Smith

6th grade
==Students were able to use the iPad during a math lesson. The students loved getting on and using the apps for the math flash cards. We were also able to use the document camera to model my iPad for the students. The students were very excited. We used the math bingo, math flash lite, and math drills lite. ==

==Students were exciting to use the iPad during science classes. We were creating elements cards using the application Elements. Each of the students received 2 elements to research using the application. They were able to look up protons, neutrons, electrons, and other technical pieces of an element. However, the application was wonderful to look up information about how useful the elements to humans. It gave 3-D examples. The students were able to manipulate the pictures. Students actually wanted to do more work and complete more elements cards. I also had the students draw examples of their elements. The application is nice because students can also have the iPad read the name of the element. This was especially handy for those elements that have higher atomic numbers that get hard to pronounce. ==

__November 1 – 4__ – Math Class
==Students are using the Safari App to research ways that fractions are used in the real world. At the end of the research, students came my desk and used the document camera to give one of their websites that they found beneficial. ==

__November 9__ – Science Class
==Phases of the Moon. Students were able to practice putting the phases of the moon in order using a website called StarChild. This was one site that I was able to find that the students were able to interact with. The majority of the websites require flashplayer and apple does not support this use. ==

Students used Fraction Factory to practice converting fractions to decimals.
==__February 3, 2011__ - Science - Introducing the factors of weather. Students use The Weather Channel app to explore the 7 factors of weather. They are given one week to record the weather for 5 different days. The app allows the students to see all of the 7 factors of weather - Temperature, Appearance, Humidity, Wind Speed, Wind Direction, Precipitation, ==

==__February 10, 2011__ - Math - Students will explore the iXL website using the iPads. This is a program that I would like to incorporate into my mathematics classes. The students are able to individually work on specific lessons that they need assistance in. Students were directed to work on a Geometry lesson. ==

==__February 17, 2011__ - Math - All students on the team are practicing their math facts using Math Bingo. Students were given a practice timed test to test what facts they knew. ==

==__March 1, 2011__ - Science - Thoughtful Education Lesson - Students are introduced to the unit Inside Earth. Students are working in pairs to identify important vocabulary that they will be using throughout the unit. Students used Wikipanion to help them with the vocabulary. ==

==__March 2, 2011__ - Math - Students used the iPads in a task rotation. Students were working off of Safari using a website called Study Island. This is a comprehensive program that allows teachers to assign individual lessons to students that will assist help them learn specific content that they are weak in. ==

==__March 9, 2011__ - Science - iPads were used with partners were students were looking up definitions and examples on Wikipanion. They were finding different types of boundaries for the continental plates; divergent, convergent, and transform ==

==__March 22, 2011__ - Science - The class used the document camera to explore a website called Science Spot. Using this website through Safari, students were able to explore the anatomy of a volcano. The class was able to go into a virtual cave. ==

==__March 31 - April 8, 2011__ - Science - Students assignment was to explore a particular mineral that each of them were assigned. Students have a variety of resources on the iPads that they were able to use. Safari allowed them to go to Science Spot (which was added to the home screen on each of the iPads). This website worked the students through a webquest of questions that they had to answer about minerals in general. Students were able to see what minerals are used for, how they are created, if they are compounds or elements, and different types of minerals such are minerals that glow in the dark. The second portion of the project was to explore an individual mineral. Each student was assigned a different mineral. Students had to identify different properties of these minerals. Students were given the options to use a variety of websites, using Safari, Wikipanion, and my personal favorite, The Elements app. If a student was lucky enough to get a mineral that is an element, they were able to use the Elements app to find uses and pictures of the mineral. The third portion of the project was for students to draw a cartoon of their mineral and a slogan that went along with one of its uses. The final portion of the project had the students writing a letter to a younger student explaining why minerals are important and important uses of them. Students were able to use the document camera if they chose when presenting their project if they were able to find any interesting information about their mineral that they wanted to share. ==

==<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__May 5, 2011__ - Math - Students are preparing for the NYS Mathematics exam. They are assigned to use the Safari app and work off of Study Island. Something that I have found very useful with the iPads are that you can take a website that you use repeatedly and create a shortcut on the home screen. ==

==<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> __June 2 - June 3, 2011__ - Math - Students use the iPads to research different types of house plans. Students are currently working on a PBL project - Project Based Learning. The students are creating a house plan for a 1400-200o square foot home. They are able to spend up to $275,000. I have listed a variety of home design websites on our team webpage for the students to use. ==

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Students have been using the __KidBiz app__ all year to practice their reading skills and comprehension. Usage - __approx 3x / 1week__
==Overall, I love using the iPad in my classroom. The best reason for the iPads is that they are fast and reliable. Students are able to maneuver through multiple windows at lightning speeds. With having 24 to use on the team, Colleen and myself have to share the iPads during our reading classes. One half of the room uses the iPads and the other log onto our laptops. Students on the iPads are able to begin much faster and complete more activities than those logging onto the laptops through their school accounts. Students as a result get more practice at reading and comprehension skills.==

==The use of the iPads in my science classes have been wonderful. I have found many uses for them throughout the year. They are quick and efficient when logging onto YouTube or Safari. Students have found them useful when needing to look upi the weather on the Weather Channel App or using the NASA app when studying space exploration.==

==I would have liked to use the iPads more often in Math class, however the apps that were applied were of no use for the 6th grade curriculum. The only app that I was able to incorporate into the classes was Frac Factory where students converted fractions into decimals. The students did however enjoy using Math Bingo as review of their basic facts. This was used on average twice a week as practice during learning lab time.==

==My biggest complaint about the iPads is the inability of using FlashPlayer. There are so many websites that "fit" in the NYS curriculum that would benefit the students, but they require FlashPlayer. I hope that this is a change that Apple will look into in the future.==