An Account of iPad usage in the First grade classroom

So, like any normal day, I asked my son what he did at school today. The general reply: nothing. So, I start prying and asking questions about each individual moments of his day as this seems to be the only way I receive answers. Since our last class session, I have been thinking about the way he uses iPads in the classroom and he tells me it's "for fun." Of course, this sparks my interest: is he using these for free time or is he really experiencing the "learning link" that we all searched for in our lesson planning last week. My son tells me that the iPads are used as part of the classroom centers. He also tells me that the iPads are only utilized once a week in his classroom, and only for about 10-20 minutes at a time. Among the apps this iPad contains are: The Foos and Math Racing Turbo. Both of these games (upon my Google search) seem to be educational and from the way my child speaks about them, he really enjoys them. One critical question I ask him is: What's so fun about having the iPad as compared to the computers in the classroom or even more traditional learning methods? Of course he focuses on telling me about how the iPads contain 'cooler' games, but I continue to try to stretch the answers out of him. After talking in circles, I realize that he doesn't know what he would do without this technology. He has been raised with smart phones and tablets and to him, this is no 'revolutionary idea.' This is life for him. He loves the fact that they get to use this technology in school because he sees it as being able to play games in a place that used to forbid these types of educational advancement. Times are changing, and the only way to understand these changes is to talk to those that are directly immersed in that change.

For more information on the apps:
The Foos
Math Racing Turbo