ipads vs notebooks

Our school is debating which type of new technology to request.  What are your thoughts about the need for mini laptops vs iPads?  When it comes to class composition, I tend to revert back to notebooks.  Have iPads with the keyboard covers replaced your need for notebooks?  Must EQAO be completed on notebooks?  Our staff and students love the math game Prodigy which, unfortunately, is not compatible with the iPad platform. Thanks for your input.

Video performance feedback

The kids and I have been really excited about recording their music performances on the iPad. At times it has been difficult getting this project up and running with all of the technical glitches and establishing routines, but I finally have some momentum! Some little roadblocks to date have included:

1) fixing the log-off problem on google drive

2) getting AirServer installed and working (still finicky)

3) getting the students used to the process of recording and uploading using Google Drive

Here is a video clip of one student recording her performance test in a music practice room:

As you can see, we have to work on getting the proper perspective with the iPad and refining sound quality, but it's at least working.

Among other things, my intention going into this project was:

a) to allow the student to record their playing test on their own time, and

b) to encourage mastery by giving them an opportunity to record and re-record as often as necessary to achieve their best performance

HOWEVER, there was an interesting twist that I didn't see coming with regards to student's feelings about the recording process. Some reported a higher degree of nervousness/pressure/anxiety because they felt a personal obligation to make a perfect recording. In other words, they set the bar higher than ever knowing they were immortalizing themselves digitally.  The process of stopping to re-record every time a mistake often began to frustrate them. 

Many also said they were embarrassed to see and hear themselves in the video (self-consciousness). I'm not worried about this part...they need to get used to that as a means of self-evaluation. Tough luck.

Time constraints have played into this a bit since many students procrastinate . Many of them are vying for time with the iPads simultaneously. That only adds to the pressure they feel since they have to hurry up and get the job done so the next person can use the iPad. Working on a scheduling system that will alleviate this issue.

Procrastination Project

The Procrastination Project!

Raise your hand if you like to write report cards! Don't be shy... If you do, than you are in the minority.  Now tell me, who likes to clean and organize their house from top to bottom? Not many.  BUT, I bet if you are like me, your house is spick and span just before report cards are due.  Three times a year, I could put my house on the market, with an all day open house.  I call it the procrastination project!

I dread writing report cards.  First, you have to remember how to use the report card program.  Don't forget your password!  Next, is the never ending, time consuming, data collecting, followed by searching through the multiple pages of anecdotal notes (spread all over the couch, your bed, the dinner table...) BLAH! My stomach is in knots thinking about it.

Not this year!!! iPads in the classroom has changed my outlook, on what use to be daunting a task (for me anyway).  This time around, it was simple and satisfying.  Maybe, because everything I needed, was at my fingertips.  Anecdotal notes, photos, voice recording, movies etc... all accessible, all in one place, from my Google Drive (I love you iPad). 

I think too, because the students in my class have to create presentations in Explain Everything, I have seen them "explain" their thinking on a specific task, more than once.  You walk around the room while they are working/creating, you watch it as a whole group and listen to the accountable talk and peer feedback that follows, and sometimes you watch it again. You get a better understanding of your students abilities, with lasting images in your head.  Creating Next Steps wasn't so bad, all I needed to do was close my eyes and picture my students in the classroom.  Or, as I like to call it, a picture of a picture (picturing student work created on the iPad and displayed on the Smartboard).

Happy Writing!

Kinderland Reading Focus with Raz Kids

Our reading focus in Kinderland has been on making connections.  We have songs, actions, and pics that help us to make deeper connections, but the iPads have put a whole new spin on things.  In guided reading with the Raz Kids app kinders make a connection, take a screenshot and upload it to educreations.  There they can highlight, annotate, and record their learning.  The following pic also shows how we highlight our sight words and speech sounds that we're working on.  Kinders take great pride in sharing and celebrating their thinking with their classmates.  This inevitably challenges others to think deeper and expand on their classmate's thinking.  

Dance Units - iPads for Descriptive Feedback…and deeper understanding

by Donna Hannivan-Taylor

We have used video devices to provide descriptive feedback to students in the past, but iPads provide an opportunity for students to experience deeper understanding.

CRITERIA

Visible Effort Do your best!

Be on Beat Practice evident

Moves work with music & flow --Unison with other group members

Use a Variety of Elements—Speed, Weight, Relationships, Level, Directions

Use a Variety of Elements—Body Parts used & balanced on +Shapes, Floor Paths, Types travel (walk, run, skip, sidestep, crawl…)

Routine is original/ interesting

A Learning Goal for this unit is to have students understand & apply various elements of movement.  This results in an assignment where they work in groups to choreograph & present a dance routine.

My goal was to get students more invested in stepping outside their comfort zone of only using the typical dance moves they know & enjoy.  So, to begin the process I had them help develop the criteria that would be used for evaluation.

Next, once the dance routines were done, the iPads were used to video each group so they could compare their routines to the criteria for feedback.  You can’t get any more descriptive than that!

Finally students videotaped their final product, then used iMovie to voice over this recording, explaining exactly what they did during their routine that demonstrated the evaluation criteria.

This step places the responsibility for demonstrating learning onto the students.  They thoroughly understand the elements and what is expected of them & get immediate feedback on their achievement.  They also were proud of what they did.

iPads for Kindies at APS - Building Momentum

Engagement

Art Auction

This month our school is getting ready for an art auction in February. All the JK students are taking “still life” photos with iPads to sell at the auction. Pictures of stuffed animals such as frogs, ducks, and foxes are being taken against a background set up for that purpose. The SK students are also taking “nature” photos on the playground. These photos will be compiled and put into a large frame to be auctioned off. Funds will be used for a number of worthy purposes. Selections of pictures taken to date are set out below.

JK Photos

           

        SK Photos

   

Inquiring Minds

Tracking Student Engagement and Learning

This month, our Kindergarten students have begun their own inquiry “books” (writing journals). Each child has selected an insect or animal he/she would like to learn about. The Senior Kindergarten students roll our question dice (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?)  and ask questions related to their insect or animal during winter. We will be considering each of the seasons as we proceed through the inquiry. They have been quite independent in generating questions. A few samples of their thoughts are as follows: How do homeless cats keep their babies warm in the winter? How do owls search to get their food? Where do butterflies go in winter? The Junior Kindergarten students need adult support in varying degrees when formulating questions. The goal is for students to develop their ability to ask questions, find information to help them answer the questions they pose (with teacher assistance), and express their understanding artistically, in writing, and orally (dependent on developmental stage).

Apps

An app that is proving very useful in engaging students is RazKids. It has leveled books (fiction and non-fiction) and provides the option of reading text to the Kindergarten students. These books have bright, colourful pictures and animated audio. It has been necessary to review all the leveled non-fiction books and select those that might prove helpful to each student when working on his/her inquiry book. For example, books have been found on such wide ranging student choices as bats, ants, frogs, and whales. The Kindergarten students love reading the RazKids books and frequently are asking for more time to do so.

Challenges

The Kindergarten students are very keen on using iPads and many of them ask to do so daily. “Sharing” has proven challenging!  The SKs are very responsible when working with iPads – both in terms of treating them gently and in working on apps related to the Inquiry Question. The JKs need a good deal of guidance in caring for the iPads and much support is required in working on apps related to the Inquiry Question.

Next Steps

Next month we will continue to explore various apps relevant to our inquiry question and continue tracking student progress through the use of anecdotal notes, photos, videos, oral language checklists, and students’ journals as an expression of their understanding.

Digital Portfolios for Student Led Conferences

Each student created their own digital portfolio in Desire to Learn to share at their student led conference.  This was helpful in guiding their interview with their parents.  Using feedback from their work samples students had to write about math, language, 3 learning skills and then they could include up to 5 things of their choice.  In each category, students had to include what they did well at and describe how/ why, what their next step was and the plan to implement it.  In their choice category they had to describe the activity/learning and why they chose to include it. The students’ were able to imbed their iMovie trailer into this as well.

The portfolios put the ownership on the students’ to discuss their learning and many great conversations happened with the parents, student and myself. Parent feedback regarding was very positive. 

Click here to see an example

Creating Films in Central Senior Classrooms

Central Senior has begun the film making process. We have been experimenting with using iPads and MacBooks to film and edit short videos. I have posted links to examples of Commercials, Heritage Moments, Procedure Videos, Promotional Videos and Stop Motion. Our students are very engaged in the process and are becoming more creative and daring as they experiment and learn about planning angles and transitions.

Shoe Commercial

Heritage Moment

Music Procedure (Weight Room)

Welcome To Central Senior

Stop Motion with Watch

Stop Motion with Chalk

Stop Motion with Cups

Study Blue

It's that time of the semester...exam time. Earlier on in September I had looked at an app called "study blue" ( https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/studyblue/id323887414?mt=8). My project's goal is to increase student engagement and to get students to use higher order thinking. I started to play with the app only in the past month and a half. Students have been involved in this experiment and I think it has gone well.

 It can be really difficult to get students to focus and use their time well at this time of year. I also don't want the iPads to go unused just because we are in exams. At the start of using this app, I made my own "deck" of cue cards/flip cards as the unit progressed. It worked well to reinforce the concepts. Students joined the class and could view my deck of cards and use them as a quiz, a review sheet or a flash-card like activity. The app really becomes more and more powerful when the students start making their own decks and sharing them with the class. I think that this helps to employ some of the higher order thinking skills because students are reviewing their notes and trying to identify key concepts and devising questioning techniques around these concepts.

The best part during exams is that students pair off and practice with the iPads during the quiet days. They have self-assigned areas of strength and have taken on making decks in those areas. They can go backwards through the old decks in other units to help review and refresh the content. I encouraged the other section of chemistry that is happening at the same time to join our class. That teacher could not believe how well the 75 minutes were used with the iPads and how engaged and focused the class was. Students have also self-reported better retention of information and performance on tests. Some students have started other classes and are encouraging others to use this tool. Once students leave the class, they can access the app on android and iOS devices and on their home computers so this goes beyond just an in-class app. The free version is perfect for class use. I will put some images into the questions but cannot put images into the answers because I have not subscribed.

This app only really goes beyond drill-and-kill practice when the students themselves start to make the cue cards and collaborate in making the cards.

persuasive debate, google drive, collaboration

As a next step in all things persuasive, (persuasive toy commercials in Dec.) my students work on preparing a persuasive debate.  Student partners received a pre-written debate card and possible phrases to support them in their preparation.  Partners were asked to decide who would argue con and pro.  They were also reminded of the persuasive techniques used in their commercials and were given a list of powerful words. Jody was in and introduced students to having multiple writers work on the same document and the chat function while you’re working (using Google Drive).  Students applied this to the debate preparation and the results were amazing.  Although students weren't required to write out their debates (they were allowed to prepare orally), most partner groups chose to use Google Drive.  I sat back and watched (that’s right, I left them alone) and before long students were chatting about ideas for their partner to use, and creating and collaborating to ensure that both partners were ready.  The use of Google Drive fostered collaboration to a new level in my classroom.  One student even remarked on how their partner helped them to focus on sentence structure and punctuation.  It was great!

When it came time to present their debates students were very engaged and excited.  Student presented in front of the class with an Ipad in their hands.  One step closer to a paperless classroom.

Explain Everything and Google Drive

Using Explain Everything and sharing via Google Drive across a number of classes presented a bit if a hiccup.

What I now know: One mini can be logged into google drive as one user and logged into google drive on Explain Everything as a different user.  

Consequence: Students were logging in to Google Drive, exporting their .xpl files but, because Explain Everything had previously been connected to a different Google Drive account (in a different class) the files were going into another students folders.  They were in effect, disappearing.

Solution: When shutting down the minis at the end of a class students need to not only log off/remove their account from Google Drive but also access the account settings and toggle off the Google Drive account within Explain Everything. (See image below.) Students should have to log into Google Drive within Explain Everything the first time they export/share a file...if not, the file could be going into a different account.

Learning Surprises and Staff Collaboration!

So, the other day I had a great time discovering something new, by accident!  I had taken photos of my students on my ipad and my colleague asked if he could have them to use in our school yearbook.  So, I proceeded to click on photos with hopes to email the photos to him.  Having emailed photos many times from devices before, I know that this method (or even sharing photos via google drive) can take some time and be a bit tedious as they are downloaded/uploaded.  However, upon selecting my photos in my photo app, the ipad prompted me to share them using "Airdrop".  I had no idea what this was but I was curious and decided to try something new by following the oh-so-easy prompts on my ipad to turn on "Airdrop" in the Control Center in the settings app, on both my ipad and my colleague's ipad.  Then, with just one tap, (selecting my colleague's ipad number that suddenly appeared under the Airdrop symbol in the photo app), all 10 of my photos instantly appeared on his ipad!  It was so fast and simple!  What another great way to collaborate in the classroom and as staff! :)

The Power of Collaboration!

Upon teaching my class how to create and share documents on Google Drive, using the i-pad minis in class, my students have been thrilled to find that they can create group assignments in real time!  My grade nine French Immersion class is currently working on creating their own movies, in any genre of their choice, in groups, in French.  First, they worked on the script in Google docs.  They were thrilled to be able to work from devices at home (or on the bus or in the car) to write one script, as a group, in real time, seeing changes being made by their peers on the spot.  They have used this form of collaboration inside AND outside the classroom setting and have actually been excited to do homework and collaborate on this project due to the technology involved.  They have furthermore used the i-pads in class to film their movies and will be using the i-movie app to edit and put together the final product.  I am excited to see the end results! :)

Posting Videos in Your Blogger Post

The best way to post videos here in Blogger is to upload your videos to YouTube first.


Click here for instructions on how to create a YouTube account using your TLDSB.net Google account.

Once you have created the account, click here to find out how to upload your video(s) and set the appropriate privacy settings.


Finally, to put your YouTube video in your blog post, you just need to click on the video icon.
Then select My YouTube videos.  Select your video and then it will be in your blog post.

Explain Everything

Many of my students have begun to use Explain Everything as a means of communicating their thinking in mathematics.  It provides kids with the opportunity to record their thinking in a variety of ways (i.e. orally, visually, and in writing).  It also lets students record and then listen back to their own explanation so that they can self-assess to determine if they have clearly articulated their thinking.

Strengths: Students find the app easy to use, they can use the "screen capture" function from other apps (such as "Geoboard" or "Protractor") and embed the pictures into their Explain Everything file, then annotate their work with arrows, captions and other 'bits' of information.  Students can write directly onto the screen or use the keyboard option (this is important when you are working with students who lack fine motor control.  When students can only write directly onto the screen, they end up using up the screen space very quickly, making it difficult to organize their work).  Students can audio record their thinking at the end of the working time or while they work at solving the problem so that I can "listen in" to their thinking at my convenience.  When it comes time to consolidate, there is solid documentation of what has been tried so that others can benefit from the problem-solving that has occurred. 

Limitations: We haven't figured out how to edit the audio so that long pauses and unnecessary dialogue can be deleted.  It would be helpful to have access to a shape creator and other math components on screen so that students could be very accurate without importing from other apps.  

Students are able to share their work with me via Google drive as an MP4 file.  

Persuasive Toy Commercials using IMovie

In December my class worked on creating a toy and a commercial. Our focus was on persuasive techniques found in toy commercials.  I  use this as an introduction to persuasive debate and writing.
Step 1 -We watch several toy commercial (I have them all in one notebook) and discussed and recorded the persuasive techniques used by the advertisers to sell the toys.  We also considered the audience for each toy (parents, moms, age of the targeted child, etc.)  As we looked at each commercial students were asked to record details about each persuasive technique.  Amazingly the students found even more techniques then were listed on the placemat.

Step 2 –Students worked in pairs to preview a commercial.  Their task was to find as many persuasive techniques as they could and present their ideas to the class.  This lead to further discussions on persuasive techniques and audience. (and it was fun!)

Step 3 –Students were put in groups of 3 and 4.  (I assigned the groups because I was observing to focus on collaboration.)  Each group received a paper bag with exactly the same items as all the other groups.  The task was to create a toy.  Students were encouraged to use their imaginations.  They could have toys that did impossible things (fly to Mars and back, make breakfast each day, etc.)

During this process students worked together and planned.  Many groups used the ipads to take pictures of their ideas.  They wanted to make sure they had created the best toy they could before using the glue.

Step 5 –Students used Ipads to create their commercials.  It was great!  Students knew they need to make a commercial that was one minute or less and that they needed to use as many persuasive techniques as possible.  They loved this!! And it was so much fun!!  They even put Bloopers at the end of their commercial video.  Students were able to work, come to me for feedback, and then go right back to work.  I was able to generate comments and marks for media, art, drama, oral communication, and learning skills and I could observe them throughout the process and watch the videos after for a final mark.  Many students had never used IMovie before so my advice was to “play with it” and you’ll figure it out and of course, they did.  It was great to see some students who struggle at many things quickly become experts on the software.  One student in particular finds it difficult to complete any task and does not like to work with others created a great commercial with his partner.  Without the Ipads and IMovie this would not have been possible!!