Tackling Primary Curriculum Reform on iPad

Wellbeing is as important as it is vast. As a subject it concerns both physical and mental health and, in many ways, it feels like an area of the curriculum that iPad can’t help with. However, I would say that technology offers us a unique way of sharing ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Apps like Socrative, Padlet or Nearpod all offer simplistic ways for pupils to submit answers to questions digitally, instead of putting their hand up. This small change could have a huge impact on pupils who are less confident or verbally communicative. Alternatively, password-protected Pages documents can become personalised diary entries for children who shy away from vocalising their anxieties. From a Physical Education standpoint, apps like Coaches Eye or the built-in slomo camera on the iPad enable pupils to analyse their technique and ultimately aid their personal progress. At their best, these apps and approaches can be used for self-reflection.

‘Speaking and Listening’ go hand-in-hand with the speakers and microphone built into every iPad. Creating sound snippets on the Voice Memos app or embedding audio recordings into Pages, Keynote or Book Creator couldn’t be easier. Apps like Showbie can even enable teachers to easily mark and give feedback on oral clips. From a listening point of view, I would recommend looking into two things. Firstly, turn on ‘Speak Selection’ within the Accessibility Settings. This enables the iPad to read out highlight text on the iPad screen in a huge range of languages. Secondly, the podcast app is littered with free Language Teaching episodes. ‘Reading and Writing’ go hand in hand with the screen and typing/scribing capabilities built into every iPad. Apple Books contains a huge range of free foreign language books and, of course, the internet is an endless treasure-trove of reading material. The keyboard and freehand writing options pop up in almost every educational app. Finally, apps like Translate, Duolingo and Quizlet can serve all four areas of teaching and learning languages (speaking, listening, reading and writing). If you’re looking for a ‘Quick Win’ for language lessons, look no further than the pre-created digital flashcards on Quizlet. You can thank me later! 

Nothing exemplifies Apple’s dedication to creativity like the multi-media capabilities of iPad. It is the perfect tool for Art, Drama and Music. Let’s start by considering the camera for a moment. Built-in effects and filters make the camera the perfect companion for a budding photographer or filmmaker. Combine those capabilities with Pic Collage or Apple Clips and you have everything you need for a visual treat! Chuck in a greenscreen and the iMovie app and you’re starting to create some professional photos or films. The touchscreen’s sensitivity is something that we often take for granted, but its ability to distinguish between light touches and harder strokes plays perfectly into the hands of artistic apps like Brushes or Sketchbook. When it comes to music, GarageBand is a one-stop shop. You could teach every aspect of the Music Curriculum with GarageBand alone and I can say that with confidence, as I’ve done it! The brilliant thing about all of this is that each app is intuitive and accessible. The youngest pupils to the oldest students can create impressive pieces of Art, Drama or Music. Or, they can use iPad to combine elements of all three subjects. Why not create some digital art, that becomes the backdrop for some greenscreen footage, that showcases some brilliant drama, that can be soundtracked by GarageBand? For full lesson plans and inspirational ideas, check out Apple’s free book ‘Everyone Can Create’.  

Talking of combining subjects together, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) lessons are being tweaked as part of the Curriculum Reform. Again, I would argue that iPad is best placed to weave those subjects together in a meaningful way. Firstly, iPad can connect to a huge range of physical robotics or programmable devices via Bluetooth. The Sphero Edu app and its accompanying roaming robots are a great example of connecting and controlling something tangible via coding. Standalone programming apps like Beebots and ALEX are an incredible precursor to this. An understanding of mathematical concepts such as numbers, space, angles, patterns and so on, all play a part in programming objectives. But iPad has more to offer when it comes to Maths. With the latest iOS, you’ll find a nifty new Calculator app that uses machine learning to interpret mathematical equations, symbols, patterns etc as your finger or stylus writes them down. It can then answer the equations for you.

Hundreds of mathematical games and practice apps are available for free on the app store. However, I believe that the real strength is to make certain mathematical concepts tangible via its multimedia capabilities and built-in functionalities. In the same way, it can make Science studies easier to grasp by bringing them to life. The microphone can measure decibels and show sound waves forming on the screen. Seismometers built into the device can record vibrations. The camera can capture experiments and slow them down for deeper analysis. Let’s not forget that all of this is possible on one device. Therefore, iPad itself can become the link between subjects and can house STEM work across an entire topic.

Geography is a hugely visual subject. It’s inarguably aided by young learners being able to see the geographical phenomenon, or better still, being able to visit the landmark in question. Of course, the same is true of History. But in both cases, 99% of the time, you cannot pick up a class of young learners and take them on a school trip. This is where VR and AR tools come into play. iPad can access a huge list of Virtual Reality apps that can enable pupils to interact with their surroundings. They can stand in a jungle and observe the habitat from their seat in the classroom. In the same way, they can navigate around a virtual Castle that functions as it would have done during the medieval period.

Augmented Reality can place a historical artefact on the classroom table or make a 3D model of the Water Cycle float in front of your pupil’s eyes. I know what you’re thinking! Are these just gimmicks? No is the answer. The apps that I am referring to have stacks of educational content built in. Just check out AR Buildings, AR Emissions, Nearpod VR Field Trips or VR Atlas as four very solid examples.  I would also encourage any teacher to take another look at Apple Maps. The app now has built-in ‘guides’. These guides can reveal a huge amount of information about a building, place or landmark. You can also take virtual tours of entire cities. This functionality (that a lot of teachers don’t even know about) is hugely engaging and particularly relevant to Geography and History.