This is a great little post from a blog by Jonathan Wylie... Check out his ideas and subscribe to his blog so you can get more ideas!
1. Use your iPad as a document camera!
With the Stage Interactive Whiteboard and Document Camera app, and the help of a dedicated, or DIY, mount you can easily use your iPad as a document camera. Better still, you can annotate over anything you set under the camera, and even record what you show. Got another $10? Make your own microscope attachment for up to x175 magnification! It is a great way to use iPads in the classroom.
2. Review academic topics!
Quizlet is a completely free app that allows you to create flashcards for your students. Interactive games can also be done on the web. Project them over Airplay for a great review opportunity as a class! An optional Teacher account with extra features is available. Students can also practice individually at home for review for upcoming tests. You do not necessarily need the app, as it is a web-based service as well. Run it on your browser.
3. Collaborate with other classrooms!
We should never let our students think that their classroom is just the four walls around them. It is essential that students know that the world is their classroom, and the iPad is a great way for students to connect and collaborate with students anywhere in the world. Whether students video conference with FaceTime or Skype (both free) to discuss a book in they read together in Subtext(a social reading app), or to do a Mystery Skype, the iPad opens doors to collaborative learning experiences for students of all ages.
4. Create a special effects movie!
One of my favorite new apps is the Doink green screen app. Recreate your favorite Sci-Fi movies or your own mini blockbuster with the aid of a green sheet and this innovative app. Film your scene in front of a green screen, then layer your background on top if it to create an awesome special effect! Export your video to the Camera Roll and it is ready to be edited further or combined with more clips in iMovie. You might also want to take a look at the Action Movie FX app.
5. Use your iPad as a “game show” style soundboard!
Play review games (with the aide of technology or without) and use special sound effects in your classroom using iPad apps such as the Game Show Sound Board. Younger students will love these special audio effects.
6. Augment reality with Layar or Aurasma!
Augmented reality can change the way your students see the world by offering additional digital information to real objects that can only be seen via apps like Layar (free) or Aurasma (free). Post a blank map or timeline, where teachers and students can add different types of multimedia content that can be viewed depending on age, ability, and/or curriculum.
7. Create 3D models!
With the free 123D Catch app, you can create 3D models of anything in your iPad classroom simply by taking a series of pictures of it. The pictures are composited into a 3D model you can view on the iPad or upload to an online account to share. Has your school invested in a 3D printer? Use your favorite scans to print the 3D models you create in this app!
8. Create Artistic Posters!
Using great photography apps like Diptic, Pic Collage and Over. Have lots of interesting photos to share? Stitch them together using these apps, print them off to display in your classroom! Your students can create poster projects containing multiple images displaying what they have learned. It’s a creative and fun way to use iPads in the classroom.
9. Capture metacognition with Explain Everything!
We talk a lot about differentiated instruction, but not enough about differentiated assessment. Using Explain Everything ($2.99), students can show you (and tell you!) what they know in a way that works for them. Explain Everything is a screencasting app that allows students to “annotate, animate, narrate, import and export almost anything to and from almost anywhere.” Whether students demonstrate their understanding of a math concept, summarizing skills, or phonemes, Explain Everything allows you to capture students’ thoughts while viewing their work.
10. Record Podcasts with USB Mics!
The iPad is a great multimedia device, but the microphone is not of the highest quality for recording professional sounding audio in video or for podcasts. However, with the help of Apple’s Camera Connector kits, you can connect good quality USB mics and other peripherals to use with your iPad. Classroom videos also sound great when you use external mics.
11. Use your iPad as a playlist manager!
Do you sing and/or listen to a lot of songs in class? You can choose to use iTunes to create playlists but did you know that you can create playlists in YouTube as well? Find essentially any song you wish on YouTube and play it on your iPad! Better, use apps such as Musi to stream your music if you have a strong wifi signal, or Instatube to save your music for offline viewing/listening.
12. Share your students’ learning experiences using Instagram!
Looking for an easy way to share your classroom with families and other educators? JoinInstagram (for free)! Using the iPad’s camera, you can capture photos and videos to quickly post to Instagram, where families and other educators can celebrate your students’ learning right along with you.
13. Use your iPad as a classroom management tool!
Have pre-determined songs for transitions/lining up/cleaning up/deskwork using the Pocket Pied Piper app ($1.99). Primary-aged students can be guided to follow certain commands based on what is played. Songs can be changed to your own personal collection as well to suit the tastes of older students. You can also use visuals on a projected iPad with the app Silent Light ($3.99). The app will monitor noise levels in your iPad classroom while you as the teacher can set what level is appropriate for each particular activity. Set a goal for points for the class to achieve to earn rewards.
14. Create multimedia eBooks with Book Creator!
One of the best uses for the iPad in education is digital storytelling apps, and they don’t come much better than Book Creator for iPad. Over 3 million multimedia eBooks have been created with just this app! You can add text, images, video, audio and more. Choose from over 50 fonts, draw your own illustrations, and send your finished product to iBooks, Dropbox, or share by email. Try it out for free!
15. Let the iPad choose!
Ever have trouble deciding who gets to answer your questions in class? Do you have difficulty choosing people for group projects? I still see teachers with 25 names on popsicle sticks. Well, there’s an app for that! Check out Pick Me! ($1.99), which lets you keep a standing record of correct and incorrect responses that the students give.