Spook-tacular Tech Ideas

Here's a couple Halloween themed iPad lessons I've had the opportunity to help third grade teachers with this month.  These teachers began their 1:1 journey at the beginning of October, so these lessons were the introductory lessons with these apps.

Multiplication arrays in Doodle Buddy

With the free Doodle Buddy app, students made pictorial representations of multiplication problems.

With this activity we did also see some wrong answers.  An extension to this lesson would be to take some of the student made examples, correct and incorrect, to revisit the following day.  Have the students review the multiplication arrays with the equations and explain if they are correct or incorrect and why.  

Spook-tacular Stories with Carve a Pumpkin & ChatterPix Kids App Smash

The students began with the free Carve a Pumpkin app.  With this app, they created their pumpkins and "carved" the faces.  

Then students imported the pumpkins into the free ChatterPix Kids app to record their "spook"-tacular stories!

iPad Basics: Camera Introduction Lesson

I recently introduced the camera app in several kindergarten classes.  Teaching students how to work the camera lays the groundwork for using content creation apps throughout the year.  Students will be able to take pictures to document skills we are practicing or what they are learning.

I taught several mini lessons, over the span three days, on the basic features of the iPad camera.   I would model each of these skills, then the students would practice.  I would take good and not good photos for each item so we could talk about the difference.

Camera Basics:

• take a photo
• delete a photo
• delete multiple photos at the same time
• focus the camera while taking a photo
• double tap for the yellow square
• hold the iPad steady (you may need to prop up on your elbows)
• zoom in with a two finger pinch
• zoom in by moving closer to the object is best
• change from front to back cameras
• switch to video
• crop a photo

After our intro to the camera mini-lessons, the students completed a short activity to practice using the camera the following day.  Since kindergarteners were practicing counting to 10, we had the students count groups of objects and practice taking photos.

Materials: number cards and math manipulatives

With this activity we could quickly see where students were on their counting skills.  After looking at the photos, we had the students recount pictures where we saw an error.

App-tastic Rules, Routines, & Procedures

With school beginning next week, I have been thinking of ideas for integrating technology into the normal back to school lessons.  At the beginning of the year, I always spend lots of time explaining and practicing rules, routines, and procedures.  I feel this time is critical in helping the rest of the year run smoothly.  This is also a great time to integrate small technology projects which gives a little extra practice for those rules and routines while introducing a few apps to your students.  Having students create projects about your rules or routines, is a great way for students to explore an app in a non-pressure way.  The students can really focus on the ins and outs of the app, while creating a project about familiar content.  

Here are six ideas to get you started this school year!  Click here to download a PDF copy for yourself. 

Save student projects and create QR codes to finished examples.  Hang these QR codes around the room for students to revisit these directions as needed throughout the year.  These will also be a great reference for new students as they join your class mid-year.

Rules, Routines, & Procedures: iPad Edition

From the Beginning...with iPads!
I am helping several schools launch a 1:1 rollout this fall with iPads.  As I meet with teachers and help them formulate plans for how to begin with iPads in their classrooms, I have gathered some resources to share.  I hope these resources will help you with establishing rules, routines, and procedures with iPads in your classroom!

Fraction App-tivities

Are you looking for some activities to reinforce your students' learning about fractions?  I've been working with a few 2nd grade teachers on this standard: 2.G.A.3 - Partition circles and rectangles into two, three, or four equal shares, describe the shares using the words halves, thirds, half of, a third of, etc., and describe the whole as two halves, three thirds, four fourths.  Recognize that equal shares of identical wholes need not have the same shape. Here's a few ideas to have your students creating fractions and explaining their fraction learning with the iPads.

1. Choose one of the following apps to create images to represent the fractions:

Doodle Buddy - Use the shapes tool to draw circles & rectangles.  Students then use the crayon tool to partition the shapes into two, three, and four equal shares.  Students can even use the text feature to type the vocabulary word to match the picture (halves, thirds, half of, a third of, etc.).  Save these images to the camera roll to use within another app.

 
Skitch:

Take pictures of your classroom shape manipulatives.  Use the shape and line tools to partition circles and rectangles.  Save the images to the camera roll to use in another app.

Geoboard app:

Use the app to create squares and rectangles.  Then use the rubber bands to partition the shape into fourths, halves, and thirds.  Screenshot these images to use in another app (Book Creator, 30 Hands, or ChatterPix).

2. Choose one of the following apps to add voice to the images to explain fractions using the key vocabulary terms:
ChatterPix - Use the images created in Doodle Buddy, Skitch, or Geoboards apps in this app.  The students can make their fraction speak by adding a mouth.  Then the students can describe the shares using the vocabulary words (halves, thirds, half of, a third of, etc.)  and describe the whole as two halves, three thirds, four fourths.

30 Hands - Students would create a fractions video clip using the pictures created in the other apps.  Students narrate each fraction image using the key vocabulary terms.

3. Use one of the following apps to create a picture showing the fractions and their vocabulary terms: 
Popplet - Use images of fractions created in Doodle Buddy, Skitch, or GeoBoard Apps.  Add vocabulary words to identify fractions.  Use several different images to create a fractions web.

Word Clouds - Create a word cloud showing the key vocabulary terms from the lesson or unit.
Book Creator - Students can create a fractions iBook using the images created from the ideas above.  Students could also draw and speak directly in this app.
4. Compile the student fraction app-tivities into a bigger project such as a book, created with Book Creator, or an imovie at the end of the unit.

Celebrating Dr. Seuss

This week we celebrated Dr. Seuss' books all week in honor of his birthday and NEA's Read Across America project.  The interactive read alouds all week focused on different Dr. Seuss books.  For a culminating project at the end of the week, teachers wanted to integrate an iPad project.  We had the students use the Doodle Buddy, a free drawing app, to draw his or her favorite Dr. Seuss character.  Then the students used their pictures in ChatterPix Kids to have the character come to life.  The students explained which character was their favorite and why.

Spelling App-tivities

This week, I've had the opportunity to help some classes practice their weekly spelling words on the iPads.  These app-tivities could also be used with other skills in your Word study as you practice other phonics skills, such as vowel patterns with your students.  Here's a few app-tivities to get you started:

Doodle Buddy App-tivities -

Have students rainbow write the words, where they use a different color for each letter in the word. 

Have students draw a picture (or use the stamps) to represent the word.

Play "I'm Thinking of a Word" where you give the students clues to guess the word in which you are thinking.  Have students write the word they think you are thinking of on the iPad as you give the clues.

Word Clouds App-tivity - 

Students type the spelling words in the app to create a word cloud.

QR Code App-tivitiy - 

Students scan the QR code and then unscramble the word from the letters on the screen.

I hope these spelling app-tivities will be useful in your classroom!

ImageTransfer App

Do you have student work that you need to transfer off the iPads?  If you can save the student work as a photo to the camera roll, then the Image Transfer app can help you.  With this free app it is easy to share student work from the camera roll with another iPad, an iPhone, or your desktop computer.  You can send up to five photos for free each time.

Aurasma iRead Bulletin Board

Have you tried Aurasma? I LOVE this app!  I've been reading about the Aurasma app for a while.  There are several great posts on the web with tutorials on how to setup an account and create an aura.  I found the Two Guys and Some iPads and Kleinspiration websites to be very helpful with step by step guides, video clips, and ideas to use this app in your classroom.  

One of my favorite ways I used this app in my classroom was with my reading bulletin board.  I took pictures of my students with their favorite books.  Then I recorded a short video of each student explaining what he or she loved about his or her book.  I used the Aurasma app to link each video clip with the photos.  The class enjoyed seeing our bulletin board come to life as we all talked about our favorite books.

I posted this sign with any of our class bulletin boards that could be brought to life with the Aurasma app. 

I created this direction page to explain how others in the school or parents could download the app and follow our channel to see our Auras.

Haiku Deck

Haiku Deck is a free app that allows you to make beautiful, simple presentations.  I love how the app has an image search with tons of great Creative Commons licensed photos for you to use in creating your slides.  This would be a great app for students to use in showcasing their research facts from reading workshop.

Here is a ThingLink I created with resources to get you started with this app in your classroom.  I have included links to teacher tutorials and classroom applications from around the web.  I can't wait to use this app with my class.

Audioboo

Audioboo is a free app that allows you to record your voice.  Each recording is called a boo.  You can listen to the boos in the app or on the audioboo website.  The app will also create a QR code to share your boo with others.  
The use of this app has been a great addition to my classroom, as it added an authentic reason and an audience, for practicing reading fluency.  Students were motivated to practice reading a book over and over, paying attention to the author's punctuation and intention of each sentence.  The students were excited to record and share their reading with their classmates.  Also, with the QR codes provided by each boo, I can quickly print the codes and attach them to our books for an instant listening center.  Another idea for using Audioboo in your classroom, would be to have students create a boo about their work displayed in the hallway.  Then add the QR code to the student's work to hear them talk more about the writing or project on display.
Here is a ThingLink I created with some resources and ideas to get you started with this app in your classroom.



Here is a sample audioboo recorded by one of my students reading a favorite Mo Willems book.

listen to ‘Gracie Today I Will Fly’ on Audioboo

Nearpod

I have presented about using the Nearpod app in the classroom with the teachers at my school.  I thought I would share some of the resources I gathered with you guys as well.  This is a great free app to use in your classroom.  They even have some free lessons available on their website to get you started with this app in your classroom.  Click the ThingLink below to learn more about nearpod.

ThingLink App

I presented a technology staff development for my school this week on the ThingLink app.  This is a free app where you can make your images come alive.  I thought I would share a few resources here about this great tech tool for you guys as well.  Below is my ThingLink about ThingLink for our faculty which gathered resources and ideas to help with this tool.  Click the image below to learn more about ThingLink.

I also created a few screenshot directions to help.  Click the picture below to save a copy for yourself.

Telling Time on the iPads

Our first grade standard for telling time is tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocks (1.MD.B.3).  One way we practiced on the iPads was in the Explain Everything app.  I sent the students a blank clock face in the Showbie app.  My students opened the blank clock in the Explain Everything app.  Then I would tell them a time and they would create the hands on the clock to show the correct time.  We also sang "What does the Clock Say?" as we practiced telling and writing time.

I found this blank clock face as a freebie on TPT.  Click here to grab a copy for yourself.

Fiction or Nonfiction

One of our standards is to explain the major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information (RL.1.5).  We have read lots of different books and talked about the craft and structure of how these types of books are different.  We have analyzed different books on paper, with our Senteo clickers, and now with the iPads as well.  Here are two examples from my students that were created in the Pic Collage app.

Groups of Objects on the iPads

We have been working on the Common Core State Standard 1.NBT.A.1 - Count to 120, starting at any number less than 120.  In this range, read and write numerals and represent a number of objects with a written numeral.  I decided to have the students create and count their own groups of objects between 1-120 on the iPads.  I let the students pick different manipulatives to use for this project such as blocks, links, counters, buttons, etc from my math manipulatives in the classroom.  The students counted out four different groups of objects and took a photo of their groups with the iPad camera.  Some of my students chose to use the Popplet app and some of them choose to use the Pic Collage app to showcase their different groups.  Here are some of their finished products.