This year our school got a tech grant that allowed for everyone to have access to an iPad, Apple TV, and projector in their room. As well, we have a cart of 13 iPads that can be signed out for in-class use. Due to this, using technology in the classroom has become a goal at our school.
I had already been using technology for some things. Last year, I joined Twitter and so have read articles, heard about what other educators are doing in their classes, participated in Twitter chats, and interacted with educators on a daily basis. This has probably been the single handed BEST thing I could have done to improve my teaching. I am challenged daily on what my philosophies regarding education, as well as what I want my class to look like. As a result, my class has gone through immense changes. It started with the use of a class blog to keep students update on homework, as well as allow them a forum to keep in touch during holidays. A few years later, this developed into student blogs to promote writing and reflection for my students as a result of a workshop on blogging. Then I learned about genius hour and had to have my students start that as well. I also tried e-portfolios, but haven't found a site that allows a class to do this as a whole without issues. I tried Weebly, but it basically just crashed if we had our whole class in the computer room at the same time, even half the class was too much. I am trying Evernote this year, but it isn't how I want it. It has reverted to a place were students can work on writing pieces at home and school (sort of like a usb), definitely not what I had in mind.
So this year, I am trying to incorporate more ways to use the technology we have in our class to make my lessons more engaging for my class. Let's face it, students are used to this type of learning. All of them have grown up with computer and Internet access and how they engage with their peers is through social media. Most of my students have Instagram, Kik, Facebook, Twitter, iMessage, or other programs they use on a daily basis.
Some of the things I have tried this year are:
1. Using Kindle with our Apple TV to show our novel. This way everyone was able to see it and follow along if they wished during our read aloud. I can also load Kindle onto our 3 classroom iPads and share books between them. This allows me to get more bang for my buck when buying for our classroom library.
I had already been using technology for some things. Last year, I joined Twitter and so have read articles, heard about what other educators are doing in their classes, participated in Twitter chats, and interacted with educators on a daily basis. This has probably been the single handed BEST thing I could have done to improve my teaching. I am challenged daily on what my philosophies regarding education, as well as what I want my class to look like. As a result, my class has gone through immense changes. It started with the use of a class blog to keep students update on homework, as well as allow them a forum to keep in touch during holidays. A few years later, this developed into student blogs to promote writing and reflection for my students as a result of a workshop on blogging. Then I learned about genius hour and had to have my students start that as well. I also tried e-portfolios, but haven't found a site that allows a class to do this as a whole without issues. I tried Weebly, but it basically just crashed if we had our whole class in the computer room at the same time, even half the class was too much. I am trying Evernote this year, but it isn't how I want it. It has reverted to a place were students can work on writing pieces at home and school (sort of like a usb), definitely not what I had in mind.
So this year, I am trying to incorporate more ways to use the technology we have in our class to make my lessons more engaging for my class. Let's face it, students are used to this type of learning. All of them have grown up with computer and Internet access and how they engage with their peers is through social media. Most of my students have Instagram, Kik, Facebook, Twitter, iMessage, or other programs they use on a daily basis.
Some of the things I have tried this year are:
1. Using Kindle with our Apple TV to show our novel. This way everyone was able to see it and follow along if they wished during our read aloud. I can also load Kindle onto our 3 classroom iPads and share books between them. This allows me to get more bang for my buck when buying for our classroom library.
2. Using Socrative for review games. My students were completely engaged with this. I put them in groups depending how many devices we have in class on the given day and then they work together to work on questions I post. I can then post their answers and they can vote on the best answers. They loved this! Here is a tutorial. http://socrative.com/
3. Using the Confer app on the iPad when I conference with students for reading and writing. This allows me to take notes quickly and then group students based on what they need to work on if I so choose. I love this for Writer's Workshop.
4. Using Fresh Grade to collect student samples of work that I can then use later when doing report cards. I can put notes onto pictures of assignments, I can upload group discussions, and I can videotape oral presentations. I have just started using this, but I think it has amazing possibilities. I have taught students how to add items to their portfolios using this. I love being able to go back and look at something so I can give more descriptive feedback. http://freshgrade.com/
5. We use our iPad, Apple TV, and projector all the time as a document camera. Students can place their work, pictures, or items under the iPad and then we can project it onto our whiteboard. I learned how to change my unused overhead into a document camera from this video I found on twitter, Hugh McDonald is a member of my PLN and he posted it.
6. I created a class Twitter account <@misslingsclass>. This is something I want to do more with eventually. Currently it only gets used when I remember to post from it, but I want to eventually get students to tweet our learning from our account. Also, it will be good to reach out to experts on Twitter when we do Genius Hour.
7. Using the CamScanner app with Goodnotes to demonstrate note taking. I can highlight text from worksheets, our textbook, etc. and show students what is important or main ideas. I can project it using our iPad, Apple TV, and projector combination.
8. We tried Class Dojo, which is a classroom behaviour management tool. I used it to make students aware of specific positive/ negative behaviours. They were able to sign into their own account at home and view how their day went. I stopped using it after students became more aware, but it was good for a while because they were trying to beat their past day's score. http://www.classdojo.com/
9. I have demonstrated how to use various apps to review. Quite a few of my students have loaded apps to practice times tables, or even Quizlet. Quizlet allows them to find flashcards on various topics we are doing in class. They can also make their own review questions. It is great for French vocabulary, as it will pronounce words for you. http://quizlet.com/
10. We have also used iMovie. We did a Kindness project where I interviewed students about why kindness is important and set their answers to music (using Garageband). Students have also used iMovie to share their genius hour learning. We had a group of boys make an action video.
11. Using the Book Creator App for Family Trees. Some students shared their learning about their families by making an e-book. Also, I had a student make an e-book that combined our collective genius hour learning. I thought that was pretty cool.
I'm sure there are things we have done that I have forgotten, basically I am allowing my students to share their learning in whole new ways and giving them the choice of how to do that. I LOVE THAT PART! What works for one student will not necessarily work for others! I am trying not to get bogged down into letting my lack of knowledge on something slow me down. I find sometimes I want to control everything and letting that control go is hard!! Let's face it, students pick this stuff up way faster than me because they have grown up using technology, it is their language.
Basically, my goal is to keep trying new things and to keep learning. I learn new things daily on Twitter. It is probably the best Pro-D you can get. Sometimes something will work, and sometimes it will fail, but without failure there is no learning. Well, I am telling myself that.
7. Using the CamScanner app with Goodnotes to demonstrate note taking. I can highlight text from worksheets, our textbook, etc. and show students what is important or main ideas. I can project it using our iPad, Apple TV, and projector combination.
8. We tried Class Dojo, which is a classroom behaviour management tool. I used it to make students aware of specific positive/ negative behaviours. They were able to sign into their own account at home and view how their day went. I stopped using it after students became more aware, but it was good for a while because they were trying to beat their past day's score. http://www.classdojo.com/
9. I have demonstrated how to use various apps to review. Quite a few of my students have loaded apps to practice times tables, or even Quizlet. Quizlet allows them to find flashcards on various topics we are doing in class. They can also make their own review questions. It is great for French vocabulary, as it will pronounce words for you. http://quizlet.com/
10. We have also used iMovie. We did a Kindness project where I interviewed students about why kindness is important and set their answers to music (using Garageband). Students have also used iMovie to share their genius hour learning. We had a group of boys make an action video.
11. Using the Book Creator App for Family Trees. Some students shared their learning about their families by making an e-book. Also, I had a student make an e-book that combined our collective genius hour learning. I thought that was pretty cool.
I'm sure there are things we have done that I have forgotten, basically I am allowing my students to share their learning in whole new ways and giving them the choice of how to do that. I LOVE THAT PART! What works for one student will not necessarily work for others! I am trying not to get bogged down into letting my lack of knowledge on something slow me down. I find sometimes I want to control everything and letting that control go is hard!! Let's face it, students pick this stuff up way faster than me because they have grown up using technology, it is their language.
Basically, my goal is to keep trying new things and to keep learning. I learn new things daily on Twitter. It is probably the best Pro-D you can get. Sometimes something will work, and sometimes it will fail, but without failure there is no learning. Well, I am telling myself that.