iPads in Education?

We are going on snow day #8 since early January (I guess this one should be called an ice day) and I keep thinking that I should be able to bang out a blog post with all of this time on my hands. Until now, though, I have been so lazy that nothing has inspired me. I am finding that the less I have to do, the more I just want to climb under a blanket and sleep. I guess that's what hibernation is all about...

Then I checked my school email and was delivered the jumpstart that I needed.
I received a note from our Director of Curriculum. She had gotten an email from our Apple contact (I didn't even know we had an Apple contact - now I'm excited!) asking if anyone in the Technology Department is interested in getting more information about iPads in Education. Boy, do I?? I quickly responded "Yes!" and began researching, tweeting, texting and Facebooking about iPads.

Of course, being the ultimate gadget geek chick, I have had an iPad since the day they were made available. I use it every day, and in many different ways. I truly believe that this type of device is what students in schools will ultimately be using. I would love to be able to pilot some kind of program in our schools and see how it goes.

Due to my high level of excitement on the topic I didn't find any time (or desire) to read about the negative aspects. I know there are many points to consider that have to do with the downside of using iPads with students. If you have anything to share, please comment below.

Here are some of the the things I found during my snow day research:

Apple's iPad in Education site (there is a great video on this page that is definitely worth watching):
http://www.apple.com/education/ipad/?kmed=ppc&gclid=CNSPg-mn6qYCFdtx5Qod7XFF1Q

With apologies to all of my friends who are English teachers, I went to Cliff Notes.com and found this article about why an iPad is right for education:
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/Section/Five-Reasons-Why-an-iPad-Is-Right-for-High-School-and-College-Students.id-311001,articleId-176085.html

This is a great Ning that I joined:
http://ipadeducators.ning.com/

My Twitter PLN is always coming up with great resources. This one was tweeted and looks great!
http://livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit/26195
(By the way, Livebinders is a great Web 2.0 tool for teachers!)

Free Textbooks that can be used with the iPad:
http://www.ck12.org/flexbook/browse/epub/

New York Time Article "Math that Moves: Schools Embrace the iPad"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/education/05tablets.html?_r=1&src=tptw

News Article about how students benefit from iPads in the classroom:
http://newsinfo.nd.edu/news/18178-study-results-students-benefit-from-ipads-in-the-classroom/

The image above came from this website, which is another great article about a New Jersey school:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/nj_schools_explore_using_ipads.html