RUNNING HEAD: IPADS IN THE CLASSROOM 1

Samantha Meekins

iPads in the Classroom

EDTC 625
IPADS IN THE CLASSROOM 2

Abstract

This paper will provide ample reasons on why every student needs an iPad in the

classroom. iPads are vital to student’s success in the world that we live in today. A teacher can

search a topic or skill and hundreds of apps will pop up. A good teacher will sort through those

apps and test them out before introducing them to the class. These apps will then appear on the

iPad home screen and the students can start using the app with a simple touch of the screen.

There are apps for every subject area and age groups. Apps are a part of our everyday world. The

possibilities and lessons are endless with a good app and a great teacher.

Introduction

In our world, there are so many tools available at our fingertips to engage and excite our

students while learning. A teacher can use a variety of tools to connect with every learner daily.

These tools help students learn, make them ask question, and dig deeper in their learning. Smart

Boards are used in most classrooms and allow the students to interact during the lesson and

really show their thinking. They can use the pen to write or draw to explain their learning and

use the eraser if they make a mistake and need to fit it. The teacher can also create different

activities for lessons and to review any skill. Chromebooks in the classroom make the lesson

more fun and meaningful. There are so many links, pages, and tools that can be used on the

Chromebook. The screen is a touch screen, which is nice for younger students to use. They can

play different games to reinforce learning, research multiple topics, and type/draw what they

have learned.

I will focus on iPads because they are so user friendly that it is easy for young learners to

use daily. A class set of iPads would be very beneficial to have because students would be more

engaged, excited, and willing to reinforce and practice a variety of skills daily. There are so
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many apps that reinforce the same skill that can be downloaded at the touch of a screen. . “Shell

Squad Games automatically customizes the difficulty level of activities based on each child’s

specific learning levels inside personalized learning environments. Teachers can then use the

new RMS system Dashboard to pinpoint areas of difficulty …” (Hatch, 2013). A strong teacher

will use these tools and look at the data and modify the apps to connect with every learner. iPads

give the teacher many tools in their “toolbox.” iPads are an effective and strong tool to have in

the classroom. The possibilities and lessons that can be done with the iPad are endless.

Integration of iPads in the Classroom

Math is everywhere and students need a strong math foundation to be successful in

school. Students can use the camera to show different positional words for math. They can stand

in front of a tree or behind the playground. These pictures can be turned into a book or project.

These real-life pictures that the students took make the learning and lesson more meaningful.

The draw tool can also be used when practicing writing numbers in math or solving addition and

subtraction problems. They can write the number they are working on and then draw that many

objects to represent the given number. The students can also write the equation and draw a

picture to show how they solved the equation. Using an iPad during math will create engaging

and exciting environment. When students are excited and engaged they learn more and challenge

themselves more while learning.

Reading is a vital skill to build on every year that the student is in school. Students can

record themselves reading and go back and listen to the recording. They can sit with the teacher

and go over where they are making mistakes and what skills they need to work on while they are

reading. This tool is very powerful in the classroom because the teacher can save the recordings

to monitor student growth and the student can hear their strengths and areas of growth. The
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teacher and student can decide which skill should be practiced and then after the student has

practiced they can record themselves to see if they have improved. There is also a new app that is

very beneficial for students learning to read. “Combining the iPad’s touchscreen technology

with Reading Assistant’s animated graphics, high interest reading selections, and frequent

comprehension checks makes it easy to keep students motivated and focused. In addition,

teachers can easily measure comprehension and fluency improvement through easy-to-view

reports.” (Scientific Learning,2016). Instant feedback, documentation, and motivating activities

calls for a recipe of success when learning how to read.

Science allows students to wonder, explore, and take risks. The iPads will provide

students with the answers or paths to these answers that they have about the world around them.

A few activities the students can do with the iPads in science are they can go outside and take

pictures of different parts of plants and show the seasons over time. This will provide them with

real life photos that they took, so they will be more likely to go back to them because they were

so involved in their learning. The students will also remember more about the topics they took

photos about because they had to be focused during the lesson, so they would know how to

complete the task outside. iPads would be a great addition to every science class.

Writing is a skill that is practiced all day in the classroom. The students can draw or take

a picture on the iPad then look at their drawing and label everything in the picture. They can also

create a story to go along with their illustration or photo. The students can print their photos and

write a story if they are more comfortable with that at first or they can type a story to go along

with their photo or illustration. Learning how to type a document is a skill that is vital for the rest

of their lives. “They allow children to engage in a uniquely individual and creative nature with

the supplied ideas. Higher-level thinking skills, beyond memorization and application, are
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developed as children create these stories.” (Lee, 2013). Using an iPad at a young age to practice

this skill will give them the confidence they need later in life.

The objective of Foundational literacy is to learn letters, sounds, blend words together,

and learn sight words. Starfall is an amazing app that covers so many skills. During Foundational

literacy, there are games for CVC words, CVCe words, letter recognition, letter sounds, and sight

words. The students can use their iPads and work on any of those skills that the teacher believes

they need to practice that day. “To ensure that students are working at their instructional or

independent level, and accessing and working with the desired literacy content, the instructional

framework of gradual release of responsibility (Duke & Pearson, 2002; Pearson & Gallagher,

1983) can be modified and applied to tablet use” (Northrop & Killeen,2013).The teacher can

give the class a certain amount of time to work on one skill that she thinks they need to practice

and then let them pick a skill that they need to practice. Students enjoy when they are in charge

of their own learning. This app will allow them the freedom to work on a variety of skills while

building a strong reading foundation.

Advantages, Limitations, and Cost Factors

There are many advantages to integrating iPads into the classroom. Lighter backpacks is

a huge thing for students. As the students get older they start to need more books to take home

for homework. Their backpack weigh more than the student and creates a lot of stress on their

backs. The iPads can store everything they need to complete their homework and is so

lightweight. They are easy to transport and carry back and forth to school.

Keeping their attention is an enormous advantage to integrating iPads into the classroom.

“Touch screen tablets (e.g., iPads) are being increasingly used by young children due to their

stimulating multimodal features and intuitive touch-based interface” (Neumann, 2018). The
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students can be assigned their own iPad and create a custom background that connects with their

interests. “It’s time to take advantage of their interests and use what they love to get their

attention by bringing technology like iPads in the classroom” (Wainwright, 2013). These games

and apps are so motivating that they do not even realize they are learning or reviewing old skills,

they just think they are playing a game.

Customized learning with the abundance of educational apps is a vital advantage when

integrating iPads into the classroom. “Lexia Reading … predicts which students are unlikely to

meet their year-end benchmarks and then provides a customized action plan and instructional

resources for teacher-led, direct skill instruction to address specific skill gaps. Each of the age-

appropriate, skill-specific activities conforms to the Common Core State Standards and the

engaging program delivers systematic, structured support that advances each student to higher

levels as they demonstrate proficiency” (Lexia,2013). The teacher can find and use a variety of

apps that cover the same concept, but present it in a different way. This way the teacher can

connect with every learner in the classroom. Some students could be working on CVC words and

other students could be working on letter recognition. The games and apps are so motivating that

their minds are only focused on the task in front of them. This creates a safe learning

environment, so every child feels free to take risks, make mistakes, and truly learn a concept. “A

research study, conducted …showed that Kindergartner students using iPads scored much higher

on literacy tests than students that didn’t use the device” (Wainwright, 2013). The teachers have

customized students learning with the iPads and their scores are going up. It is essential to use

iPads in the classroom. The students are learning so much more with this engaging tool. “I think

this could very well be the biggest thing to hit school technology since the overhead projector,”
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says Scott Wolfe, principal at South Mountain Elementary School” (Wainwright, 2013). iPads

are changing the classroom and we all need to get this wonderful tool into every classroom.

It costs a lot of money to bring in a class set of iPads. It costs approximately $299 for

each iPad Wi-Fi 32GB - Space Gray according to US Education Institution – Hardware and

Software Price List (Apple, 2018). Most classes have an average of 20-25 students, so that would

be a total $7,500. If a school stopped to think about the paper, ink, and lamination they would be

saving by using iPads in the classroom, they may realize the value of this tool. One district

analyzed the paper usage and cost and the results were remarkable. “By forgoing paper, Brenner

estimated that even with a cost of $4,200 for the computers, the district would save more than

$7,000 the first year, and $11,000 each additional year. That's a total of $30,000 in three years

time, all while saving 80 reams of paper annually.” (D'Orio, 2018). The schools and districts

would save a ton of money and the students would be learning with an incredible tool daily.

Saving money and paper are two huge advantages for incorporating iPads into the classroom.

Schools could use a variety of sources to raise the funds for iPads in the classroom. The

PTA can do a fundraiser to raise funds for the iPads. The teacher or entire school can go to a

PTA meeting and present the importance of iPads in the classroom. They can ask for funds that

are already in the PTA bank account or ask for a fundraiser to be done to raise funds for the

iPads. When the school sees the value of this tool in the classroom the finding for the iPads could

be approved more easily.

DonorsChoose.org is a site that can be used to set up projects that need funding and

anyone who views the project can donate to the project. The teacher or school can create a

project explaining how important iPads are in the classroom. They provide endless learning

opportunities and ways to connect with a lesson. The students can learn in a way that is best for
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them and excel in school. Once the teacher or school has typed up the project the project can be

posted online. People who visit the site can donate as much money at a time that they would like

to donate. Once the project is funded the school will confirm that the iPads are still needed and

they will be shipped to the school.

The only limitation to having iPads in the classroom would be the lack of training and

information provided to the teacher. The teacher will be the one who can hold this tool back if

they are not given the proper training, information about apps, and time to use and explore the

iPads before using them in the classroom. The teacher will make the tool a success or failure in

the classroom.

Professional Development

There are Professional Developments offered in the county that can keep me up-to-date

with current and emerging technology. These Professional Developments are offered at random

times throughout the year and the topics are chosen by the county, but a teacher can go online

and pick a Professional Development that would be beneficial for the teacher. Practice using

different tools /app that in the building will allow teachers to become more comfortable with

technology. If a teacher is an expert in an app, then the students will be able to use and learn with

the app faster.

Summary

Every student needs an iPad in their hands daily in the classroom. iPads allow the

students to be active in their learning and dive deeper while they are learning. If we are not

providing the students with this tool we are doing a disservice to the class. This tool is vital to

have in every classroom and used every day. Somehow the funding needs to be provided so that

every child has an iPad in their hands.

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References:

Apple. (2018). Apple and Education. Retrieved April 05, 2018, from

https://www.apple.com/education/pricelists/

D'Orio, W. (2018). IPads in Class. Retrieved April 04, 2018, from

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3755865

Hatch, I. (2013). School Readiness App Suite Transforms iPads into Appropriate Learning

Tablets for Kids. Business Wire (English).

Lee, D. (2013). iPad Apps for Creating Stones with Primary Children. Illinois Reading Council

Journal, 42(1), 23-27.

Lexia, L. (2013). Lexia Reading App for iPad Now Available. Business Wire (English).

Neumann, M. M. (2018). Using tablets and apps to enhance emergent literacy skills in young

children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 42239-246.

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2017.10.006

Northrop, L., & Killeen, E. (2013). A Framework for Using iPads to Build Early Literacy Skills.

Reading Teacher, 66(7), 531-537.

Scientific Learning, C. (2016). With New iPad App for Reading Assistant, Schools Can Provide

a Reading Tutor for Every Student, on Demand. Business Wire (English).

Wainwright, A. (2013). Effects of iPads in the Classroom on Elementary Education. Retrieved

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April 06, 2018, from https://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/Effects-of-iPads-in-the-

Classroom-on-Elementary-Education