Friday 2 December 2011

Lots of exciting stuff in the past few weeks!

What a whirlwind! I have been using borrowed iPad2's in the classroom for the past 3 weeks. What an amazing tool. Students have been able to create plays using Puppetpals, we have even uploaded them to our YouTube acct for home viewing. Students used the mic app to record themselves reading, play their recording back and set goals to improve their reading...instantly! Soooo powerful. We learned that the iPad is not the best resource for looking up information on Canadian symbols, a book was a better choice! Students picked just right reading level books for silent reading with the leveled reader app..Learning to take photos and add them to plays was a huge hit with everyone. Cooperative learning was also evident as students shared iPads and produced work together.
  Students became the teacher as they mastered skills and shared with me and other students. I spent most of time observing and watching as excited students shared their learning with me. We also had an opportunity to "teach" our grade 1 buddies the ins and out of the iPad apps.
We finished up our iPad time with a QR code scavenger hunt that had students walking all over the school to find clues! Problem solving, reading and cooperation were evident everyday!
We were very sad to see this fabulous learning tool leave our classroom, and are awaiting their return at the end of January!