What is the Hallmark of our iPad Program?

In our second year of using iPads in the classroom, we are are recognizing how much our vision of the role iPads would play has evolved. Had you asked us last year, “What is the hallmark of your iPad program?” we would surely have described our successes teaching handwriting to kindergarteners and how helpful teachers find Evernote for classroom documentation. Even then, we would have insisted that it’s not “all about the apps”, but rather it’s about including iPads as a classroom tool when it fits the curriculum, or a moment where the iPad offers the best option for learning.

When we first began to teach with iPads, we sought out apps that solved the challenge of improving how we teach specific skills in Kindergarten, beginning with handwriting. This led to the inevitable search for the “best app” for the purpose, and we learned a lot - specifically we learned that there is no perfect app, and that perhaps our search for such a thing was distracting us from the real opportunities iPads provide.

With early writers and readers, we want to create multiple ways to help them share their knowledge and make it accessible to others. We use Book Creator to make books about their experiences in class and on field trips. We used iStopMotion to record events in the the classroom, and to tell stories in a new way. We create our own illustrations for our stories using Drawing Box.

As we began this year, we realized that we had a very different view of how the iPads would be used. We have expanded the program to include a set of iPads in each first grade, and 1-to-1 iPads in fourth grade. We chose a few apps, and grouped them in a folder on the iPads called “Creativity”. This group includes those already mentioned, and writing apps, presentation apps, and photography apps.. Students are using their iPads to create written projects, to do research and take notes, to express themselves, create collages, prepare books to read aloud to younger students, and to create presentations. The iPads are thus becoming a useful, accessible tool that fits the need when the need arises. The single-use, single-purpose apps are rarely, if ever called for.

There seems to be a divide among iPad teachers between those who seek the “killer app” for every job, and those who seek to find the apps that offer the most open-ended, creative possibilities. This is the similar to the divide between teachers that seek the “best” curriculum package to teach a subject and those teachers who pull from all the resources they find, and embellish their curricula with their own touches to fit their students’ needs and to match their classroom and school culture.

The hallmark of our iPad program? Encouraging creativity and self- expression; offering multiple ways for our students to make their thinking visible. It is so simple, and so rewarding!

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

 

How many ways can we tell a story?

In our class we have been working on finding different ways to tell a story. We began by reading some great stories about kids our age and having the students write a story with paper and pencil. The students reflected on their work. Does it have a beginning? Is there a middle? How does it end?

Our next stories were created solely with an art app. Most of the students used Draw Free.

The students narrated their stories to a partner. The students really enjoyed this project and created elaborately detailed tales to accompany their illustrations.

This story picture told the story of a boy who can walk under water!

Next, the students wrote with pencil and paper about one classroom job. Once they finished the paper and pencil version of their non-fiction "story," they went to Book Creator and created an iBook about the very same job. They were able to use the camera to take photos, an art app to draw illustrations, the keyboard option to type text, and the voice recorder to narrate these books.
This book was created to explain the Door Monitor job.

This week, we took story telling to the movies!
We talked about movies that are filmed and those that can be created by a series of photos. Using iStopMotion, we have made "A Day in the Life of KX."


To begin, I taped an iPad easel to a bookshelf and set it up. I showed the first student how to operate the app. I gave her some basic suggestions: tap the shutter button lightly, try not to move the iPad, check first to make sure it is lined up, etc. She took the first few frames and then taught the next student. We continued this throughout the day. Everyone had a turn to be the film director and everyone had a turn to be the cameraman.

Before we began, we shared what this story might look like on paper: We arrive at school. We have gathering. We have snack. We do Book Club. We go to lunch. etc. Not a very thrilling story. However, in this new format, the story provides details and information that the written story did not.




What I like about this app:
*kindergarteners can do it
*students get a chance to practice "teaching" something
*students get to experience different types of storytelling
*this is fun!