Apple released the new iPad a few weeks ago and it is amazing! It is really easy to use and has a surprising amount of ways to use for teaching and learning. It has a big enough screen to actually read and compose on and it has a great battery life (up to 10 hrs). The whole screen is touch sensitive so anything you want to do is intuitive. The size is a great benefit. It is big enough to be useful, yet small enough to be easily portable and let students work collaboratively if needed.
There are a lot of great education applications that are completely free and others available to purchase. There are flash cards, vocabulary builders, maps, books and many more apps to choose from. For example, the Kindle app is a great way to read books and be used as a study tool. You can take notes right in the app for the page you want in the book and highlight passages. The Kindle app syncs with your Amazon account (once you create one) so you can log in and see everything in one place. So, instead of having to flip through pages to find notes or passages you want to reference they are all organized in your Amazon account. You have it all right in front of you electronically that you can sort and organize in any way you want. Plus, there is a built in dictionary that you can highlight any word and look it up right there on the spot from the book you are reading.
Another great way to use the iPad is to download free resources (documents, videos, podcasts, etc) from Ohio iTunes U. You can view them all into your iTunes account on your iPad and view them even with out internet access.
I am sure you will find plenty of other ways to utilize an iPad in your classroom and daily life once you take a look at one! I know I have!
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