Hazelton

Miss. Hazelton's Journaling Page:
October 5, 2010 Last Thursday we introduced the ipads to the students. They were able to use them for the first time, during their ELA class. The students worked on their individual kidbiz accounts, which involves reading an article and answering related comprehension questions. The students were very excited to be able to use the ipads. They were zooming in on the screens and answering the questions with little technical assistance from the teachers in the room. The next day, we combined both classes. The regular education teachers and myself were present in the room for this activity. Kris Smith went over some of the math apps that the students will have available to them. The students partnered up with another student and practiced their math facts and played math bingo on the ipads. The students were so excited to have the opportunity and were very thankful for it. When I had resource at the end of the day, I had a survey created for the students to complete in eclicker as a review for their math test. They were used to completing quizzes like this using the clickers, so for them to be all have individual electronic tests in front of them, and to be able to move all around the room was great. The students also liked being able to see the results of each question after they completed it. I need to figure out if there is an option for the students to progress onto the next question at their own pace or if they all have to be set on the same timer.

November 16, 2010 We just finished our visitation to Iroquois. We had a great time with Melinda, Kathy, and Kristen. We we able to see the ipads integrated into many different lessons and activities. First, the students used doodle buddy to compose their own ideas/drawings that showed food chains. The students really enjoyed the mix of illustrating their own pictures and choosing clip art pictures as well. The students were very engaged and worked well together. They then did a gallery walk, and viewed each others creations. Then the students did a writing activity, based on a poem about a bear who lost his tail. I was then able to accompany Kathy to the small group math class that she teaches. The students were eager to show me the ipads and the things they can do. The students used the ipads as a white board to answer math problems given to them, and appeared very engaged.

This evening, we had the opportunity to present the ipads to the board of education. We had a group of students come in as well. They choose their favorite app, and then projected it onto the screen using the document camera. When the ipads were circulated around the room for the board members to explore, it was as if they were sad to give them back. They were amazed at the capabilities, and kept commenting about how lucky we were to have this opportunity. It was a great experience to share what we have been doing in our classroom utilizing the ipads, and the board enjoyed the presentation as well.

January 2011 The students have been working on a poetry project in the ELA class where I am a consultant teacher. All of the students seem very interested in the project, and the ability to use the ipads for their research. The students have to locate a poem of their choice, and write it/type it along with illustrate it. The ipad allows them to begin searching right away, which is definitley a plus, considering the amount of time it typically takes the students just to log into the school system. In my opinion, the only downfall here is the lack of printing capabilities. The students find a poem that they like, but still have to look at the ipad, and write it down on their own paper. On a positive note, if they run out of time they can just take a picture of the screen to go back to later, but it would be much better if they could print the screen.

In resource, I am using an activity that was used in ELA class. The students look for an image online, and then using the comictouch app they can add conversation bubbles and thoughts to the image. I really got the chance to see their creative sides using this activity.

February 2011 Fractions are upon us in math class, and they present a challenge for many students. The students in my resource class are enjoying using the fraction factory app to practice their fraction skills. I wish there was an app available to us that would help them out with operations involving fractions, they have difficulty performing operations when there are unlike denominators present. The students love using math bingo to practice their facts. I have some students that use the fast math program in another class, but still love to practice on math bingo and of course play with the bingo bugs. A way to track their progress on this app would be nice for even their own reference to track improvements and areas of need.

March 2011 The ipad is coming in handy during my CSE meetings this year. I love being able to pull up a students current grades and assignments right in the meeting to show progress to the parents and students. Actually composing an IEP on the ipad has been tricky for me, and I have resulted to using my desktop computer so I don't end up losing information. I'll need some more practice with this! Being able to take notes in class is great, I can quickly jot down progress towards goals without always having to carry around a notebook and pen. Then I can email the notes to my email address and have them on my desktop, where I can save them to my h drive.

April 2011 I began experimenting with evernote when we first received the ipads. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to take notes during a faculty or department meeting, and before even leaving the room have the chance to email the notes to everyone involved. I then discovered that there is an evernote app available on my android phone (not sure how long it's been around, but I just discovered it) I like the fact that I can pull up all of my notes on my phone if I don't have the ipad handy, and vice versa.

May 2011 I was disappointed that brainpop and accelerated reader websites won't work on the ipads, but I was pleased to learn that study island works great for the most part, with the exception of the games. All of my students have accounts, and I love that I can send them assignments or assessments to complete, and they can get to them quickly and get right to work. I also like using the eclicker. The students are used to using the 'clickers' in the classroom for whole class assessments, but when I'm only working with a small group of students, I like this option. They always enjoy seeing the graph of the progress as they go, and I like the immediate feedback of results.

June 2011 The students have begun working on the math portion of their Project Based Learning assessment. They are constructing a house plan, and the ipads are a great research tool to look up different blue prints to get ideas for their own home that they will be creating. This is one time where I'm glad they can't print off of them, and just have to use what is presented on the screen. They really like the opportunity to use the ipads in all of their classes, and it's a great way to engage students in a variety of different lessons.