Give me apps for AP.

February 8, 2011 12:54 PM

What can a high school AP English teacher use an iPad for in the classroom?

My sister is a high school AP English teacher. Her principal/superintendent is writing a grant to get more funding for technology, with iPads being something they're asking for.

My sister has a meeting tomorrow to discuss how she'll use the iPad in the classroom - but they only gave her one to try out a day or so ago. I have one, too, but I don't have any high-school-aged children in my home to give her the appropriate advice.

I know some of you are educators, librarians, etc - what are some killer apps for a high school English teacher for classroom use? Bonus points if they're free.

posted by po822000 to education (13 answers total)

The issue with technology should be to ask: what problem do I have that this technology can help solve? So, what problems with teaching AP English does your sister have? And, of these problems, in what ways might technology like an iPod help solve them?
posted by Pineapplicious at 1:24 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Is this for teacher use or for classrooms? Does she have other technology in her classroom, such as projectors & whiteboards? Those answers would affect what she can do.

I don't know if the iPad has the capability (I don't own one), but if it can remote in her to display computer, then she can effectively control what's being shown by moving around the classroom. That would be pretty sweet.

Do the students have any resources to technology in the classroom? If they're doing work on GDocs, a wiki, or some other collaborative web 2.0 tool, she can walk with iPad in hand seeing & correcting what students are doing real-time.

It might be late, but there are also AP message boards and list serves- she might have luck looking there, too.
posted by jmd82 at 1:34 PM on February 8, 2011

Shakespeare.
posted by Medieval Maven at 1:39 PM on February 8, 2011

• Writing
• Visual idea brainstorming
• Electronic document submission
• Real-time collaborative writing exercises
• Easy access to a library of Project Gutenberg books
• Gradebook management
• Communication between teachers and students outside the classroom
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:44 PM on February 8, 2011

Teacherpal is an excellent app for taking attendance/learning who your students are. I've cut down my timer learning students' names from 15 weeks to 2 two weeks using this thing. They're adding new features all the time, such as the ability to import/export attendance records and gradebook, and coming soon there will also be an agenda tab. It's great for keeping/accessing records while you're walking around the class.
posted by yeolcoatl at 3:16 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

For nearly all intents and purposes, the iPad is a hand-held computer. There are very few things that the average user would want to do on a desktop or laptop computer that cannot be done on an iPad, with the exception of viewing Flash on the Internet and running specific pieces of software (meaning, you cannot run Microsoft Word on an iPad, but there are several word processing apps available if you want to write something). Just ask her what she would do with a hand-held computer.
posted by Rock Steady at 3:21 PM on February 8, 2011

I can think of a handful of awesome things I would do if every student in my high school English class had an iPad, but if it's just your sister who would have the iPad that changes things. Can you clarify? Also, does she have a projector or a SmartBoard?
posted by katie at 3:48 PM on February 8, 2011

--Recording audio. The quality is actually pretty great. As an English teacher, she might find this useful for poetry, pronunciation, public speaking, etc.

--Reading and having access to .pdfs and other documents. At the university level, many course readers come in .pdf form that is either printed/printable or just kept in one location online. This is a great way to have lots of personalized content available at your command.

--There are so many ways to use YouTube or video in the classroom, given the wealth of things one can find (performance of plays, documentaries on famous writers, etc.). Of course there's the danger of naughty things, but pshaw.

--Newspapers. There's that new thing "The Daily" that is supposedly coming out soon. No idea how it will go over, but it looks promising.

--The size and weight is actually really nice. I don't consider my MacBook Pro to be huge, but it sure does weigh me down after a while, and I'm bummed I can't just toss it in my shoulder bag. As a writer who often has to go on spontaneous interviews, I'm seriously considering an iPad.
posted by Madamina at 3:58 PM on February 8, 2011

Tons of ideas here ... 100+ online resources for educators.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 4:13 PM on February 8, 2011

Literary Analysis Guide. LitCharts.
posted by unliteral at 5:09 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

Here's another Shakespeare too.
posted by unliteral at 5:14 PM on February 8, 2011

A teacher in my (elementary) school uses Confer, an app designed to help teachers record notes from their conferences with kids. She likes it. (Sorry, the link is to a youtube video but you'll get the idea.)
posted by carterk at 6:47 PM on February 8, 2011

To clarify, the whole classroom would have iPads.
posted by po822000 at 7:31 AM on February 9, 2011