Gretchen's+Journaling+Page

October 5, 2010 Woohoo, the ipads are coming! Lots of good ideas on how to use the ipads in class. I found an app on questions on Islam. Amy kornacki and I are going to use fur.ly to create a lesson on islam. We are also going to use abc streaming from 20/20 when we do our Islam stations review.

In economics I found two apps. One on banking and the other on stocks.

I am looking forward to Visiting Iroquois and depew next month! Yu

October 15, 2010

I am presently completing what would have been a one day 80 minute block lesson on credit and credit cards. We have been using the laptops in the library and they are very slow, login takes 10 minutes. This lesson is totally geared for the ipads as students would only need the net to complete the worksheet.

Miss Ferguson, Iroquois hs food analysis 60 minute blended lesson 11/1/10

First used an Internet site to fill in the data collected over the past week. Students will input personal info as well as journaled information collected. Second step is inputting info into the app "go meals."

Sign in book to have the students log what iPad they are using. Students are very engaged. Some initial questions, issues regarding getting to the first website. A great sign as students were quiet and on task for over 95 percent of the time.

The lesson ended and students will be finishing in the next session. Great job!!!!

Mr Violanti and Mrs Verni - Renaissance Italy Lesson

Sign out does take some time. Getting students on to go to mr. V's website was small issue. Google earth app is the first to use. This is the part ii of a lesson. Students asked to type in Venice italy. Great connect to start a converesation on trade. Great view of the "streets" of Venice. Great connect with the drive thru at Tim hortons. Next city is Florence on google earth. Arrived at the dumo. Great visual to connect with his lecture on the roll/power of the catholic church.

iPad web assignments takes you to mr dowling's website on the Renaissance. Virtual stations activity. Very cool. They have packets to use with questions. Two day lesson and then take a quiz. The students were on task. Ia sat with a group and asked what liked about this activity. They like the google earth intro. And they also liked doing this instead of notes

Nov 4,2010

Mr. Wargala & Ms. Merrill Lesson on Midterm Elections Class size 15. Depew HS

Great lesson that allows students to manipulate different types of media. Students are looking, reading, listening, synthesizing, interpreting, and processing information from various news sites.

Class began with a Q & A review of election results. An Elmo would have been useful so students could visually compare their iPad to the teachers model. Instead the teacher used his desktop and projector to get to the sites. It worked, but would have been easier.

Some students are having a hard time finding the newspapers in the newsroom. Once they figured it out they could move along. In the second part students needed earbuds to listen to the Presidents speech after the midterm results were posted. Super cool idea to have students listen and process at their own pace. Extra earbuds are necessary as students who did not have them needed to play it out loud, which was a bit confusing.

A great lesson! The students were on task with Mr. Wargala and with the help of Ms. Merrill students were able to move forward if they needed support.

December We now have a google doc. Calendar to help with scheduling. Amazing tool, updates instantly!

12/6/2010

One of the amazing functions of the iPad is it's speed. Sites for the crusade lesson upload immediately, little to no wait time allows for more in depth review of the information on the site. The iPad provides students with a unique experience in that they can quickly access information and begin to manipulate it. For instance, students were looking up information on the crusades. They would fill in their chart with the required information and then continue to read or expand on the site reviewing additional information. students really enjoyed using the ipads to locate the information and then pair and share the information that they collected.

December 5, 2010 A point that I forgot from the first day of iPad introduction. One of my senior pig students who is "at risk" due to attendance said after our day of play "this was the best day of school ever." Ok, so we were not doing an organized lesson, not yet at least, BUT she did want to know when we were using the IPADs so she could come. The hook! Also, I think I sometimes forget that not all students have the financials to own a lap top, or smartphone. Using the IPAD for them is a treat, for lack of a better word.

Dec. 13, 2010 P.I.G. Lesson grade 12, "what is your viewpoint?" Awesome lesson! We are in a chapter on political parties and we discussed the "political spectrum.". We plotted politicians of the of the past on a political spectrum. Today the lesson was geared to where the individual students fall on the political spectrums. Students had to pick 3 of 6 political ideology surveys from myteacherpage and take them and record the result on their sheet. The second part of the lesson was to return to the site and determine if the site had a level of bias. By googling the site or reading their philosophy students can begin the thought process of discerning bias online.

Happy new year! Great article in the NY Times on IPADs in education! http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/education/05tablets.html?hp

I agree a great tool in the classroom. Today instead of providing the information on Congress I had students use thier IPADs To find the information. We did a quick pair and share and moved on with the lesson. What I love is that I did not plan this, but redirected while I was introducing the topic. Would love to have 20 in the room at all times for these moments.

January 25,2011

Another great lesson using the ipads. What amazes me is the speed! My lesson was easily 10 minutes shorter because we did not have to "log" on to the lap tops. The lesson was on the age of exploration, commercial revolution, and columbian exchange. Students were asked to go to specific sites that were booked marked on "my teacher" page. Students were asked To complete a map on the "exchange" and answer questions on the revolution and age of exploration. Students with their partner divided up the content and pair shared their answers. As a class we reviewed their answers and discussed additional information learned from the sites visited. Using the ipads allows the students a fast way of accessing the information and gives us as a class the opportunity to expand on additional knowledge gained above and beyond the original lesson.

February 1, 2011 Awesome, a last minute add to my constitutional scavenger hunt! Instead of using the text students used the Constituion "app" to search for the answers on the articles. At first students were adjusting to finding the information, but once they got the hang of it, they quickly progressed through the worksheet. Students needed to identify what their question was asking, for instance if the question asked who had the power to propose laws they would look in article one, legislative.

It is awesome having the iPads, I am using my lessons, but adapting them (sometimes last minute if the IPads are free) to the ipads. They are an excellent tool to have in the classroom.

March 29, 2011 Although it has been awhile, I have been using the ipads regularly in my global class. The one cart is stored in the room next door and as I am about to begin a lesson or handout I will have an idea to use the ipads instead, with a quick look around the corner, game on!

Julius Caesar review. Instead of having students use their notes and texts to find information on caesar's life, I let the students use the ipads. It was great, students divided up the four categories of information, became an expert using the sites that I book marked, and then exchanged information with their peers. It worked really well.

I think what I like best is my last minute ideas to change up my lessons. The Ipads are an amazing tool in the classroom. Students are instantly engaged and the information is lightning fast!

During my legislative unit in P.I.G. Students were asked to find information on their congressional representatives. Again, the ipads were a great addition to the lesson because the information was instantly accessed. Each student was assigned different information on Congress and their representative to acquire, then share with the group. Students filled in their legislative chart in half the time.

June 8, 2011

What a great time the ipads have been. In the last month, I have altered my lessons to incorporate the ipads. Mesoamerican civilizations, effects of crusades, west African civilizations, and the age of exploration. In ss12 students have tracked stocks, researched corporations, plotted demand and supply curves, written checks, researched credit cards and credit history.