Space Junk

Teaching, Learning,  iPads and Space Junk
Several educators have asked me:

“Can you help me figure out how iPads can fit into my classroom curriculum?”  

The back of my iPad

I was emailed this question again this week and it made me flip over my own iPad looking for this sticker which I stuck on during the first week of our iPad program...over a year and a
half ago.  I would now replace my thinking about "teaching"
with "learning" since I'm not sure I want to create a classroom environment in which I am teaching to or filling up my students with content (I know that sounds like a vocabulary issue).  I do know that I want to create a classroom environment in
which we all are sharing our ideas, articulating our thinking, creating in unique and individual manners, digging into persistence, demonstrating understanding... generally
growing a culture of learning.


So how do iPads fit into a class curriculum?  No one ever asks how they can fit paper and pencils... or blocks...or a protractor...into their curriculum.  As educators, we try to turn our classrooms into places of learning (places that provoke and promote great thinking, creating, collaborating, problem solving, etc).  We provide the tools, structures, and routines to hopefully allow students and teachers and sometimes even parents to go about that learning.  As a kindergarten teacher, I have many varied tools in my classroom for a variety of learning goals including paper, pencils, and blocks.  I also have iPads.

This is how I now describe the way iPads “fit” into my curriculum:

iPads are not The Sun of our learning galaxy, they are just one of the planets in its orbit.  In other words, I don't put iPads at the center of every activity that I can.  Now that I have iPads available, everything does not revolve around their use. The Sun in this analogy is my classroom culture of learning and there are many planets (tools) in its orbit. In fact, the thing at the center of our classroom "universe" at any given time is the learning goal that I have set.  The tools I choose for the activity would be the planets.  The iPad might be the tool I (or the students) choose or it might not be.  Actually, this is a great place to replace that original question with what I'll call The First Step.  iPads are a great tool for learning - if you're still wondering about that check out Great Teaching is about the Process and The Challenge is On - you just need to take The First Step.  I like to refer to Dr. Ruben Putendura’s SAMR model. (Who doesn’t?).

The First Step is often easiest if you think about Substitution.  In our kindergarten class we used handwriting apps for our substitution step.  If you have older students, online research or writing might be a good choice for The First Step.




Keep all your planets in orbit around the galaxy of learning.  Now that you’ve taken The First Step, you and your students should be more comfortable and confident using this tool and ready to pull it out when and how it makes sense.  Using the SAMR model, you will find that iPads allow students alternate ways to share their thinking, demonstrate understanding, and go out of this world with creativity.

Apps are the space junk.  Ok, so this last part of my space analogy is a little bit out there... The apps really don’t matter!  If the iPads are one of the planets orbiting The Sun (learning), then the apps are all The Space Junk flying around the planets.

For example, there are many art apps that teachers can choose from.  It doesn’t really matter which one I choose as long as it works in my classroom.  We like Brushes and Drawing Box, but another teacher might find they prefer Scribble Press or Draw Free.  It doesn't matter which app works for me as long as I have been intentional in my app selection.  Also, some Space Junk is bigger than others - apps which should be orbiting every classroom (Book Creator, Evernote).  Sometimes Space Junk falls out of orbit and burns up in the atmosphere, meaning that sometimes an app no longer works and you just have to delete it.  In the end, it's really not about the apps at all.

We are not teaching children how to use iPads.  We are  creating a classroom culture of learning. Sometimes iPads are the right tool.  Sometimes they are not the right tool.  Students might start with paper and pencil and move on to iPads.  iPads might be just one part of a larger or longer process.  iPads might be the right tools for some students and not for others.  As with any tool we pull out in our classrooms, we need to think about what makes sense for the children and their learning. 

Our app list...

Here is the 2011-12 kindergarten list - some of the basic apps on my student iPads and couple of words on why (a great place to get started):

iStopMotion - even 5 year olds can create really cool "stories"  - read more here





 

 iPhoto - so we can edit our photos and create quick journals of field trips, activities, projects



 

 


iWriteWords - good for handwriting practice - read more here



 




Word Wizard - for building words, has many wonderful lists of words already built in (Dolch Sight words, numbers, animals, foods, CVC lists based on specific blends, letter sounds, etc) and lets you enter your own lists - read more here





Montessori Crosswords - fun reading/spelling practice - allows the selection of targeted sounds such as short vowel sound words, specific consonant sounds, digraphs, silent letters - read more here






Book Creator - to give the students the tool to be completely creative in telling a story - read more here






LetterSchool - fantastic handwriting practice - read more here










Motion Math Zoom - interactive number line - great for thinking about number relationships - bigger, smaller, number order - read more here

Motion Math Hungry Fish - fishy way of approaching number relationships/addition - read more here

Moofy Patterns - for practicing patterns







Motion Math Wings - new way to consider "which is more" using a little kinesthetic learning







Scribble Press - for letting the creativity flow (don't miss the outstanding marker wall!)





Big Seed - wonderful problem solving app which gets kids working together, having thinking conversations - read more here

KickBox - a great app for practicing persistence, problem solving, collaborative pairing - read more here







Strip Design - think wordless books in a storyboard format for 6 year olds - a great app for getting the creative juices flowing






StarWalk - because there are wonderful stories in the stars...and a little fun too!  read more here





Bumpling - more problem solving, logical thinking, and possibilities for collaborative efforts - read more here

 

LetterSchool - iWrite Words

I think that one of the easiest places to start using iPads is during handwriting times.  You can hand a kid an iPad with a handwriting app and they can practice fairly independently.  It may not be the area that showcases any of the best reasons to use iPads (fostering creativity, allowing for problem solving, encouraging persistence) but it is an easy, safe place to start.  (perfect for tentative teachers who are not sure how they'll get iPads into their program or those who are new to this technology and need to wade in - not dive in)

Here's what we do:

We start with iWrite Words by gdiplus.  It is easy to use, has pleasing and simple graphics, and gives both the letter in stroke order, but also offers the option of spelling words.

We add on LetterSchool by Boreaal.  We love this app!  Just like iWrite Words, LetterSchool is easy to use and has really sharp graphics.  LetterSchool adds a little extra.  It offers three steps to learning each letter.  First, the student follows the starting point for each stroke.  Next, the student needs to drag their finger along the letter outline in stroke order.  Finally, the letter disappears and the student must write the letter unaided.

What we like:

*both apps are guided and self correcting - in other words, the app won't let the student write anywhere outside of the letter shape - you can't use the wrong stroke order or scribble

*neither app is over congratulatory and both have a nice little "payoff" after correctly writing a letter - a little interactive piece that doesn't drag on too long

*since we use Handwriting Without Tears, we like that iWrite Words is similar to that font and we love that LetterSchool lets us chose from HWT, D'nealian, and Zaner-Bloser fonts

*both apps allow for lower case, upper case, and numbers

What we'd like to change:

*I'd love to get a choice of fonts on iWrite Words

*I wish that there was an easy way (right on the home screen or on one of the corners of the app) to reset progress - this helps in a classroom setting where we often have students sharing iPads

*I wish that iWrite Words would add a phonics component - perhaps a word that features each letter and its sound

Why we really love these handwriting apps:

It's so difficult to find an app that can do something better than the teacher can.  These apps do just that.  I can't stand over 24 students and simultaneously know that they are using proper pencil grip and stroke order.  I only can know that about the 1 or 2 students that I can see at any given time.  If students are working on an app that won't let them practice their letters incorrectly - then I can be assured that good habits are being reinforced and not just for the one student that I happen to be watching.