iPad Pictures

Team 24 families,

It has been fun to integrate the 7 classroom iPads into our classroom learning! They are used in multiple ways to enhance students' learning. We have talked about WHY we have and are using the iPads and quickly determined that they were to HELP our learning. Thus, the phrase: "Can I play on the iPads?" has been banned from the classroom! Instead, we say, "Can I LEARN on the iPads?"! All of the apps downloaded to student iPads are educational and purposeful. Here are some of the ways we have used the iPads in our learning (so far):

1) During Daily 4/School-wide Guided Reading, students use the iPads to read books and listen to reading- some are fantastic book apps and others are books we have made and shared through iBooks! In addition, students are welcome to play Spelling City with their spelling words during this time.

2) Students also use Spelling City as one activity to practice their words during our three weekly Word Study lessons. A note did go home detailing the Spelling City app and many are excitedly learning and practicing their words at home!

3) After math lessons and work jobs, or as a brain warm-up, students love playing math games on the iPads, especially Addimals (which is FREE!).  Addimals also you to isolate a mental math strategy, as well as practice quick recall of facts.

4) As a class, we have used SoundCloud and Book Creator to create audio files of our New Year's Resolution writing and to turn our individual goals into a class book. Just as has been done with other class-made books this year, this book will be shared to the student iPads in iBooks for their reading enjoyment!

I am so proud to say that students are treating the iPads with respect, are using them cooperatively with a buddy and are not at all upset if I deny their request to go on them (whether it's not their turn or if I don't want them used at all at the time). Volumes are turned down when asked, classmates are helping others troubleshoot without being asked and students are adapting and following rules we create as we need (for example, when reading a book app, students must read or listen to the reading on each page BEFORE touching and clicking the interactive features within the page- as per our discussions that we are using the iPads to LEARN and in this case, become better readers.)

I could not ask for better behaviour on the iPads! Fantastic job, Team 24!

~Ms. Burland