Tool: Video Message

During my second placement I was ill one day. I sent in a video message to my students so they would still get to see me and they put together a video message and sent it back to me. I feel this is a great idea for your classroom if a student is sick, or going to be gone for an extended period. This could also be used to send instructions for students who were absent for a day or extened period. I find it really hard to write out even the simpliest instructions for students who are absent. Below is the video message I revieved.

Tool: Live Butterfly App.

Also during our butterfly unit we used the live butterfly app on the iPad. This was our last day of the unit and they students had five fun stations to go to. The students were to find the four types of butterflies seen in the app, write down their names, and then spend some time using the app. This app uses the camera to display your surroundings and then simulated butteflies will fly in the screen. When you move the iPad around you will find more. If you touch the screen a butterfly will land on your finger. The second graders loved this! Below is a picture taken of students finding the types of butteflies in the app and using the app.

Tool: QR Codes

QR Codes have become a very popular and beneficial tool. Children see them on advertisments, on food boxes, and in many other places. My second graders did not know what they are. I integrated these in our second day using iPads in the classroom. In groups the students went through seven stations. There was a piece of paper with a QR code and directions for that activity on it for them to do work in their packets. The QR codes took the students to different websites with an activity for the to do to learn about butterflies. My students loved this! Below is a picture of students practicing the morning of scanning a QR code. I found this very helpful to have the students practice once in the morning during morning work time. It made the activity later in the day go very smooth.

Tool: SmartBoard

Another great tool that some classrooms are blessed with is the SmartBoard. I use this tool every day in my classroom in second grade. We use it to show videos, play academic games, as a normal whiteboard, for interactive activities in Math and Religion, and so much more. If you have a SmartBoard I would highly recommend Googling Smart Exchange online. It is a mass sharing site for SmartBoard presentations that teachers have created. You can search by grade, subject, or a specific topic. You can preview, download, and then edit the presentation to make it your own. Why re-invent the wheel right? Below is a picture taken during our butterfly unit of a station where studnets went through a SmartBoard flipchart on their own and write down facts they learn.

Tool: Camera

When teaching in my second placement with second graders, I also introduced them slowly to using the iPads in the classroom. Below will be a picture a student took during our Butterfly unit. Each day a different studnet would take a picture of our caterpillars to see how they were changing (we now have 5 out of 6 that have come out as butterflies!), then all the students would draw a daily butterfly watch drawing in a packet for the week from the picture taken using the iPad. I would project this image on the SmartBoard. It was a great way to slowly incorporate my second graders first time using the iPads in the classroom and getting down foundational rules, such as the ones listed in the post previous to this one.

Tool: Video Camera

When I was working with Sixth Graders in my first placement, I wanted them to get a very basic start to using the iPad in the classroom. Many of my studnets have used them outside of school (or similar touch technoloy). I established rules (these can be whatever you feel is important) such as, we always carry the iPads with two hands, we never leave an iPad unattended or laying around, and we always follow directions for activities on the iPads or they will be taken away. Below you will see an example of a Religion assessment I had my students do using the iPad camera to record their projects.
The students took turns practicing recording their classmates projects while they performed them in front of the class. This example also shows my students use of creating their own interactive powerpoint.

Technology in the Classroom

 

 

Using technology in the classroom to enhance learning has become a more prevelant goal for teachers of the 21st Century. With all of the tools available, teachers can get overwhelmed and lost. It is important that we take the time to stay updated and practice new skills using technology. This does not mean we have to use it every day, in every class. We should be trying to find good, academic resources to help enhance learning for ALL students. In my posts to follow will be serveral examples of how I used technology in my student teaching placements.

 

 

Blessings,

 

Megan Frisque