone so keep track of when assignments are due. Evernote could remind users when things are due. I’m not sure if there was a spell check feature on Evernote, but that would be helpful. I think that there are a lot more features in Evernote that I am not aware of. Having an optional tutorial in the Evernote could help let users know the potential of Evernote.