8 iPad Camera Integration Ideas for 1:1 Classrooms

Without a focus on changing instruction, I fear the devices could become substitutes for drill and practice or they could turn an active classroom into a place where students primarily receive instruction from a computer guided learning system to keep them focused and quiet. While I recognize the great benefits offered by these types of learning systems when used as one component of a blended learning model, I  am certain that they are no replacement for a teacher who can provide students with the opportunity to create.

My advice for teachers who are a bit nervous about a 1:1 iPad implementation is to find your comfort zone and strive to find ways to use the camera on the device to Teach Above the Line, a goal suggested by the SAMR model of tech integration, designed by Dr. Reuban Puentedura. Since I’ve embraced this model, the suggestions here are aligned loosely with the SAMR framework to provide a starting point for teachers at all comfort levels.

 

The camera on the iPad is probably the most comfortable and powerful feature available on the device. An iPad camera in the hands of students allows them to capture learning as it happens and document it through self expression, make connections and reflect.

Here are a few ways to get started.

Use this free and super simple app to add photos from the photo library to a canvas. Manipulate photos  with a pinch and arrange them on the canvas to create a collage. Write captions and share.

Students can take pictures and add them to this online collaborative bulletin board without logging in. Just double click to add a note with a thought or reflection and upload a photo from the photo library. There is no app for Padlet, but it work very well through Safari on an iPad.

iPad Camera Integration Ideas at the Augmentation Level

Once students get the hang of capturing learning through photos, take advantage of  additional iPad features to augment the learning experience. Use the Blooming Orange poster from, Smart Tudor   as a guide to challenge students to use higher order thinking skills as they demonstrate  learning. Capture a math problem , put together a series of photos to document a science experiment, and let students share and organize the learning through their unique perspective. Here are a couple of tools to get started.

Educreations

Popplet

iPad Camera Integration Ideas at the Modification Level

VoiceThread

ThingLink

iPad Camera Integration Ideas at the Redefinition Level

iMovie App

The iMovie app includes a  feature that can be used to turn images into an impressive theater style movie trailer that can include music and genre transitions. This feature rich app is easy to use and the product is impressive. Use scripts to guide the planning process and let students tell their digital stories.

Blogging to Put it All Together

When you get to the point at which students are regularly documenting their learning through images and using a wide variety of apps and web 2.0 tools to complete the task, stop and consider the many possibilities for redefining learning experiences. Combine some of the apps mentioned above to present information and ideas in any way imaginable and then publish them for the world in  a blog. At this stage, as a teacher you might need to get out of the way and let students create. Connect with other classrooms through comments and collaboration and showcase the wonderful learning going on in your classroom through a blog.
 

Final Thoughts

The ideas presented here focus on using photos because I believe the camera provides teachers with a  powerful and comfortable starting point for  1:1 iPad integration. Of course, that iPad camera also has video capabilities and the tools shared here are extremely flexible. It is my hope that teachers will embrace the camera, adopt some of the flexible tools presented here, explore additional ways to use those tools, and strive to Teach Above the Line.