The iPad is great for homeschooling. Each week it seems like there are new uses for the iPad. We are still trying to figure out the best use of the iPad for our homeschool.
Here are two videos of how we are currently using the iPad for our homeschool work.
Here is a short video of my daughter drawing a map with Adobe Ideas App.
Here is a short video showing my son entering the Latin Vocab word into keynote.
There are a number of schools that have started using the iPad. Have you ever wondered what apps they use? The video below shows some of the apps educators are using.
20 Apps in 20 Minutes Ipad Edition from TJ Houston on Vimeo.
In this webinar @tjhouston and @llacrosse will overview 20 apps in 20 minutes. These are the apps that were used in the classroom and found to be effective supplements to the curriculum. They were used with 5th grade science students while working with ipads for an entire school year.
While there is no perfect list of apps that will be guaranteed to work with all students in all classrooms, this list may be a good starting point for seeing the variety of apps available for the classroom. The types of apps available to teachers and students range from basic consumption of information apps to creation apps that allow teachers to provide a platform for students to showcase growth and learning. Each teacher and group of students will benefit from working to individualize their class with app usage. The best apps are those that work for YOUR content, YOUR class structure, and YOUR needs.
Just came across this video comparing different ebook readers. In the end it is obvious that the iPad comes out ahead for homeschooling.
I was trying to help my son learn his multiplication facts and I was thinking about how I could make customized flashcards. I know there are a number of flashcard apps but I thought why not use the Keynote App already on my iPad. I took a few screen shots to show how I did it.
Setup the first slide
I started out using the dark slide template but it was too dark. I then changed to the chalkboard template. Unfortunately the font didn’t look very good so I had to customize the font. You can play around with some of the other built in templates and find one that works the best for your application.
Format the text
To change the appearance of the text, first select the text and then press the round i at the top of the screen.
The options box comes up and there are several different formats. Unfortunately you must scroll to the bottom of the options box to to edit the font.
Once you select “text options” at the bottom of the format box, you can change the font. I increased the size to 200 pt font which seemed to look the best.
I also had to change the font from the chalkboard writing to something normal.
Copy and pasting slides
Once you have the basic format then I recommend copying the slides and then editing the text for the other math facts. To copy the slide select the slide you want to copy on the left hand side. When the slide is selected an option will come up to copy the slide or paste it. Select copy and then paste below. If you select a slide and select paste then the slide will be pasted in after the slide that is selected.
Once I had all the multiplication facts I needed I decided I would copy slides at random so they would not be in order.
Add animation
After I was finished I thought it might be nice to have the answer appear. To do this I inserted a text box with the answer. I then had to increase the font. To add an animation to the answer, you first select the text and then touch the diamond at the top. This allows you to choose different transitions. Select “Appear” or another transition and now the answer will appear when you swipe to the next slide.
There are so many good education apps for the iPad. I started this list.ly list with my top ten iPad educational apps. Feel free to add your favorite app or vote on ones already listed. You can log in to list.ly to vote with either Facebook or Twitter.