iPad Integration = Purposeful Play

     

     With the thousands of educational apps now available, students need to be given a purpose for using the various iPad Apps available.  Some apps are informational while other apps are interactive.  The children need to have a reason to use the app to get the most out of the instructional activity.  For that reason, I spent a lot of time this weekend creating subject based activity and project pages to use with a variety of educational apps.  In the classroom, we will be creating folders for our iPad activity sheets.  Each sheet has a place for the students to record data about their interaction with the app, or perform research on a subject using the app.  I am confident the app activity booklet will help guide the students' independent learning while using the iPads.  Below, I've included a link to my school web page that has the PDF activity sheets for ELA Game Apps, Native American Research and Project, and Life Science Research.

http://www.oconee.k12.sc.us/webpages/bcloyd/ipads.cfm

I hope you find the app activity sheets helpful!  Have a great week!

Few Steps Forward, a Few Steps Back

A successful beginning of the year has a lot to do with setting the stage for learning - getting students into the routine, classroom expectations etc.  Some days seem to go magnificently, while other days we may want to beat our heads against a wall!  Consistency is the key, of course, but these past two weeks have been a bit on the inconsistent side in our classroom.  First, I took a couple of personal days to spend time with family visiting from out of state.  When I returned, one of my students said, "It's about time!"  Well, if that didn't speak volumes!  Students really do need to feel that security we provide through our daily routines and classroom structure.  On top of that, we are in the midst of our Fall MAP testing.  So, with that being said, our classroom has been a little off this past week - including the teacher's schedule, up-to-date blog posts,  and at-home routines!

We have been making some progress with our iPad implementation, but these minor kinks have set us back slightly.  This past week we were finally able to complete our Photo Wall projects with success!  I believe my students are really becoming engaged in the uses for several of our apps.

As mentioned in earlier posts, the use of the Scan app is a great tool for guiding students through research.  For it to work, you need to create a QR code for each website.  Follow the link below for a QR code generator site.
http://qrcode.kaywa.com/
I typically save the generated code to my photo album, then paste it into a word document to print for the students.  It's a handy little trick that keeps the students active and engaged in research!

I'll discuss those "talking iPads" next time . . . have a great week!