iPads- In the Hands of Today's Digital Natives

photo: one of the children I tutor (gr.6) showing me a world
that she created herself on Minecraft 

IPads- In the Hands of Today's Digital Natives 

I remember when the first ipad came out a couple of years ago.  It seems to me that it was marketed more so toward business men and women, and the most I could invision it doing was allowing you to read ebooks and check your email on the fly.  It's size and weight seeming to be the biggest selling features.

Now, less then three years later, I'm seeing ipads in the hands of students- and I'm not just talking about as a note taking device in a University lecture.  The majority of the ipad users I seem to  be encountering are learning how to handle an ipad before they learn how
to drive a car!

Turns out those ipads are not a fad - seems they're going to be sticking around; getting more and more powerful, capable and manageable.  With such user friendly interfaces (I mean, kindergarteners are using these things.. they have to be manageable, right?) they seem to be in a position to bring technology to the 'dinosaurs'; those individuals who have somehow escaped the pull of the laptop/desktop computer, but who are going to find it increasingly difficult to avoid the pull of the ipad- if only for the simple fact that it is now everywhere! And it's so easy to learn, and customize according to your needs, right??
(We just bought my 72 year old granny a tablet for Christmas this past year- we'll see how that fares!)

As an educator I am both intrigued and overwhelmed by the potential uses the ipad has in the classroom.
Just search "ipad in the classroom" on Pinterest alone and it returns hundreds of hits and links to instant resources.
You can't escape the conversation at today's teacher colleges... at least not at Brock.
Even now, as I'm typing this I'm sitting in the library at Brock listening to the people next to me talk about the power of the ipads in today's 21st Century clasrooms.  ( "Apple is taking over the classroom")

I'm curious, of the potential for using the ipad as a creative tool in the classroom.  Certainly their are a number of apps that appeal to the visual artist, movie makers, story tellers, etc. And programs like Minecraft afford children with the opportunity to work their brain in so many creative and interesting ways.

I'm going to be attending (and delivering a workshop!) at Brock's Tech Showcase this Friday.
I am hoping to have a chance to check out some of the ipad workshops, and report back on some of my learning.

Hopefully this edublog will contain more links to resources and fun technology enhanced lesson ideas in the near future!