iPads in Guided Reading Before a class set of iPads I was differentiating my literacy centers for guided reading. Here were some of literacy centers and how I differentiated them: 1. Word Study--At the beginning of the year, it is beginning sounds. As the year progresses it is ending sounds, short vowel sounds, blends, digraphs, long vowels, irregular verbs. The three students that come to this center listen to their individual tape player and complete their work. These tapes are direct feedback and have the students complete the work and then they check it at the end of the tape. 2. I made copies of the CD's or tapes so I would not use my originals in tape decks (so little hands would not ruin the tape by pushing record). Now, I use iPads during guided reading. Here are some of the apps I use. I am working on incorporating Raz-kids where the students will also be assigned leveled books based on their guided reading.
How To Safely Clean Your Tablet Or Smartphone's Touchscreen Cleaning a smartphone touchscreen is simple. You don’t need a special cleaning kit or cleaning solution to safely clean your tablet or smartphone’s touchscreen – you can do it with materials you probably have on hand. However, you do need to know what to avoid – many common types of cloths and cleaning solutions can damage a touchscreen. Once you understand what to do and what not to do, you can safely clean a smartphone or tablet’s touchscreen in just a few seconds, removing the build-up of oil, dust, and other grime that can accumulate on these devices as we rub our fingers over them all day. What Not To Do Before we go over a quick and easy method to safely clean your device’s touchscreen, let’s cover some things you should never do to clean a smartphone touchscreen: NEVER use harsh chemicals, including Windex, anything with ammonia, or alcohol-based cleaners. This process will be different if you have a screen protector on your screen. Get a Microfiber Cloth Why a microfiber cloth?
Megan's Recommended Apps for Deployment Let’s Talk About Captions! 21 Aug I’m always looking for ways to help history come alive for my students. The Perfect Captions app is a great way to incorporate technology in your classroom in an engaging way. Students can add captions to demonstrate their understanding of what a fiction character or historical figure might be thinking. They can use a picture found on the Internet, saved on a student’s iPad or taken with their iPad camera. Customize the size, shape and color of the talk bubbles and text Check out my lesson plan on using Perfect Captions in the classroom! Tags: Internet, iPad education, Lesson Plans, student work How To 'App Smash' And Implement Digital Storytelling On The iPad App smashing, the process of using more than one apps in conjunction with one another to create a final product, is a concept that allows students to create engaging educational projects and illustrate their creativity in multifaceted ways. One of the most gratifying and effective ways to use app smashing in the classroom is to create digital storytelling projects. The concept of digital storytelling is emerging as a form of personal and collective expression of knowledge, ideas, and perceptions. Its numerous and positive effects on students’ communication skills are well documented. Digital storytelling is the perfect vehicle for the delivery of visual and audio stimuli that greatly enhance a storyline or a simple narrative. Here is an iPad app smashing activity you can use in your classroom in order to create professionally looking digital storytelling projects. Getting Hands-On: The Project A typical app smashing activity has four steps: First, you start with the end product in mind.
7 Excellent Tools to Publish Students Work There is nothing much rewarding for students than to see their accomplished work being published and celebrated with others. This is very much motivating and is a strong impetus for them to achieve more and work harder. There are several online tools that you as a teacher can use to host your students work and share them with the whole class and as well as parents .Below are some tools that can help you do that. Check them out : 1- Flipsnack Fipsnack is an online flipping book software that allows you to convert PDF documents into Flash page flip digital publications ideal for publishing students work. 2- Issuu This is another popular website where you can upload and share your students work very easily and for free. 3- Tikatok Tikatok lets you easily create an unlimited books online . 4- Mixbook Mixbook lets you make completely customizable photo books, yearbooks, cards, and calendars and many more. 5- ePub Bud 6- Lulu Lulu is a website that lets you publish print books and ebooks for free.
20 Ways to Keep Your Students' Attention As the end of the year approaches, it can be more and more challenging to keep your students' attention. Brain Breaks are important, but there are plenty of things you can do within a lesson to keep kids from day dreaming...or worse yet, nodding off. Here are some ideas:Desk Switch: Students have ten seconds (count down from ten) to find another desk to sit in that is in a different part of the room than his or her normal desk. Did you get a new idea? iPad Acceptable Use Policy iPad Aceptable Use Policy Although many schools have a good ICT Acceptable Use Policy, the introduction of iPads and other handheld devices is a great time to revisit your current policy. Bringing in a new policy will also re-focus staff and pupils on your policy. Download the iPad Acceptable Use Policy (Word) Download Enter your email address and download the document here iPad Acceptable Use Policy (and iPod Touch) for School The policies, procedures and information within this document applies to all iPads, iPod Touches or any other IT handheld device used in school. Users Responsibilities Users must use protective covers/cases for their iPad. Additional Responsibilities for Pupils If an iPad is left at home or is not charged, the user remains responsible for completing all schoolwork as if they had use of their iPad. Safeguarding and Maintaining as an Academic Tool iPad batteries are required to be charged and be ready to use in school. Lost, Damaged or Stolen iPad
Top iPad Apps for PDF Files Many students and teachers at BHS have trouble with PDFs on their iPads. They don’t know what apps to use to view them or how to edit them within those applications. Thats why in this article I compiled a list of the top iPad applications for viewing and editing PDF files in no particular order. 1. Goodreader is a useful app for PDF file viewing and editing. 2. iAnnotate PDF This app is very professional looking at first glance it has a smooth user interface with tabs at the top to organize your files similar to most internet browsers tab feature. 3. Many people may remember this app as noterize, but it recently underwent a name change in the app store. I would recommend getting iAnnotate PDF if you have the money but Paperport notes is a good alternative if you are strapped on cash. Like this: Like Loading...
iPads in schools! They just play games! | IPAD 4 SCHOOLS 20th Century pedagogy + iPads = Gaming So, you’re in your classroom and annoyed that the kids are playing games on the iPads. You have devised a strategy and at random intervals, you ask them to double-click the ‘Home’ button to see the last apps used. Great! Well done on controlling the situation so they can get on with: writing their notes;Reading their e-textbook;completing their essay or‘Researching’ on the Internet. The only step forward you’ve really seen is the ability to use that Shakespeare app or Dissecting Frog app. The parents too, have complained that all they seem to see is game playing and maybe your school is considering limiting the apps allowed on the devices. Well done on introducing iPads. Now you have introduced a radically new and powerful learning device, you need to update your pedagogy to match it. Why are these issues the most important? Like the iPad, learning is personal This is not what the iPad was designed for. Like this: Like Loading... Related In "21C Learning"
iMovie for iPad: how to edit your videos quickly and easily Apple has made it really easy to edit home movies on your Mac thanks to the constantly refined iMovie app. But with the release of the iPhone and iPad, Apple went one step further and introduced a portable version of iMovie to enable you to edit on the go. Of course, it's pretty bare bones compared to what you can do on a Mac, but that's not the point: with iMovie for iOS, you can edit wherever you are, taking advantage of the long battery life of iOS devices. More often than not, you can have a finished movie by the time you get home. With the help of the iPad Camera Connection Kit, you can also easily transfer shots from your iPhone or iPod touch to your iPad, so one person can keep shooting while another edits, giving you immense flexibility. We'll show you the basics of editing on an iPad. How to perform basic video edits on the iPad 1. Launch iMovie and you'll be presented with an old-style American front-of-house movie theatre. 2. 3. Go back to your library's Video section. 4. 5. 6.
iPad As....use to address specific goals iPads have exploded throughout schools and classrooms. Their flexibility, versatility, and mobility make them a phenomenal learning tool. As teachers seek ways to integrate these devices, we recommend focusing on specific learning goals that promote critical-thinking, creativity, collaboration, and the creation of student-centric learning environments. In other words, begin with..... Teacher Experience and Expectations for the 1:1 Elementary Classroom In my last two posts, I detailed the iPad initiatives at Burlington High School. I talked about what we learned after a year of a 1:1 iPad environment and dispelled some myths surrounding iPads in education. Recently, I had the opportunity to connect with two of my elementary teachers at Pine Glen Elementary and Francis Wyman Elementary schools. This year, four first grade classrooms will be piloting a 1:1 iPad environment. Why is it a good idea to integrate iPads into the elementary classroom? Erin: iPads are a great way to complement other forms of instruction. Irene: Used correctly, iPads can only enhance the basic, formative skills taught in an elementary classroom. Irene, what applications have you been using? Irene: I have used QuickVoice; Explain Everything; Word Bingo; drawing pad; Word Family; Word Cub; Little Speller First Words Play; Word Magic; Spelling with Cimo; Spelling Magic; Fun Rhyming; Play Sight Words Gr. 1&2; Kid's Journal; Addition Top-it; ST Math; and Math Bingo.