How do you teach with Tablets and Bible Apps
in Sunday School?

This has been a major question I've had for many years.

The usual "Use Bible Apps with Kids" articles I've read list a few apps and then just say "use them!" -- as if that's enough detail to build a lesson plan with.

I've been using PC software in Sunday School since 1991 and even produced software for Sunday School --so I know what the lesson challenges are on any size screen. Honestly, I would have scuttled our early experiments with PCs in the classroom IF all we were able to do was "view Bible videos on the screens." Why? Because we already had a way to do that on bigger screens. What I was looking for was interactive content that was MORE than just a video. I was looking for onscreen content that included Bible Background, asked thought-provoking questions, and gave the kids a tool to reflect. I eventually collected and created software that did that (18 of those titles can be downloaded for free here at rotation.org).

Based on what I'm reading and seeing, MOST Sunday School classrooms that use tablets are using them as a substitute for showing Bible videos on a larger screen. They are putting small screens in the hands of the students by viewing a Bible story through a Bible app on a tablet device --and that's not terribly exciting.

• Occasionally those Bible apps have follow-up activities --usually of the preschool kind (coloring, moving puzzle pieces) and not much more.
• Some might have a quick story quiz.
• Almost none explain the story, present discussion options, or provide reflection.
• The teacher might have them look at something online, such as a Bible map or picture of a Bible location (but that opens up your tablets to viewing all sorts of other problematic stuff).

Kids will surely love to have the video in their hands, but with many tablets, controlling where and what the kids are viewing can become a hassle. We have this same problem with PCs in my Sunday Software days, but at least the software offered more than "just" the story. We could tell everyone to "stop when you get to X point" so that everyone could catch up. And when the program didn't have discussion content or reflection material built into it, we added it as part of our lesson plan.

A BETTER WAY

How to use tablets in every phase of a lesson plan

Some are content just to have tablets in a limited role within their lesson plan -- to show the story video only, for example. But if you're going to make the investment and want to tape the power of interactive learning with a tablet, there's a better way to lesson plan with them based on the various ways you can use a tablet and the apps available to them.

Your Tablet Can Present the Bible Story

The most popular use of tablets in Sunday School today is to use them as substitutes for a paper Bible. This is done by downloading your favorite Bible app, such as YOU VERSION Bible for kids, and reading it with the kids. These apps present the story with animation too.  If it gets them to engage more and remember more, then I'm all for it. Nothing sacred about paper. Jesus didn't own a paper Bible.

You can also show a video of a Bible story, such as those from the free Superbook Bible app, or viewing a YouTube video clip. Lots of great clips on YouTube! --including those that both show the story AND give life application.

• Check out this menu of YouTube videos by Crossroad Kids Ministry, most of them are wonderful.
• Check out the animated Bible videos from Saddleback Kids. Great retellings.

Another popular way to use tablets in Sunday School involves USING A CREATIVITY APP to create something about the story on your tablet is a popular follow-up activity. Here you are limited by age to tools that kids can use. Some creative apps I've seen recommended online are too hard for younger children to use --without devoting most of your class to learning how to use the tool (which is a big no-no in my book).  In the post above this one, I've listed many of the creativity "make something" apps out there. There are hundreds of them.

I know quite a bit about incorporating "creativity apps" in a Sunday School lesson because for years I used creativity software like KID PIX on PCs in various computer labs and lesson plans. Many of today's "free" creativity apps can do some of what Kid Pix offered --creative drawing, as well as creating and manipulating student-made video clips about something in the story.

Thus, your "tablet powered" lesson plan might look like this:

A "tablet using" lesson plan for Sunday School:

1. Opening:  Type a line of prayer that you want to speak out loud when we start class with an opening prayer. (They can also use a creativity app to quickly create their response.)

2. Bible Story: View this Bible video clip from either a children's Bible app or online source, such as YouTube.

3. Discuss with the Class

4. Use this Tablet App to create a special scene or reflection graphic or video that summarizes what you have learned from today's story/discussion.

5. Share your Creative App content with the rest of the class

6. Closing: Type a sentence thanking God for _______ and asking God for __________. Speak it out loud to the class if you are willing. (These prayer responses can also be creatively and quickly made in your creativity app.)

Depending on the age of your students and whether or not you can find the Bible story content in an app, you might use all six of these "steps" or just one or two.  The MORE you use the tablet, of course, the happier the kids will be.

I've included the Opening the Closing steps 1 and 6 in the above outline to share one simple way of using your tablets to promote prayerful interaction. I wouldn't do it all the time, but when you're using tablets and apps in your lesson, why not go the whole way!