10 Minute Tech Tools - Educreations

Are you looking for a quick and easy way to capture your students' thinking?  Look no further -  Educreations for the iPad is here!  Come check my blog and how you can use Educreations on the latest 10 Minute Tech Tools!

Monthly Tech Integration Idea: It's All About the {App}lications!

Come visit me over at my blog to check out some resources that can be used for utilizing iPads as an instructional and learning tool.

HS Teacher iPad Rollout & Professional Development

As part of our high school School Improvement Grant (SIG), our high school teachers recently received an iPad.  As a very basic beginning training before jumping in to different ways the iPad can be used in the classroom, we wanted to provided the teachers with some tips and resources for ways they can learn about the functionality of their iPad and start thinking about available apps and how they could utilize them effectively.  Together, Sarah Wood, Kelly McGee and Keith Tramper designed a half-hour training session that was conducted during a staff meeting to help teachers become acquainted with their iPads.  To view the lesson plan for the training, please click here.

At the beginning of the training, each teacher was provided with a checklist of the items that would be covered (to view the checklist, either click the image below or here).  This information was used to help teachers identify areas they were already comfortable with and areas they would like to learn more about in regards to using their iPads.  We then had teachers participate in a Mentimeter poll to share their comfort level in utilizing the iPad in the classroom (results listed below or here).  

Either a member from the Tech Team or a high school teacher then lead a session to share different ways teachers can optimize the use of their iPads.

At the conclusion of the training, we asked the teachers to participate in a TodaysMeet to share what they are most excited about with having access to an iPad in their classroom (transcript found here) in addition to having them complete a Google Form to answer some questions to help us direct future professional development opportunities.

The teachers seemed to find the training helpful and they were able to ask questions and have them answered by members of the Tech Team or their peers.  Many found it helpful to have a printed checklist in front of them to be able to mark off areas they were confident in, as well as areas they wanted to receive more information.  In reflecting on our presentation, our Tech Team agreed that if we were to provide another similar training, we would like more time to work with teachers as well as pre-assess teachers to make sure we are targeting appropriate areas.

App Highlight {Secondary Teachers}

As our teachers are acquiring different devices that meet their needs, as well as the needs of their students, the district has been working to support a variety of devices.  As many teachers are finding iPads to be a good solution to their classroom needs, the question that is most commonly received is, "Which apps should I use?"?  While there are many app recommendations that one can make for a fellow educator, the power of apps lies in that of their implementation and applications.  We surveyed our secondary teachers who currently have access to iPads to find out which apps they find most useful and how they are using them in their classrooms.  Below are their favorite apps and how they are implementing them.

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Teacher: Brian Conway

Grade: 7th Grade
Favorite App: Class Dojo
How do you use this app in your classroom?  This app goes along with the classroom management program found at classdojo.com where students are assigned an avatar and receive points based on positive behavior and lose points for poor behavior. It is nice to have the app because you can have it open during the class and can quickly and seamlessly adjust points with out having to go back to the computer. I set up a two week period where students compete to score the most amount of points. This seems to work well with middle school students and below. I am not sure how well it would go over in the high school.

Teacher: Vlad Borza

Grade: 6th Grade
Favorite App: Socrative
How do you use this app in your classroom?  Similar to the online version of the popular quiz program, I have direct access to all of my stored quizzes at my fingertips. I can start a pre-made quiz or quickly create a new one to use as an exit slip.
This app also allows me to see the live results and student progress to know how far along in the quiz each student is.
Any other comments or helpful hints you would like to a teacher who is trying this app for the first time? Students can also download the "student version" on their personal devices, alleviating some issues with not having enough working computers in the classroom. The platform is extremely easy to use for students and even has built in games where students can race each other or other groups while taking a quiz.

App Highlight {Elementary Teachers}

As our teachers are acquiring different devices that meet their needs, as well as the needs of their students, the district has been working to support a variety of devices.  As many teachers are finding iPads to be a good solution to their classroom needs, the question that is most commonly received is, "Which apps should I use?"?  While there are many app recommendations that one can make for a fellow educator, the power of apps lies in that of their implementation and applications.  We surveyed our elementary teachers who currently have access to iPads to find out which apps they find most useful and how they are using them in their classrooms.  Below are their favorite apps and how they are implementing them.

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Teacher: Katie VanArk

Grade: Kindergarten
Favorite App: Letter School
How do you use this app in your classroom?  For handwriting and letter recognition.
Any other comments or helpful hints you would like to a teacher who is trying this app for the first time? This is far and away the best handwriting app I have seen. It's very engaging and gives students feedback when they try to form the letters without the correct technique. It has multiple levels and you can select your district's handwriting program.

Teacher: Katie VanHaven

Grade: KindergartenFavorite App: Spelling Magic
How do you use this app in your classroom?  This app allows the student to view and hear a CVC word and then make the word with as much help as you program into the settings.
Any other comments or helpful hints you would like to a teacher who is trying this app for the first time? Every student in your classroom can use this app, no matter their reading proficiency. It will give the three letter choices of the word or it can give double letters words like "hill" for more advanced students.

Teacher: Sarah David

Grade: 5th GradeFavorite App: Virtual Manipulatives
How do you use this app in your classroom?  This app is free and has virtual fraction strips. I use it to compare fractions, find equivalent fractions and also +, -, x, / them.
Any other comments or helpful hints you would like to a teacher who is trying this app for the first time?

Here's a list of other apps I use:
ELA
SpellingCity
SpellGrade 1-5
Mad Libs
Storia
iTooch Grade 5 English

Math
5 Dice
Block Builder
MathEdge Divide
Long Division
iTooch Grade 5 Math
Dice
My Math App
Teaching Table
Equivalent Fractions
KickBox
BigSeed
Basic Fractions

Other
iTooch Grade 5
TourWrist
Paper EX
PBS KIDS
ShowMe
Khan Academy
Kidblog
Toontastic
BrainPOP
PBS
AirSketch Free
Groupboard

Teacher: Olivia Alkema

Grade: 5th Grade

Favorite App: Evernote
How do you use this app in your classroom?  I have been using this in our math lessons. Students can easily add a "note" to a "notebook" to use as documentation of their understandings. A note could be written, a picture, or audio file. All added with the touch of a button.
Any other comments or helpful hints you would like to a teacher who is trying this app for the first time? If you are only using this for one class, I set up a teacher account and made one notebook for each student to use. If you are looking to use this in several different areas, you could have each student set up an account, and share their notebooks with your account.
Other Favorite App: ShowMe/ScreenChomp/Educreations
How do you use these apps in your classroom?  All of these free apps can be used by students to create documentation of their understanding. They can use the app to draw what they learned or write out a problem (like a whiteboard), then record what they learned in an audio file. Can also be used to have students teach students. A student can record a "how to" for a task and other students can use this file as a strategy for remediation.
Any other comments or helpful hints you would like to a teacher who is trying this app for the first time? Some of these apps require you to create an account to share or save your creation. Check it out before handing it over to students.

Guest Post: AirSketch & iPads in the Elementary Classroom

Today's guest post is written by Elementary ELL Instructor, Christi Gilbert, and 5th Grade Teacher, Olivia Alkema.  Olivia & Christi wanted to share how they were using iPads in the 5th Grade classroom as part of their co-teaching, student-centered learning environment.  Below is their guest blog post.  You can Christi online here and Olivia here.

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AirSketch Free is an incredible iPad app that is easy to use in your classroom. What is it? AirSketch Free is basically a whiteboard that your students can use to share their work with the rest of the class.

 

My co-teacher, Olivia, and I use AirSketch in our math class for students to share their thinking. We have 8 iPads and so we divide our students in to 8 groups. Then we give the students a math problem to solve. Sometimes this takes the place of the monotonous "write your problem up on the board and share with the class" instruction, or is a new way to have students work out a math word problem.

 

The students work as a group to not only come up with an answer, but also to explain their thinking and HOW they solve the problem. They record their thinking through words and drawings on the AirSketch screen.

 

Now for the fun part. At the bottom left-hand side of the AirSketch screen, there is a little button that looks like a wireless icon (upside down triangle). When you click on that icon, you will see an IP address. It looks something like this: 10.10.10.5.11. Ok, so I made that up. But you get the idea.

Take that IP address and type it into the address bar on your computer. Make sure your computer is connected to your projector, and your projector is turned on. (Simple, yes. Often forgotten? Yes.) Wha-la! Your student's work is now on your screen for the whole class to see! Each group then takes a turn explaining their work and reasoning to the rest of the class.  The best part of this is that the students's work is shown in real time.  Anything they write down on the iPad will be displayed in real time on the computer screen.  Students absolutely love to write something down on the tablet and watch it "magically" appear on the screen.

 

This instruction can work with multiple iPads, or just one.  For multiple groups using multiple iPads, we create a new tab on the teacher computer for each group. Then we gather the IP addresses from each iPad and type them in to each tab. This way, when the students are ready to present, we just click on a tab and the students' work is there. This saves a lot of time and makes the class discussion run smoothly.

If you only have 1 iPad, you can still put your students in groups. Have them record their thinking on a piece of paper or a "real" whiteboard. Then, when it comes time to share, you will simply play "pass the iPad". One group will record their work on the AirSketch screen and share it with the class. Then, they will pass the IPad to the next group who will do the same.

 

If you have an AppleTV this process becomes even easier.  You can teach students how to connect to the AppleTV and they do the "dirty work" of the connection process for the class to have a view of that groups' work. 

JB Tech Info - Zite + Keyboard Shortcuts + Tech Updates

Around the Net:


Zite is an app for your tablet or phone.  This works on Android and iOS devices (iPad/iPhone/iPod).  It will take a topic such as e-learning or technology or gardening and builds a custom magazine for you to read.  It takes news articles from all over the internet on each topic and puts them in your hands.  If the article isn't something you like or not related you can vote it down or up if it's something you like.  This is a great way to get information from sources you would never otherwise find.

Search for Zite in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store

Tip:

Can't find where to print?
Use this shortcut: Ctrl + P or Command + P on Mac

Have a bunch of windows open and want to get back to the desktop quickly?
Use this shortcut: Windows Key + D

Can't read the text?
Use this shortcut: Ctrl+(+ or - keys) or Command+(+ or - keys) on Mac

Tech Update:

Soon to begin pushing out the latest Java Update and later Adobe Flash.  For some you may have ran into the issue where Firefox disabled Java due to it being behind a version.  Most will noticed it, because the Gradebook in Infinite Campus' uses a Java plugin.  This update should automatically install itself on Windows computers.

Important:
This update will cause the computer to take a long time to login/startup, this is because it is installing software.  Please do not shut the computer off and be patient!