The Next-Generation Digital Book (via TED video)

In this TED video, Mike Matas demonstrates the first full-length interactive digital book for the iPad, iPhone & iPod touch published through Push Pop Press.  It's an absolutely fascinating look at the future of reading as well as information and media literacy instruction possiblities.  However, once you get past the dazzling innovative technology, is it really a better way to teach content?  I guess that's what we in the literacy/library/technology/media/ education profession need to figure out...

A CHS Student Speaks About Using the Gale Student Resources App on the iPad

Student access to resources anytime and anywhere is one of my favorite aspects of being in the library/media profession.  Offering useful academic electronic resources to students via a variety of mobile devices enables students the opportunity to access resources regardless of where they are.  One of these useful Apps is the Access My Library (AML) - School Edition that Gale Student Resources offers.  This app is available for the iPad, iPhone, and Android devices.  It extends the resources that the school media center already owns and puts them into the hands of students 24/7. 

Below a Copley High School student talks about using the Gale Student Resources on the iPad.  It's fairly simple to use...just download the app onto a device, find your school library, and enter the password (which the media specialist at your school can provide), and then it will bring up the databases and eBooks that are available at your school.  A power search can be conducted (which searches all the available ebooks and databases) or a search can be limited to one database at a time.  I have no connection to Cengage Learning (who provides Gale Resources), but I have found their resources to be very valuable for student research, and there are many of our students who freely admit that they would rather use the Gale Student Resource database than Google because of the quality resources that they consistently discover.

As mentioned, one of our high school students explains how to use an educational app on the iPad on the following video.  The video is loaded on Google videos, so if your school blocks Google videos, you will need to view the video on an unfiltered Internet connection.

List of Potential iPad Apps for Use in K-12 Schools

There are lists of educational iPad Apps cropping up all over, and I wanted to add one to this growing list of resources. This iPad Apps List is one that I received from Cedars School of Excellence in Scotland.  It's an excel spreadsheet of all the apps they have used--some very successfully and others were tried but did not meet their expectations.  This list is just a "starting place" in order to examine potential apps for K-12 students, but similar to all lists, the user needs to determine which apps will meet the learning needs of their students.