Wednesday, 2 April 2014

How are we Improving Skills with iPads


FFSS phys-ed department is collecting info to see if our use of iPads in classes is helping students improve.  

Sounds simple, but we’ve been through about 4 different versions of a checklist to collect data.  

Version one  is  what we’ve used historically to allow kids to assess each other.  Then we added the questions to get students to understand exactly how to improve.   But it doesn’t tell us how iPads helped.

Version #3 attempts to get info about how students benefit from iPad use.  It worked well in dance.
 

We still needed to change it for specific sport skills.

Students should be able to, not only watch themselves & see if that alone helps them improve, but also have a chance to analyze their skills (through apps such as Coach’s Eye) & then apply the feedback they get through practice.  Then they can watch a final version of themselves & even compare their first attempts to the final performances. So this is where we are with our data collection!

Pre-ipad/feedback on Success Criteria Post-iPad/feedback on Success Criteria
Before watching any videos
Do I think I am doing the following…
Skill:__________________
Success Criteria
After simply watching video
Did I actually do what I thought I was doing
After analyzing video with partner, peer tutor, teacher & using feedback
Did I improve …
     Yes           No

Yes            No
     Yes           No

     Yes          No

Yes            No

     Yes           No

     Yes          No

Yes            No
     Yes           No


     Yes          No

Yes            No 
     Yes           No


     Yes          No

Yes            No

     Yes           No


     Yes          No

Yes            No

Did I improve after using the iPad?
Yes                       No
Explain how: ___________________________________________________________________________

Tuesday, 1 April 2014

Nearpod ~ engage your students

This past weekend I found a new app for student use: Nearpod.

http://www.nearpod.com/

App: https://search.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZContentLink.woa/wa/link?mt=8&path=apps%2fnearpod

This app is great for the class sets of iPads and BYOD. I say BYOD because it is available on windows, android and iOS devices. It is free to download to view the presentations (teacher made). So, if you get your students to download the app onto their device, they can follow along and participate too. I downloaded the app onto the 15 iPads that I have been assigned to. The shared use went really well.

Perks:

  • allows you to present assessments (open ended questions, m/c questions, t/f questions)
  • allows students to submit drawn answers
  • allows you to play videos (.mp4, .mov, .mpg, etc...)
  • allows you to upload existing lessons (.ppt, .pdf)
  • allows you to add images (.png, .jpg)
  • you build/edit the presentation files with a web browser (on iPad or computer)
  • the app collects data (student responses) that can be viewed later.
  • as activities are occurring, you can monitor the % of student completion and cue those not done.
  • you can display student responses/illustrations to prompt discussion
  • you can load content from google drive, dropbox, box, or the computer that you are using
Cons:
  • $$$$. The app is free. 90% of the features are accessible for the free account. BUT the paid part allows for a couple more features ($12/month; $120/year). 
  • Paid features:
    • host a webpage within the presentation
    • "homework" feature where students can (re)do activity/presentation at home or at their own pace.
    • more space for presentations
Video:


Assessment image from a presentation/activity in my class:



The National Film Board visited Central Senior

The National Film Board visited Central Senior school recently to build student and staff knowledge and capacity in the areas of stop-motion film making and clay animation.


Staff and students were involved in two ½ day workshops.  Each classroom teacher identified 5-7 classroom “leaders” to learn alongside them.  Staff and students collaboratively developed stop - time and clay animation videos.  The product staff and students developed in just a short time was amazing - it was a clear indication of what can be created with more time, support and fluency.


The National Film board offers a variety of workshops that target different audiences, ages and purposes.  The cost for the workshop was affordable, however, they capped the workshop at 30 so providing access to all staff and students was not economically feasible.  I believe it would be great learning for technology champions at each school to participate in and then share with their colleagues back at the school.  The NFB also came out with a new movie making APP recently.  You should definitely check it out.

We have included some photos and videos of our experience.  Contact us if you have any questions.

Jamie Stone




Music Inquiry with Touch Piano and Taiko

In Kinderland we sing and make music daily. We use music to learn and consolidate letter names and sounds, sight words, counting by 1's, 5's, 10's, etc. We write music and record audio and video of us creating music. We love music! So, we decided it was time to do an inquiry about music since the kinders have such great interest in it. On the SMARTboard and iPads we've been watching stomp and other garbage band videos. Pinterest has been helpful for brainstorming ideas about how to make an outdoor music wall. Kinders made their own instruments and recorded their songs with repeating patterns(Math and Music) on video and Garage Band.  We went for a parade at an assembly showing off our instruments. Kinders have also been practising repeating patterns on a piano app called Touch Piano and a drumming app called Taiko.  We've put simple lyrics to these repeating patterns as a phonemic awareness activity with syllables(i.e. apple-apple-pear).

Lego Inquiry with Lego Movie and Blocksworld

In Kinderland we've been inquiring about lego.  We went to see the Lego Movie and yes, "everything was awesome!"  After seeing the movie the kinders came up with wonderings such as, "how is it made?", "who invented lego?", "how do you make lego?", etc.  We have used the iPads in researching videos and websites that can answer our wonderings.  Our vocabulary has been expanding through these questions with words like, creative, manufacture, structure, foundation, etc.  To encourage writing the rule is, if you want to save your lego creation for later than you need to write about it.  Some kinders chose pencils and paper while other students chose to use the camera, video, or explain everything on the iPad.  We take pictures and put them up on our lego documentation panel to show our learning.  Students have been creating lego challenges and writing signs inviting other kinders to take up the challenge.  A new to us app has been Blocksworld.  It is similar to Minecraft in the sense that you can build structures, however geared to a younger audience.  It uses 3D shapes and the students have been excited about creating and sharing their worlds with other classmates.  They challenge each other's thinking continually and taking risks, and this app has introduced experimenting with 3D shapes.  This has been a perfect lead into instructing 3D shapes informally in small groups and formally in Math.  The Lego Movie app has been an exciting way for the kinders to explore their creating in story telling and cinematography.

Real time video feedback

A neat idea for those of you using iPads and AirServer in performance applications:

I have positioned the iPad to video half of my band class performing a song while the other half watches it broadcast onto a screen in real time from another nearby room. Removing the viewers from being in the same space as the performers allows for a more objective analysis of that performance. It's like watching a live performance on TV.

Google drive issues

Wondering if anyone else is having issues with uploading and retrieving files from Google Drive. Several students have told me that when they are looking for the video I shared with them, it appears one day, then is gone the next. In some cases, they were later able to find it in their gmail account as an email.

I am also having "twilight zone" occurrences with my Google Drive. Every day, all of my files vanish to the "trash", and I have to restore them. Anyone else?....

Technology can be a wonderful thing. It can also hold up the creative process.