10 tasks every iPad classroom should be able to do

The Educational and Mobile Learning site highlighted a great step by step iPad task tutorial by the folks over at iSupport. They outline five tasks that “every modern teacher” should be able to do and use in their classrooms.

It’s a great list:

• A PDF
• A presentation
• An interactive book
• A podcast
• A movie

I really like how they put together an easy way to see how using iPad tools can lead kids through low level to high levels of thinking and doing.

But the list isn’t comprehensive. And it might start past the point where some teachers are right now.

So I’ve added five extra iPad basic skills that I think every teacher using iPads needs to have:

• Edit Photos
  Usable photos are the basics of many different apps and tasks. But it seems as if most teachers and students fail to use the Apple default tools to create quality images. Use the Photos or iPhoto app to make sure your photos are as good as possible before incorporating them into other tasks. And don’t be afraid to check out other non-Apple camera and photo editing tools.
• Arrange Apps
  Being able to move apps, create folders, and place apps / folders into the dock is a must. You can organize the contents by grade, content area, type, and task.
• Video-conference with others
  The iPad is a perfect tool for quick video chats with experts, other kids, or other classrooms. You can use the the built-in FaceTime software, Skype, or Google+ Hangouts.
• Share large files
  Use Google Drive, Dropbox, SugarSync, or other similar software to backup and/or share files. (I like these because they’re free.) But built-in tools like AirDrop and third-party apps such as Instashare also work great for moving files between devices.
• Find my iPad
  What happens when you misplace your device? Or it gets stolen? Do you know how to track it down or wipe it clean?

What skill or task would you add to the list?