As promised, I wrote my own blog post about the iPad being used in science education. I expounded upon some of your ideas, but also threw in a lot of my own. You can read it at http://edutechnophobia.com/2010/02/the-ipads-potential-for-science-education/.

Great post! I’m glad you commented on my blog and referred me to yours. I think it is great how you have brainstormed various ways the iPad can be used as a tool in the science classroom. I teach physics and technology classes, so I am seeing huge potential for the iPad in both of these classes.

I will be writing another blog post relating with specific uses of the iPad in science classes, but I will post a little bit here.

I agree with everything you said about the digital textbooks, online testing with instant feedback, virtual labs (awesome!), collaboration (with other students and possibly real-world professionals), and educational gaming. I’m sure between us, and other like-minded individuals, we can really expound on these ideas and make them become even better.

Of these, I think educational gaming can have the most dramatic effect and can actually be made to incorporate all of the other ideas like digital textbooks and virtual labs. I’ve got my own ideas, especially for physics and biology, which I will elaborate on in a future blog post.

I also like the “sandbox” idea for virtual labs where students can take various components and make experiments. You could almost have a virtual science fair on the iPad. At least this model would provide a starting point for a real scientific experiment.

I’ll let you know when my next blog post becomes available.