Melinda's+Journaling+Page

10/27/10

'It is today we must create the world of the future.' Eleanor Roosevelt

The reality of this project just amazes me. I know, I know...we have been told we are on the bleeding edge of technology, but even knowing that, it still thrills me that I have 20 ipads in my classroom! We are truly creating the future today, thanks to these nifty tools.

We have been using the ipads with kids for about a month now. The children are motivated and very efficient with them. Here is a list of some ways we are using the ipads - use pictures from groliers database and comic touch to create a "poster" that demonstrates learning Thanks to my husband, we figured out how to use the print central app at home. I wonder if this can be used at school or do our printers need to be wireless?
 * Daily math fact practice with Math Bingo and the flash card app
 * daily vocab work done using the dictionary app
 * Accessing classwebsite through an icon we added to the screen
 * Use draw to create flashcards for use during spelling

I also need a lesson in using the document reader/camera....anyone, anyone?

I am looking forward to visiting Pioneer Middle next week to gain more insight into using the ipads!

11/3/10

"By associating with wise people you will become wise yourself." Menander

Well, after a visit to Pioneer Middle School, I do indeed feel wiser. Thank you, Collen, Kris and Jen for your hospitality and time. I learned a lot. It was great to see how you are melding the ipads with your Thoughtful Ed. Initiatives. The sixth graders were adept at surfing the web for pertinent info. It was also nice to see the kids so open to receiving help from us visitors.

One important routine that I learned from the kids is the importance of closing out all open windows before putting the ipads to sleep. I have to remember to teach my kids that! I also gleaned a great website, www.glogster.com from Michelle Rutan. This site is a great place for students (and my daughter!) to create multimedia posters. (Think power point on a virtual poster board.) The bad news is this site requires flash so it is not ipadable. While at the apple store, I also was reminded to routinely power down the ipads. Need to do that!

So I have been wondering lately, how much time each day does a student need to be using the iPad to make it an essential learning tool? My students are probably using them a total of one hour a day, 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there. I am constantly trying to come up with ways to use them more often and to adapt them to meet the needs of the spec. Ed kids. I did collaborate with an Alden colleague to solve the problem of the dictionary.com app being too hard for some of my kids. I was led to Wordcentral.com. I added a shortcut to the kids' ipads and voilà....accommodation achieved.

While I'm bragging, can I share some spontaneous use of the iPad that occurred today? In spelling, I was teaching the children a game called "Over Sixty.". The object of the game is to create words using prefixes and suffixes that have point values that exceed $60.00 (a=$1.00, b=$2.00, etc.). I decided that since the goal was spelling, it would be okay if the kids used the jumbo calculator app to add up the point values. I demonstrated the app using my newly figured out document reader.. (thanks for nothing, btw!). After playing for a bit, a student and I discovered that we could use the dictionary app's search feature to find larger words containing various prefixes. We typed in unt and up popped a long list of possible words. A clever student only need choose the word that by their estimation would bring them the largest point value. cheating? You might say say; I say, it's being resourceful and pushing kids out of their comfort zone of simply adding s to word.

I think that's the extent of my brilliance today...check back in soon, one never knows what wisdom I will learn from someone else tomorrow!

11/9/10 " This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.". Ralph Waldo Emerson

I don't have many new revelations this week. I am still trying to balance doing all that I have to do with the kids with using the ipads as much as possible. I would love some ideas for using the ipads with reading and writing...any suggestions? I found some neat new apps that are basically e readers for kids. The torturous part is that we only get a partial book for free, you have to buy the rest! I have received some great links to articles about using the ipads and laptops with kids...I will post those here soon for all to see.

12/810

"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." Steve Jobs

I can't get used to the reality that the best ideas for using the iPads have come from the children themselves. It happens at least three times a week that a student will say, "Hey, Mrs. Harvey, couldn't we use the iPads for this?". Now that's engagement! Today's serendipitous success involved the document reader camera. My objective was for the students to demonstrate their knowledge of multiple meanings of words. I suggested that the students use comic touch to illustrate the two meanings of a given word. The kids discerned that Doodle Buddy was better suited to this task. When it was time to share, a student suggested we use the DR camera. The kids used this nifty camera to project their image onto the screen and verbally described their work. Good stuff!

So as I am sure you know, the new update is available for the iPad. I was pretty insistent that we update our machines asap, until I realized that our district does not gave the printers necessary for air printing. While I am tempted to bring in my shiny new HP from home, I have resisted that urge and beat the system in a different way. First, I created a gmail account for my class and walked the kids through setting up their iPads with the email account (why do for the kids what they can do themselves, I like to say!). Next, the kids used a web based program to create a poem. When the poem was done, each kid "took a picture" of their work using the back button and the power button. Then, by going into the photos, the kids were able to email me their poem. At that point, I printed the email and smiled with sneaky pride! I am sure that we can print anything using this little trick. In hind site, I am wondering if anyone has had success with print central? If so, please teach me!

Off to search the app store....

12/15/10

'If we always do what we've always done, we will get what we've always got.' Adam Urbanski

We have been using the iPads for three months now and frankly, it fells great! I am looking forward to today's training as a place to learn new ways to integrate the iPads and get new, wonderful results.

Things to check out... Google lit trips

Things to do...

Journal weekly Have students journal on the wiki too Post video entries of kids and colleagues using the flip camera

While searching the web, I found a man in Britain who is riding the same "iPad in schools" train as we are. He has blogged about his experience from day one. This is a worthwhile read for educators, tech people, and administrators. The writing is thorough, fresh and insightful! You can find the blog at:

http://speirs.org/blog/tag/theipadproject?currentPage=7

Check it out! It is worth a read!

12/16/10

“One of the most obvious facts about grown-ups to a child is that they have forgotten what it is like to be a child.” - Randall Jarrell

Today, I welcome one of my students to the wiki. Read on to hear what Alex thinks about the iPads....

The iPads are a very inspiring tool to have. If you are a stay home parent then this is the kind of tool you might want. It dose everything that a computer can do and more. My classmates and I have used it for math, spelling, and ect.. The more I use it the more I like it. Mrs.Harvey let's us use a lot. Mrs.harvey said if we like them a lot, then she will keep them. IPads are a great tool to have as I already said. We hope other kids who join our train like them a lot too.

1/30/11

"Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won't come in." Alan Alda

Yikes, it has been a long time since I have checked in. I have been downing a lot of time online lately reading about other schools who are working with handhelds like the iPads. So, please forgive me for not posting a lot, but trust me that I have been ipadding as much as possible.

As the above quote suggests, the research I have been doing has been causing me to think differently about how to use the iPads. I know I want to use them daily, often, in small groups, individually, app based, larger project based....I want to step beyond just the initial use that the app is built for. The inspiration for this comes from a compilation of resources. Check out the following blogs for more details....

http://teachingin21.blogspot.com/

http://learninginhand.com/blog/

http://www.maggiehosmcgrane.com/

So far, I haven't put any of the projects into place in my classroom. I am working on an idea to match our next science unit....motion. I'd love to hear your ideas!

One thing we have been doing a lot of lately is using the iPad as a window to the web. We have used the "add to home screen" option multiple times to easily access some of our favorite websites. This has worked extremely well as we have been voting daily for Andy Parker's Weather Machine. We also take a daily "Poetry Pause" where we visit http://poemfarm.blogspot.com/. At this blog, the children read a poem and get writing inspiration from a local writer. Lastly, we have been visiting www.wonderopolis.org daily to read a non-fiction article. This site often contains a video that goes along with the daily topic. I devised a response sheet for the students to complete. Email me if you're interested in the response sheet!

I am off to scrub a few more windows and plan some engaging iPad lessons!

3/11/11 "Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things." Peter Drucker

I was inspired by this youtube video; you might be too. Are you being effective? [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEFKfXiCb

6/3/11

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”. Steve Jobs

As this school year comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the wonders of this year. I vividly remember writing my "Welcome to my classroom letter" last August. I was extremely nervous to tell my new students about this iPad project as I still didn't believe it would really happen. Ten months later, the iPads are tools in my classroom as useful, comfortable and adaptable as the dictionary, masking tape and the pencil sharpener! Was there really a time when I didn't teach with the iPads? We have indeed been part of something wonderful!

The iPads have pushed me to get current on what others are doing in the area of educational computing. While we have been toted as being on the bleeding edge, there are many others out there who are using mobile devices far more effectively than I. I have met these educators through webinars, blog posts and conferences like the Digital Wave conference. As we move forward, I will look to these innovators for ideas and inspiration. I WILL spend time this summer not only lurking through the app store, but pushing myself to create engaging plans to teach tomorrow's child using today's technology. Next year, I hope to use the iPads even more each day, not only to accomplish some of the standard expectations in my classroom, but also to challenge the children and myself to use the technology is new and exciting ways. Next year will be even more wonderful than this one!

Now that the grant is coming to a close, I am nervous to share the ipads with my colleagues, but I am also very excited. The intelligent professionals that I work with all come from different levels of experience and comfort regarding technology. I have no doubts that by sharing these tools, we will collaborate to provide even more children with wonderful, engaging experiences in the future.

Thank you grant writers, administrators, tech people and fellow teachers. Because of you, we can truly "go to bed at night knowing we have done something wonderful!"