iPad for Kids: Using the iPad to Play and Learn

468 Pages·2011·15.45 MB·English

by  Brian Proffitt

iPad®
for Kids
Using the iPad
to Play and Learn
Brian Proffitt
Course Technology PTR
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Acknowledgments
O
ftentimes, people I know picture my life as an author as a solitary,
lonely existence, where I randomly wander the moors in a tweed
jacket smoking a pipe, punctuated by the occasional session of typing.
Um, no.
In truth, putting together any written work is a collaborative effort,
because no author knows everything, and often needs someone to put him
in his place. Such is the job of my long-suffering editors on this book
Mitzi Koontz, Marta Justak, Brown Partington, and Sharon Shock, who
get thanks for taking my content and crafting it into something better.
This book, though, was even more personal than having good editors.
This book, it turned out, would have family.
My mother, whose name graces the masthead under the technical
reviewer heading, is a retired elementary school teacher with 36 years
of experience. When the idea of this book was first formed, I knew I
would need her help with figuring out the nuances of education that
would be ingrained in a teacher like her. She delivered stunningly, and
her influence is felt in many pages of this book.
There was some generational help going the other way, too. My daugh-
ter, Aberash, and Brown’s daughter, Alexa, came through with a coast-
to-coast FaceTime session that was used in Chapter 8. Alexa is also the
granddaughter of Marta, so three generations from two families have
impacted the creation of this work.
This book also covered many different types of software applications.
Several companies and developers generously donated copies of their
apps to this book so they could be reviewed and discussed. For all of the
people who graciously responded to my requests for help, thank you.
iii
About the Author
B
rian Proffitt is a technology expert who blogs on ITworld.com on
Open Source technology and AllBusiness.com on matters con-
cerning small business. He Twitters as @TheTechScribe on these and a
whole wide range of technology sectors. Currently, he is an adjunct
instructor at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre
Dame. Formerly the community manager of the Linux Foundation, he
has also been managing editor of Linux Today (linuxtoday.com), a news
and information site about all things Linux and Open Source. He is the
author of numerous books on computer technology, including Take Your
iPad to Work. His other works focus mostly on Linux, with a Mac and
Windows book thrown in just for variety. He is also the author of a stu-
dent guide on Plato. He makes his home in northern Indiana.
iv
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Chapter 1 First Step: Introducing the iPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What Is the iPad? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Educational Case for the iPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Choosing the Right iPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Getting an iPad Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Throwing in the Extras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Setting Up the iPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter 2 Second Step: Interfacing with the iPad. . . . . . . . 17
Touring the iPad Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Having the Right Touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Keying in the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Moving Text Around. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Configuring the iPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 3 Third Step: Connecting with the iPad. . . . . . . . . 41
Connecting to iTunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Using the WiFi Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Using the 3G Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Troubleshooting Connectivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
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iPad for Kids
Chapter 4 Fourth Step: Using the iPad Apps. . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Opening and Arranging Apps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Get Your Apps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Updating Apps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Configuring Apps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Removing Apps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Chapter 5 Work the Web: Safari. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The Secret Origins of the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Here Come the Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Navigating Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Managing Bookmarks and History. . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Browsing Many Pages at Once. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Searching for Content. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Customizing Your Browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Chapter 6 iBooks for Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Finding Your Reading Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Reading in iBooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Chapter 7 Multimedia Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Getting Multimedia: iTunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Multimedia Playback: iPod and Videos . . . . . . . . 116
Internet Video: YouTube. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Chapter 8 Virtual Field Trip: FaceTime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
What Is FaceTime?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Setting Up FaceTime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Making a FaceTime Call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Video Mirroring with FaceTime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Chapter 9 Apps for Toddler Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
AlphaBaby: The Joy of Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Expanding Language: Baby Flash Cards . . . . . . . 155
One Counting iPad App! Ah Ha Ha Ha!. . . . . . . . 160
Hearing the Sounds of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
vi
Contents
Play for Creativity’s Sake. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Chapter 10 Apps for Pre-Kindergarten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Fish School: Catching Some Knowledge . . . . . . . 172
Oh, the Apps You Will Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
One of These Things…What’s the
Difference?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Abracadabra with Math Magic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Chapter 11 Apps for Kindergarten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Word Magic Hocus Pocus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Build Skills with TeachMe: Kindergarten. . . . . . . 200
Super Learning with Super Why!. . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Chapter 12 Apps for First Grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Formulating with Sentence Builder . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Put It in Writing with Letter Lab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Easing into Reading with Phonics
Made Easy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Get Counting with Time, Money & Fractions . . . 233
Geography Made Fun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Chapter 13 Apps for Second Grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Test Reading with Sight Words HD . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Fun and Games with Math . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Walk Among the Stars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Chapter 14 Apps for Third Grade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Achieving Fluency with K12 Timed Reading . . . 270
Step Up to MathBoard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Walking the World with GeoWalk HD. . . . . . . . . 282
Vote for Presidents of the United States
for iPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
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iPad for Kids
Chapter 15 Apps for Fourth Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Oh, Come On, It’s Dinosaurs! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
It’s All in the Chemistry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Something to Send to Washington. . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Chapter 16 Art Class Without Smocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Shutterbugging 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Quiet on the Set!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Drawing for All Ages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Chapter 17 The Musical iPad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Choose Your Instrument. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Playing Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Getting Smart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Appendix Apps for Learning Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Dragon Dictation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
iCommunicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
iConverse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Look2Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Proloquo2Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
viii
Introduction
W
ith the right applications, the iPad can become more than just
a device for watching videos, music, and electronic books. It
can be a device that’s used for teaching and imparting knowledge to chil-
dren in nearly any environment.
This ability to teach anywhere opens up a wider range of knowledge for
children than the obvious one of just having a mobile Internet-connected
device. The iPad has apps that are specifically designed to build skills
in reading, math, and writing. How many apps? Thousands. Some are
good, some are not so good, and having tried a lot of them, I think this
book has a collection of some very good apps that are available.
The apps offer parents and teachers flexibility, because they are small.
Small in terms of size, so they’re easy to download and install, and small
in terms of price. Many of the apps featured in this book are free, some
cost no more than $10, and many are somewhere in between. This way
of doing things means that parents can pick and choose exactly what
works for their kids and what’s fun for them to use.
While a computer could handle just about all of these tasks, software is
usually more expensive, and laptops can be inconvenient to carry
around, but the iPad’s flat form greatly simplifies mobility. Its longer
battery life is a bonus, too.
Is the iPad right for every educational situation? Yes, it can be. Naturally,
this is something this book will try to promote. But it won’t be a fawn-
ing description: if there’s a problem to avoid, this book will let you know.
Is This Book for You?
iPad for Kidsis for all of you who want to get started using the iPad as a
teaching tool for your kids. Think of this book as a personal tutorial, a one-
on-one class with an expert user of the iPad. You get to stay in the comfort
of your own home or school and learn how to do the following things:
(cid:2) Familiarize yourself with the iPad controls and interfaces.
(cid:2) Connect to the Internet with the iPad using WiFi or a cellular con-
nection.
(cid:2) Learn how to add apps and multimedia content to your iPad.
(cid:2) Print documents from the iPad.
(cid:2) Communicate with others via email.
ix