Starting to use iPads in the Primary Classroom

It’s still a fact, that many schools are just starting their journey along the road to using iPads. What a lot of schools take for granted and view as the norm is often quite a difficult transition for others. So, where is the best place to start? Here are my top 5 thoughts on beginning to use iPads in the Primary classroom:

1. Nominate someone to be the sole keeper of the iTunes account details. That way you can monitor spend and know exactly what has been downloaded. I’ve worked with many schools where the iPads are a mess of dozens of apps, no organisation, no thought put into it. It makes me wonder if they are getting the best out of the devices. Set a regular review schedule too so that once a term you can review what apps are on the devices, which are being used and which need to go.
2. Devise a process for updating the iPads. Apps change and newer versions come out all the time. If you’re not up to date then the pupils are missing out. Some schools choose to update each iPad individually, others do bulk updates via a Mac. How you set this up is down to your school set up and staff availability. Read these articles from Apple: http://www.apple.com/uk/education/it/ and https://volume.itunes.apple.com/gb/store
3. Some apps offer a “lite” version that is free to try before you buy the full version. Sometimes this is a good idea as you avoid paying out for something that isn’t quite right. It’s also a good idea to allocate a budget to your colleagues so that you can keep track and curb shopaholics.
4. Have clear ideas about what you plan to do. Using iPads still requires planning and objective setting. It may be that iPads are used for only part of a learning session, or only certain ability groups will use iPads.  Prepare for printing or sharing of work, if you haven’t planned in advance it may not work as expected and then you’ve lost a lesson’s worth of work.
5. Allow time for handing out and collecting iPads in your lesson. The devices should be closed down correctly, all apps closed and correctly stored away at the end of the lesson ready for next time.  Get into good habits at the outset and train your pupils to treat these devices respectfully.