I will increase my knowledge of applications of the iPad in order to effectively integrate technology into my classrooms. Students will benefit from the organizational tools, differentiated instruction, and engagement these devices provide. Progress will be measured through academic as well as habits of scholarship assessments.
Organizational Tools
As the year started out my students and I tried using Edmodo App. This app was developed based on a website that I had used in my classes perviously. The site and app are designed to be an educational networking site. It actually looks a lot like facebook and functions a good deal like it as well.
Students can post to the wall to ask and answer questions. They can make comments to posts on the wall. They can share resources here as well. In addition to this, I can post assignments and grades here as well. I originally started using this with the students this year because Google Docs was not working seamlessly with the iPads. We eventually figured out how to trouble shoot with Google and began using that more often towards the end of the year.
Mid-way through the year we got trained on how to use ebackpack by Anne Marie Hutton from MLTI. This is an app already provided to us on our iPads that allows assignments to be posted, turned in and graded. It does not have all of the educational networking capabilities as Edmodo, but it can be directly linked to Google Docs and Infinite campus. So after I got trained on how to use this app, I began using it more often than Edmodo. It became very popular with students and they found it useful.
These videos show a lesson I taught the students at the beginning of a research project. The lessons show my explanation of how to organize the information they needed in Google Docs.
Students have been using the app, Loilo, to organize the field notes they take as they participate in case studies and fieldwork throughout their expedition. The app allows the students to create different "moments" that act like folders. Here they can add photos, take notes on text cards. They can create web links and web cards, and they can create map cards using google maps and google earth.
Differentiated Instruction
The Inspiration app is a graphic organizing app. The reason I have put this in the differentiated instruction section instead of the organization section is because of some of the capabilities of this app. The students have used this app on a variety of occasions to organize their thoughts. The app allows you to choose the way in which you would like to organize, either outline format or web format. The more visual/spatial students inevitably choose the web layout,
while the more mathematical/logical students choose the outline format.
This app also gives you sample outlines for different types of writing and projects. I really like how these can be edited to suit an individual student's needs. Students have been able to self differentiate through the use of their iPads as well. When they take notes, they choose whether they like the more structured set-up of notes, or the more free and open set-up. This app is free up to a certain point. As you can see, you can upgrade to get many more possibilities within the app. Students can only make a certain number of webs and outlines and they cannot share, email, or print their work with me unless they get the upgrade which costs $4.99.
A few students have also used accessibility features in their settings to help them with their individual needs. One of my students struggles a good deal with reading. While doing web research, he was able to use the text to speech option to enable him to do his required research. Another student has trouble with his eyesight. He has been able to enlarge the text size on his iPad as a whole by going into accessibility and changing his text size.
Engagement
We used this Hudson Museum app as a hook into the research we did concerning the Wabanaki People of Maine and the Maritimes. Each section of this app has a video of a Wabanaki person explaining their craft, a reading about the craft, and a simple game to go along with it. Some also include images taken directly from the Hudson Museum. Learning a bit about each of these categories gained students attention into the crafts of the Wabanaki.
Another app students used for research more recently was The Black History app. Students were charged with finding an African American person who helped make a change during the Jim Crow Era in American history. This app gives a brief overview of each person's life as well as their work in the area of civil rights. While not all people who were researched were represented here, many were. Some students even contacted the creators of this app to let them know someone they were interested in was missing. It wasn't long before many of these people were added to the list. Students were very excited to see that, with their communication to the creators, the list of historic figures would made even more comprehensive.
Easybib App
As students were researching for their Jim Crow project, they were also tasked with creating a bibliography. My eighth grade students are fairly well versed with creating bibliographies to cite their sources. They generally use the website easybib.com. This site allows them to enter in all the information needed for a bibliography and the site then compiles the information in the format needed for a works cited page. Through this last project one student discovered that there is an easybib app that allows you to simply scan the barcode on any book that needs citation. The iPad can scan the barcode with the camera and the information is sent to the easybib app which cites the source on the spot. The student who discovered the capabilities of this app was extremely excited and engaged, and when she showed the others, they were also very intrigued about the capabilities of the tool they use everyday.
I will increase my knowledge of applications of the iPad in order to effectively integrate technology into my classrooms. Students will benefit from the organizational tools, differentiated instruction, and engagement these devices provide. Progress will be measured through academic as well as habits of scholarship assessments.
Organizational Tools
As the year started out my students and I tried using Edmodo App. This app was developed based on a website that I had used in my classes perviously. The site and app are designed to be an educational networking site. It actually looks a lot like facebook and functions a good deal like it as well.Students can post to the wall to ask and answer questions. They can make comments to posts on the wall. They can share resources here as well. In addition to this, I can post assignments and grades here as well. I originally started using this with the students this year because Google Docs was not working seamlessly with the iPads. We eventually figured out how to trouble shoot with Google and began using that more often towards the end of the year.
Mid-way through the year we got trained on how to use ebackpack by Anne Marie Hutton from MLTI. This is an app already provided to us on our iPads that allows assignments to be posted, turned in and graded. It does not have all of the educational networking capabilities as Edmodo, but it can be directly linked to Google Docs and Infinite campus. So after I got trained on how to use this app, I began using it more often than Edmodo. It became very popular with students and they found it useful.
These videos show a lesson I taught the students at the beginning of a research project. The lessons show my explanation of how to organize the information they needed in Google Docs.
Here are links to a few samples of student work as organized by Google Drive
PJs Multigenre
Claire's Multigenre
Sal's Multigenre
Students have been using the app, Loilo, to organize the field notes they take as they participate in case studies and fieldwork throughout their expedition. The app allows the students to create different "moments" that act like folders. Here they can add photos, take notes on text cards. They can create web links and web cards, and they can create map cards using google maps and google earth.
Differentiated Instruction
The Inspiration app is a graphic organizing app. The reason I have put this in the differentiated instruction section instead of the organization section is because of some of the capabilities of this app. The students have used this app on a variety of occasions to organize their thoughts. The app allows you to choose the way in which you would like to organize, either outline format or web format. The more visual/spatial students inevitably choose the web layout,while the more mathematical/logical students choose the outline format.
A few students have also used accessibility features in their settings to help them with their individual needs. One of my students struggles a good deal with reading. While doing web research, he was able to use the text to speech option to enable him to do his required research. Another student has trouble with his eyesight. He has been able to enlarge the text size on his iPad as a whole by going into accessibility and changing his text size.
Engagement
We used this Hudson Museum app as a hook into the research we did concerning the Wabanaki People of Maine and the Maritimes. Each section of this app has a video of a Wabanaki person explaining their craft, a reading about the craft, and a simple game to go along with it. Some also include images taken directly from the Hudson Museum. Learning a bit about each of these categories gained students attention into the crafts of the Wabanaki.Another app students used for research more recently was The Black History app. Students were charged with finding an African American person who helped make a change during the Jim Crow Era in American history. This app gives a brief overview of each person's life as well as their work in the area of civil rights. While not all people who were researched were represented here, many were. Some students even contacted the creators of this app to let them know someone they were interested in was missing. It wasn't long before many of these people were added to the list. Students were very excited to see that, with their communication to the creators, the list of historic figures would made even more comprehensive.
Easybib App
As students were researching for their Jim Crow project, they were also tasked with creating a bibliography. My eighth grade students are fairly well versed with creating bibliographies to cite their sources. They generally use the website easybib.com. This site allows them to enter in all the information needed for a bibliography and the site then compiles the information in the format needed for a works cited page. Through this last project one student discovered that there is an easybib app that allows you to simply scan the barcode on any book that needs citation. The iPad can scan the barcode with the camera and the information is sent to the easybib app which cites the source on the spot. The student who discovered the capabilities of this app was extremely excited and engaged, and when she showed the others, they were also very intrigued about the capabilities of the tool they use everyday.
Student iPad Use Reflections
Portfolio Reader Letter