Getting Started

For the 2011-2012 school year, my 5th Period Applied Physical Science (APS) class will be going "Paperless". This entails the students being provided with an iPad 2 and all resources electronically. We will not be using textbooks and notebooks. I teach four other sections of APS, so we will be able to compare class results in 5th Period to that of my other sections.


To get the class rolling, Mr. Brown and I have collaborated for many hours on the best apps to use and the setting up of each of the iPads. It has been decided that each student who receives an iPad must have wireless internet at home and must create a Google account specifically for this class. We will also be meeting with the students and their parents before school starts to introduce them to the pilot program and what it will entail for them. At this time, they will be given the option to opt out if wanted. However, once the class begins, no students can be added to the class nor removed. The students will be chosen randomly by the computer for the class. We will be providing the students with the iPad and protective casing along with a stylus pen. The iPad will be pre-loaded with all of the apps we need. However, there will be periodic updates to the iPads throughout the school year. We will also have four main access points in the school for wireless access: the science lab, my hallway, the main hallway near my room, and the outdoor patio. Each of these locations are where we do most of our labs and classes.


Here is a list of some of the apps we are currently considering using:


EVERNOTE- This is great because it is FREE. This is a great application that stores all of its contents in a cloud. The notebooks can be accessed from multiple devices (phones, laptop, desktop, iPad) at any time. It provides a free email service, and with this you can send/receive files and have them tagged into specific notebooks. For instance, I could have my students submit an assignment to me and have it go straight to their personal folder I have created in my Evernote account. The students can also create an account, and use this as a backup system for all of their files.


iANNOTATE- This app is currently $9.99. One of the more expensive apps we are considering. It allows any PDF to be annotated directly on, then sent with the annotations to many types of accounts (Email, Dropbox, Evernote, etc). It has highlighting, keyboard use, pen use, allows for comments, and many other options. It is very user friendly.


DROPBOX- This is a FREE app and is a storage cloud for files. It can be used as a backup for the students' files. However, our system does not support it at the school currently. BUT, it can be used outside of school.


GODOCS- This app is $4.99. This app will allow me to create and manage my Google Docs from anywhere besides my computer. I have not decided yet if it will be put on the student iPads.


PENULTIMATE- This app is $1.99. This is a great note-taking app for the students. It can organize the notes into different notebooks which is great for each unit/lab that we do in class. It also supports emailing the notes and notebooks. The only thing I don't like about this app is it does not have the keyboard function, you can only write with your finger/stylus and cannot add images.


NOTABILITY- This app is $0.99. This is a great note-taking app for the students. It can organize the notes into different subjects (same thing as notebooks). It supports emailing and DropBox. With this app, the students can add images from their iPad, the web or draw images and can also use the keyboard or use their finger/stylus for writing.


CONVERT UNITS-This app is FREE. It gives the students many options for converting units.


CALCULATOR PRO-This app is FREE. We do a lot of math in my class that requires scientific calculators.


EVERNOTE PEEK-This app is FREE. It is an add-on to the Evernote app. It acts as a flash card review of notes in Evernote. It only works with the smart cover. If the students change their covers to something else, it will not work. It will be a great tool for students to use when studying for tests and quizzes.


PLANNER FOR iPAD-This app is $1.99. It syncs with Google Calendar and iCal. It also acts as a planner for the students to organize their homework and tasks.


OMNIGRAPH SKETCHER- This app is $14.99. It allows the students to generate their own graphs by hand and creates straight/curved lines. The graphs can be saved as PDF and emailed or added to documents.


JOT FREE-This app is FREE. It could be used as a note-taking app but does not support creating notebooks. It would be great to use just for drawing sketches for labs.


NUMBERS-This app is $9.99. It is part of the iWorks products for Apple. I will be able to use this to keep my gradebook. I have not decided whether to put this on the student iPads yet or not. If I need students to create any databases or spreadsheets, I can have them create it in Google Docs.


APP START- This app is FREE. It is a great app that introduces new users to the iPad and shows them how to use the iPad. I will require each of my students to go through this app before beginning the class.






We are currently in the stage of converting the entire class electronically and updating my website.


The link to my website is: http://teachers.vestavia.k12.al.us/hawthornesd/MLearning/APS_ipads.html






Along with converting all of my documents electronically, I am developing the system in which I want my students to retrieve their work, submit their work, and returning their work once graded.