Teaching with iPads

This blog is set up for a grad school class to discuss technology. Since I am a teacher, I have decided to dive into how technology can be used in the elementary classroom or library.

[lrhartley]

LearnZillion

OK, I was just introduced to this site by another teacher and so far I LOVE it. LearnZillion is a website that contains hundreds of mini lessons and quizzes  on topics in Math and Language Arts that can be used for remediation and enrichment for students. Plus, each topic is aligned with Common Core and can be looked up by the particular standard you are trying to teach/reteach.  It's great!

Set-up is very simple as well. Teachers (or parents) can create a free account and send students an enrollment code. Once students have enrolled, teachers can assign Playlists and Quizzes to the class as a whole or to individual students. "Playlists" are the actual lessons (about 5 minutes long) that teach students and give examples of the specified skill. The quizzes are only 5 questions long and the grade is then sent to the teacher.

If you are a teacher, then you know the huge emphasis of technology and differentiation in the classroom. This site will definitely help you accomplish both! I see myself using this site as a homework aid and for enrichment for my higher students. Don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself: LearnZillion.

Also, have a look at this video (scroll down to the bottom) that shows the program in action in a 5th grade classroom: LearnZillion in Action.

*Note: Currently, LearnZillion only has Playlists and Quizzes for Grades 3-8.

[lrhartley]

QR Codes Like Crazy!

I've seen QR (Quick Response) Codes around....in magazines, at stores, on mail packages and lately in my very own school. A QR Code is a funny little black and white blob of a box that can be scanned by a device. Once scanned, it will send the device to a preassigned website.  I'm sure you've seen them too, but have you ever thought about using them in your classroom?

Here is how it works:

1. Decide what website you want your students (or parents) to link to (see ideas below).

2. Use QR Stuff to generate a QR code to the link you chose. On this site, you can decide to download, print or email the QR code.

3. Download a QR Code Reader app for your phone or tablet. There are quite a few free ones. Check out this list for the Top 10 QR Code Readers.

Here are a few ideas on how to use QR Codes in your classroom:

1. Around the room centers or scavenger hunts.  These can be pre-made activity sheets where the student has to scan the QR Code to visit a website for the answer. Print the QR codes, hang them around the room and watch your students get excited to learn.

2. Link QR Codes to your classroom website. Send featured QR Codes of student work, book reports, newsletters, etc to students and parents. They will love accessing information this way.

3. Include a QR Code on a final research report.  Readers can scan the code to visit a link containing more information about the topic of the project (could even be a youtube video!).

4. Display student art work around the school and include a QR Code near it.  Link the QR code to Artsonia Kids Art Museum so students and parents can view the art work at home as well!  (Really, if you haven't checked out Artsonia, you should!)

No matter what subject or grade you teach, there are tons of ways to use QR codes in your classroom. Check out Pinterest for loads more ideas. My favorite part about using QR codes is how ridiculously easy it is. Before you know it, you'll be QR Coding like crazy!

[lrhartley]

Try this one: Explain Everything

I hear many teachers say that they want to use iPads in their classrooms but are at a loss in how to implement them "authentically", meaning in a way other than just having students play games. 

Agreed. There are so many good ways to use iPads to enhance learning, but the struggle for many teachers is not having time to sit down and explore all the options.  Today, I am going to share my favorite app that I've used this year: Explain Everything.

Straight from the iTunes app store, Explain Everything is basically "an easy-to-use design, screencasting, and interactive whiteboard tool that lets you annotate, animate, narrate, import, and export almost anything to and from almost anywhere."

You basically use it to record your students' thinking and creativity in just about any subject. My class has used it for book reviews, explanation of math problems, labeling and discussing objects in science, fluency checks, etc. The great thing about it is the project can be as quick, simple and done in 5 minutes, or something that has more components and takes longer to create. 

With a little help, my students (in 3rd grade) caught on quickly how to manipulate all the tools in the app. The tools allow you to import or take photos and videos, record voices and pen movements, and finally, export the project to a number of different places.

The two main reasons I choose this app over similar ones is because: 1. The app allows you to work on a project, save, and then go back in to work on it later (whereas projects on other apps couldn't be worked on again once saved), and 2. The exporting is so easy!  I have set up a dropbox for my class and they all save their projects in a folder with their name on it.  This way they can show their parents at home and I can pull up their projects on my computer as well.

It's really just better to show you how it could be used. In the following link, students explain different ways they use the app:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75IlpvSkC3s

I've also posted some simple projects we've done in class recently just before this blog post. Check them out for ideas!

If you use iPads for nothing else this year, at least try a project on this app. Start with something simple and watch your students get excited about other project ideas! 

To get familiar with the tools, watch this 8 minute tutorial.  The guy actually shows how he uses it as a teacher during lessons...another great idea!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMttsHd0M8M

[lrhartley]

iPad App: Explain Everything (Grade 3)

Students were given the task to give a book review on a book they had read recently "Reading Rainbow" style. 

[lrhartley]

iPad App: Explain Everything (Grade 3)

After completing a math performance task using menus to order food (practicing addition and subtraction), students were to record one of the problems and "think aloud" the math process they used to solve the problem. Easy quick check to make sure a student is "getting it"!  Could do  this with any type of math problem.

[lrhartley]

iPad App: Explain Everything (Grade 3)

After learning about non-fiction text features, students used Explain Everything to find text features in books and explain how they help a reader understand the text better. Easy quick check for the teacher to see who is understanding text features! 

[lrhartley]

Does it really work?

It's no secret that schools across the U.S. (and world) are jumping on the bandwagon of technology and trying to implement as much of it as they can in their classrooms.  But does it really work?  Is technology (specifically iPads) not just another distraction or initiative that will eventually fail? I think there is more than one answer to that question.

Research has been done in many schools and districts to discover the effects of teaching with technology on students' learning. Though most of this research is new (within the last few years), it is a start, and the results seem to be saying the same thing: technology does facilitate better student learning.

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in Victoria, Australia completed an "iPads for Learning Trial" in 2010-2011 and saw many positive results from students' learning.  Not only did they confirm that the iPad is very functional, easy to use, and extremely inviting for students, they also discovered that "quality teaching is the factor which enables the iPad to be used effectively..."  The iPad on its own can provide great remedial practice for students, but it is when a teacher plans purposeful lessons and projects to be completed on an iPad that higher order thinking really begins. iPads are not just for skill practice and quick research look up (though these are useful), but can be used to create, analyze, explain and synthesize. These are high level thinking skills that teachers strive for their students to experience everyday.

So, to answer the question: Is technology facilitating better student learning? I say yes, as long as the teacher directing the use of the iPads is able to be intentional with the assignments and projects given on the iPad.  In my own classroom, I've seen what a student can do with an iPad when given a bit of direction or a problem to work out. Students are able to create and explain and basically do things I wouldn't have thought to do!

If you're wanting to be on the technology bandwagon (or even if you already are) and need some tips on how to intentionally use iPads in your classroom, stay tuned. The next posts will be looking at specific apps to use, what they do, and how to implement them in your class to better your students' learning.

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Work Referenced: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. The iPad Trial. iPads for Learning. Retrieved January 23, 2014, from http://www.ipadsforeducation.vic.edu.au/ipad-student-trial/ipads-in-schools.