For this assignment, we would like you to use your iPad during one of your classes with your students. Once you have done so, comment to this post and write about what you did, as well as your reflection on the experience.
Some ideas for how to use your iPad in a lesson are:
- project an app for your class to experience together
- make a movie (or have a group of students make a movie) to share with the class
- assign a class scribe or researcher
- make a video tutorial on Screenchomp or Educreations to email to your students
If you can't think of anything, consult with your mentor or read back through this blog (there are dozens of uses listed throughout!). This assignment is due Monday, May 21st.
I am using a physics app I found (and reviewed in our first assignment) called Bubble Ball... a game where obstacles are chosen and used to move a ball/ bubble through a short course to the finish flag. Successful completion requires the understanding and application of such principles as motion, gravity, momentum. I have showed the game to several kids this week, and they are challenged by it. I plan to do this with a small group, using the Ipad to display the game/app on the white board. Kids will be divided into teams of 3. As each team places an obstacle (or sets of obstacles), I will ask them to explain orally why they chose what they did and what physics principles are in effect. Hence, points will be earned both for the successful completion of a level and for the explanation of the science behind the move. I am pleased at the idea of combining a game with group interactions and with oral explanations of strategies & principles. I think it is good for the students to verbalize their understanding of the science behind the game. Will let you know how it turns out on Thursday!
ReplyDeleteLina - If you haven't checked out Simple Physics yet, you might like that one, too. :)
DeleteDid the activity today and the kids really enjoyed it. It turned out to be as much a language arts activity as a science one because the kids had a harder time explaining their ideas than applying the science concepts and problem solving. We got through about half the levels, so we can follow up another time. Whiteboard display is a good way to use one Ipad with a larger group of kids. I really liked the combination of problem solving, verbalization, and application of concepts all combined with a visual component.
ReplyDeleteThis past week, I have used four iPads for data collection. We are conducting several studies in my Entomology class on insect memory, color and shape perception, as well as pheromone recognition. Students have used iPads for taking field notes , pictures and short videos. These files will ultimately be used in the creation of a web page for each project, reporting each group’s findings.
ReplyDeleteI used VaultBreaker in my math class. It is essentially a code breaking game that requires logical thinking. The kids loved working it as a group while I projected the app up on the board. It's lots of fun for a 15 minute activity.
ReplyDeleteI also used Banana Hunt, which is an app where kids open up an angle to a specified measurement. In other words, they have to eyeball how open 273 degrees would be. The closer they are, the more bananas they get. I split the class into two groups and had them play each other as a complement to our geometry work.
I used tools 4 students with a single student. We used the "main idea" vs. "details" part, and I thought it was a good tool for breaking pieces down when a student has a hard time pulling apart the main idea vs. details. I like that it has * so * many options for different visuals for a student, so there isn't "one way" that it has to be done , which is great for students to try different pieces out on their own. This is an app that I have talked about with a few different students, and we have all found it to be a solid one. I really like this app and plan to use it in the future.
ReplyDeleteI made a 3 minute movie in Educreation on the 4 steps of an action project. I used images from the Internet and some script, set up 8 pages and recorded my voice over it. I uploaded the images via Dropbox and then Educreation linked with Dropbox. I couldn't figure out how to re-record without erasing the entire video though and I kind of stumbled in a couple of places. Not perfected, and I'd like to try other apps like this as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm using flip teaching for my Algebra 2 class. I've mostly assigned videos for homework that other teachers have posted to youtube. I tried to make one of my own using Explaineverything, but I couldn't get it to work right. Still working on this. Meanwhile, I frequently use the ipad for projected notes using PenUltimate and then I email the students a pdf version of the notes.
ReplyDeleteI haven't used the iPad directly in my class yet. I discovered an iPad app that simulates the Enigma machine for my cryptology class, but I had already finished that unit (darn!) We did use iPads a lot at the Robotics World Championships, though. We used them to record video of our matches, which has been great for sharing with new team members and other people interested in our team. There was also an iPad app for keeping track of our match schedule and win/loss record.
ReplyDeleteI used the brain app I found with my short-term class. I projected the site, showed the class how to navigate it, and those with iPads used it and shared with the others. I plan to use it with my classes next year.
ReplyDeleteThis week my art classes having completed their long-term materials projects, will do a collaborative one-day exercise using Brushes app on the iPad. Each student will make a mark, one at a time, as everyone views the changes on the projected screen. As the image develops, students will record the changes/additions on their own sheet of paper. May try Art in the Dark (college course) idea. Will report.
ReplyDeletePrior to working on the iPad, I will show students books of drawings and paintings by David Hockney and then short videos of his recent use of the Brushes app on the iPad. I want students to have some background on someone who has a long career as an artist using traditional materials and is now adding the iPad as a tool.
Last week I had the students work in groups to write bills for an activity on how a bill becomes a law. I did not use my i-pad, but I have many students who already have i-pads. The students who have i-pads were able to use their class notes, the activity sheet and research to put the bill together. Their ability to combine three different sources of information made the activity more effective and it taught me more about what I can do next year.
ReplyDeleteToday my 2-3 grade art students did a project using the iPad. It was really fun! I talked about David Hockney (75 years old). Showed older drawings and paintings from books about him and then his recent series from websites. In 2010 he started using Brushes app on an iPad, after drawing on an iPhone. Seeing his recent iPad drawings projected was very helpful to all of us.
ReplyDeleteEach student experimented with marks on a group drawing projected on the screen. Drawing like this brought up examples of pos/neg space, texture and lots of excitement. While the iPad drawing was evolving, each student followed along by making a mock drawing on paper cut about the same size as the iPad screen. Some of these drawings are quite nice.
Since Hockney did a series of flower drawings on the iPad, we are going to do that tomorrow. Today was just mark-making. Tomorrow we will make a group observational drawing from real life.
I used the Sibley bird app to create an interactive quiz for the kids who participated in the Paideia Bird Club. the highlight was a multiple choice quiz in which students attempted to identify common species of birds found in Georgia on song alone.
ReplyDeleteI used the Sibley bird app to create an interactive quiz for the kids who participated in the Paideia Bird Club. the highlight was a multiple choice quiz in which students attempted to identify common species of birds found in Georgia on song alone.
ReplyDelete