iPads In The Library

[John Wellcome]

Is anybody else besides me checking out iPads in their library?

[John Wellcome]

I just got an app for them last week called chicktionary!  It's great for developing students' spelling, writing, and language skills!  There is a speed round wherein students are given a set of no more than eight letters, and they have to form as many words as they can in three minutes.  It's lots of fun, too!  I am using our 5 ipads as ereaders and for educational apps like chicktionary.  I work at an elementary school with about 350 kids, so I would like to eventually have ten of them.  Having a class set for the 4th graders would also be really nice.  I check the iPads out to students; each student who checks one out gets to take it home, after having a parent sign a release form, for a week.  I plan on loading more of the educational apps showcased on Apple's website on them.

[Miriam Tuohy]

My school's 20 iPads have been catalogued and will be issued via our library software. We are about to start an eReading trial with a mixed year5&6 class, and the iPads will be issued to students overnight. We have purchased a very small selection of eBooks so far, but I am looking at the eBook program offered by wheelers.co.nz

There's already been a small group taking home iPads for Maths work overnight (year 3/4 students) and so far it's been working fine.

[John Wellcome]

Hi Miriam,

What does Wheeler's ebook program entail?  Is it available in the U.S.?  (By the way, I did my student teaching in Whakatane, New Zealand, in 2004 at the high school.  Kia Ora!

 

John

[Miriam Tuohy]

Kia ora John! Wheeler's program is only available in NZ and Australia, I think they might be interested in International Schools too in future possibly, but not the US as far as I know. I am waiting on pricing info from them at the moment. The deal they have allows schools to use the initial setup costs as a credit towards title purchases, which I think is fantastic. Sadly though, there are a lot of primary schools here without the funding to manage buying into a scheme like this, and of course there's always going to be issues with equity of access.

Our schools sound similar - mine is yr0-6 (K-5) with a current roll of 320 (will end the year a bit higher).

At my school the iPads are divided into 2 pods (15 &  5), which classes schedule time for during the school day, and our student "tech buddies" deliver them as needed. Today is the first day we've sent iPads home for reading. The kids can take them each night for probably a week, just as a trial. Then we'll have a session with them to assess how the experience has been. I will report back!!

 

Naku noa, na

Miriam

[John Wellcome]

It's great that you have enough iPads for a whole class to use.  I would like to get a class set of them for our 4th graders and have each class check them out, just like the way you do it.  Did Apple give you an educational discount for buying 20 of them (assuming you bought them all at once)?

[Linda Picceri]

We are getting iPads soon.  I would be interested in knowing how everyone else uses and manages them.

[John Wellcome]

See my post above for info. on how I'm using mine.

[Catherine Scholl]

Kate, do you have any favorite apps to library instruction time?

[Dave Matthews]

Are any high schools using them? My IT coordinator is talking about buying five iPads for the library this year. Thanks.

[Kara Ross]

Wow you have a great IT coordinator! We wrote a grant to get some in our 6-12 library but didn't get it. I think using them as an ereader would be a great way to start and then as a research tool.

[Katie Ball]

We have 76 iPads available for teachers to check out. I'm currently in the process of updating, registering, syncing, and naming them now. Only teachers can check out the iPads (students can only use them once their teachers have checked them out), and they can keep them in their classroom until I need them back or another teachers needs them. Our biggest issue right now is getting all of the iPads registered under one Apple ID and getting our vpp code verified so we can start purchasing apps through the school account. I am assuming you all know this, but in case you don't: You can download one app from iTunes under a vpp (school) account and upload that app to 20 iPads. Once you hit 20 iPads, you can purchase the app again and upload it to 10 iPads. So, essentially, you only have to buy the app one time for groups of 20 and 10 at a time. Teachers are currently using their own Apple IDs to download free apps. But, once we get all the iPads under the school account, I will be the only person who can download apps (even if they're free) to the iPads. It seems very confusing right now, but I am hoping to get things straightened out very soon.

 

Our tech guy showed me yesterday how to set parental controls to the iPads, which has been another concern. I would highly encourage setting those controls if you haven't already! You can "hide" the App Store (so no "accidental" purchases from crafty students), hide Safari, hide apps you don't want them to use (like YouTube). You just go to "settings" and then to "restrictions".

My hope is to get the iPads fully up & running the way we want them (all registered and synced, etc.) and then start using them during library instruction. For instance, I'm working with 2nd graders on alphabetical order as a library skill unit. There are so many apps/games that concentrate on ABC order and I'd love for them to be able to use the iPads to practice that skill.

[Dana Tunick]

My school is thinking of buying a few tablets for the first graders next year to use in their classrooms as a part of "center time". 

For those of you who have them in your library, how long are students allowed to check out the iPad for? Do you have different ereader books on there or just educational games?

 I'd be afraid to send a student home with a school iPad, for fear that I may never see it again like some of our books!