Showing posts with label iPad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iPad. Show all posts

Management Monday: iPad and Tablet Management


I thought I'd share a little song I teach my students when we first get the ipads out at the beginning of the year!  Maybe you can use it.  I also use Heidisongs great rules poster that you can find {here}. 


Click {here} to download 


If you have a student who is really struggling with following the expectations and NOTHING seems to work? What about a Technology Treat (aka... iPad time!)?
This behavior contract allows the student to earn stickers and once the chart is filled out, they can play the learning game on the ipad for 5-10 minutes.  It WORKS!  


Click {here} to download 

My favorite app for them to play during this time is the Teach Me app. It is a paid app but it's SO worth it!  I bought the 1st grade version and it's a bit too easy for my kiddos, but is great for my kiddos that need a great deal of intervention.  Look into buying a grade above what you teach.






Also, don't forget...



We are excited to announce that our stores will both be on sale TODAY ONLY as part of the big TPT Bonus Sale! You can save 28% when using code ONEDAY at check out! Find us at bit.ly/RachelleSmithTPT and bit.ly/NatalieKayTPT - Let us help you plan for literacy, math, classroom management, and more!


Listen to Reading MADE EASY with FarFaria


Have you been struggling with your Listen to Reading center? I do Daily 5 and we all know Listen to Reading is a popular choice. I mean, my students love it and I love that they love it... BUT!!!  The CD Players are always broken, the CDs are scratched, and the batteries last for 34 seconds (on a good day).  I have a new solution!  Hopefully you have at least one iPad in your classroom. I have one iPad that I can let my students use during Listen to Reading and I just use a splitter to allow 3 students (not 5 like it's capable of) to listen at the same time:


What are they listening to, you ask?  


It's an amazing, simple, educational APP that allows my students to pick from a wide variety of books.  In Farfaria, they have many different islands they can go to (genres).  They can pick a book and the APP will read them the book. They can even pick based on a level of reading (although I don't have my students choose this way). 







It's VERY easy to follow along for my students. I love that they have to pay attention to the words because the APP doesn't turn the page for them.  The student turns the page after the last word has been read (it highlights the word as it reads it to the student).  Perfect for fluency!


There are over 600 books on this APP (and 5 new books added weekly)! Luckily, I tell my students that they have to pick a book within 2 minutes, so they don't waste their time just browsing books instead of listening to books.  Although the books on this APP are not your mainstream books you see in the library...there are still many fairytales, tons of non-fiction, and some great fiction stories.  



Here are the logistics:
For $3.99 per month (cancel anytime) you get-
  • Unlimited reading from our library of more than 600 stories.
  • Five new, engaging stories added every week.
  • Interactive experience is fun for kids and easy for parents
  • Every story can be read aloud with a Read-to-Me feature.
  • Reading-level badge on every story cover.
  • Offline access to read Favorite stories
  • No advertising. No hidden fees.

OR... you can download the free version and read one book a day for free.

The monthly version is great and it is WORTH it!  I looked into another popular APP that students can listen to books from and you had to pay PER book and their books were 4.99 EACH.  So, to pay $3.99 for unlimited use and over 600 book is WELL worth it.  Are you getting books from authors like Eric Carl or Audrey Wood...no... But you are getting high quality story books that my students love to read!



Click the picture to learn more!


Fun with QR Codes

My school recently got a whole cart of iPads and I've been testing them out this week. We don't have a lot of apps downloaded yet, but I've been having fun teaching students the basics of using an iPad. As the computer specialty teacher at my school, I have students on all different grade levels (1st-6th) and it's been fun {and challenging} coming up with lessons for each different grade.

Today I tested out a geography lesson using the maps app with my fifth graders, while my younger grades worked on the Raz-Kids reading app. Probably my favorite thing to do is QR code activities. Even my first graders can find the reader app, scan the code, and find the information/website they need. 

(Here's a good list of QR readers)

I even made my own QR code activity on groundhogs as a way to teach my students in grades 3-6 about groundhogs and why we celebrate Groundhog Day. Check it out if you're in need of a last minute idea for Friday or Monday.



My question of the day is.... 

What are the best apps out there for elementary students? 
Please comment with a list of the apps you absolutely can not live without! This computer teacher will be very grateful for the help. 


P.S. Please check out this message from one of our new sponsors:


Could you use a little something to update your classroom? Teacher Created Resources is giving away one (1) $150 Teacher Created Resources Gift Card. Use the gift card for books, decorations, games and more. Enter the Chevron Classroom Pinterest Giveaway for a chance to win!  All you have to do is start pinning your favorite Chevron decorative items and create your own “Chevron Classroom Board” on Pinterest. See official giveaway rules here. Giveaway ends February 17, 2014

iPad Teacher Club: Management



I thought I'd share a little song I teach my students when we first get the ipads out at the beginning of the year!  Maybe you can use it.  I also use Heidisongs great rules poster that you can find {here}. 


Click {here} to download the song poster


If you have a student who is really struggling with following the expectations and NOTHING seems to work? What about a Technology Treat (aka... iPad time!)?
This behavior contract allows the student to earn stickers and once the chart is filled out, they can play the learning game on the ipad for 5-10 minutes.  It WORKS!  


Click {here} to download the song poster

My favorite app for them to play during this time is the Teach Me app. It is a paid app but it's SO worth it!  I bought the 1st grade version and it's a bit too easy for my kiddos, but is great for my kiddos that need a great deal of intervention.  Look into buying a grade above what you teach.






We are thrilled to share our *newish* blog design with you all. We wanted to keep our look the same, but add a few professional looking touches. 
We love Lindsay from Happy Potamus Designs and have been happy to have her do some work for us on more than one occasion. 


What do you think?
Like the new look?



iPad Tip - Guided Access

One of my co-workers taught me an iPad trick that has been SUPER helpful! It's called 'Guided Access' and prevents your students from exiting the educational app you want them to work on and going into other non-education apps. 

Here's how it works:



This has been extreeeeemely helpful when letting my toddler play on my iPad and will also be very helpful for my students. My personal iPad is my classroom iPad, so I really don't want my students going into all my things or trying to buy something from my Amazon Wishlist (...or do I?!). 

Did you already know about Guided Access or is this new information for you too?

{Check out our other iPad posts: here and here.}

Best of UCET 2013

Last weekend we had the amazing opportunity to present at the UCET (Utah Coalition of Educational Technology) Conference. The hot topic this year was all about using iPads in the classroom. Most of the classes we attended focused on all of the cool apps available to support education. Here are 4 apps that we're dying to share!!

Three Ring (top left) - This is Natalie's favorite thing she learned throughout the conference! Three Ring is an online digital portfolio for your students! You can upload files to each student's name or simply snap a picture of your student's work and it places it directly into that student's online digital file. It's amazing - such a great way to organize student work electronically!

Doceri (top right) - Great app for turning your iPad into an interactive whiteboard. Allows you to access your iPad  through your computer.

Reflector (bottom left) - An app for your computer that allows you to access your iPad from your computer/projector. This is all you need to project your iPad on your whiteboard which bypasses the need for an Apple TV and/or the iPad projector connector.

Splashtop2 (bottom right) - An app that lets you access your computer remotely. Allows you to navigate your entire computer through your iPad. It's extremely helpful when showing websites and PowerPoints to students as you are no longer tied to your computer - you can walk around your room and still navigate your computer!

We had a fun time presenting our sessions. A few of our followers even came to meet us! I think we can officially say that Susie Q is our cutest follower - she came to both of our sessions and even brought some friends along! We also met the sweet Joell from Totally Terrific Teaching.

 
{Natalie, Susie, Rachelle}

I {Natalie} attended two of Lorrie Cook's workshops and was wowed both times! She's the one that convinced me to purchase the subscription to Splashtop2 and to buy Reflector. She also sold me on the iMovie app which my students are already enjoying!! I felt a little silly asking for her to take a pic with me, but I felt like she was so inspiring that I had to put her on the blog!

{Lorrie and Natalie}

Other highlights of the conference included an inspiring keynote address by Adam Scott Bellows, hanging out with our friend Megan (she went to college with us and is our sorority sister), and the day when both Rachelle and I showed up wearing animal prints!

{Natalie, Megan, and Rachelle}

Overall, this conferences was a wonderful experience and we hope to continue presenting in the future! 

iPad Teacher Club!!

I'm officially in the iPad Teacher Club!! 

I've been wanting one for a while, but I just didn't feel like I could justify the cost since I already have a MacBook and an iPhone. But, I was able to drop enough hints to my hubby, and he surprised me with an iPad Mini for Valentine's Day. 

I love my Mini!! 
It's the perfect size for me and it fits in my purse perfectly!

Today was my 3rd day trying it out with my students and I'm already very impressed with the way it's helping me in my classroom. 

The first thing I did was hopped on over to Hope King's cute blog and searched for her
App Happy post she wrote last summer. 


Then, I followed some of the links at the bottom of the post. I found this one that I absolutely LOVED that shares lots of ideas on how to teach using one iPad in the classroom. 
Next, I followed EVERYONES advice and downloaded Classroom Dojo.
Everyone's been been raving about this app all year, but what I didn't know is that you do NOT have to have an iPad to use this in your class. Anyone can sign up and, using your computer, you can utilize this awesome website. If I had known that, I would have downloaded this a loooong time ago!

I've used Classroom Dojo with my fifth graders for the past two days, and they are super excited about it! They like to hear the sound it makes when I award points, and all I have to do is pick up my iPad and the behavior in my class immediately improves. They are excited about earning positive behavior points!

If you have not set up an account yet, I highly recommend you sign up and use it in your class. 


I also downloaded the Brain Pop App. They have a free featured movie each day. The movie is less than 5 minutes and is always educational! Yesterday we had an extra couple of minutes after our reading groups and before lunch, so I put the movie on {I don't have an Apple TV yet, so I just put the iPad under my ELMO} and my students were able to see a little video on the Underground Railroad. I know I won't be able to do this every day, but it is a fun idea for those transition times when you have a couple of extra minutes. It could also be good to use as a classroom motivational tool.

My other favorite app is the Kindle app! This is my first experience with an eReader and I'm already addicted! I keep going to Amazon to download more and more books. I'm currently on a self-help kick and am reading these two books:


In other good news...
Rachelle and I will both be presenting at the Utah technology conference next weekend!! I've been to UCET the past couple of years and I've always walked away with so much valuable information. 
If you live in Utah, and would like to come see us, here is the information.
{FYI - Online registration is currently closed, but you can register the morning of the conference!}
I need to know!!
* What teaching apps are your favorite?
* Which books do you recommend I download next?
 Please share your ideas in the comments.
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