Yes, the question I am asked most is do you have a list of apps I could use?
Now that many people purchased iDevices the questions are firing at me quickly. Here are two word files that you might find useful. It’s always a work in progress, never a complete list.
I’m currently in year two of a Proof of Concept iPad pilot project. This year I have iPad 2s and we are using the camera options. Last year I focused my integration on using the iPad as a tool for learning in literacy. This year I’m teaching math and literacy so I’ve been investigating the use of the iPad in both subject areas. I’m often asked by others who are purchasing how many gigs do I need to really need on the iPad? I will not pretend to know a lot about storage and space but I do know what I use and how I use the iPads for learning.
In the primary classroom I have become app dependent. I have located some key creation apps that really support my students’ learning and enable them to express their thinking. Book Creator and My Story are apps you will hear me talking a lot about as I move forward in an ePub project. I now feel my students are making full use of the iPads during the day. They use apps to practise their words of the weeks, they use story apps during guided reading, they use apps during work station time, they use apps for brainstorming, writing and for publishing. We use math apps for warm ups going into a math lesson. The students use the cameras throughout the day to capture learning as it happens. I find that I need to load many apps on the iPads in order for students for the multiple uses. We rarely use the internet so most of the time is spent within an app. I have now encountered another issue. Space. I am storing the apps we are not using in my iTunes accounts, however, it’s taking more and more time to sync the devices to ensure each one has the apps necessary for the tasks. Yes, it may happen one day that someone will create a power education app that enables students to do all of these things but until that happens I’m juggling the apps for learning. It’s not much different than the bin of overflowing books I take back to our school bookroom every few weeks. There needs to be different materials to meet the wide range of learners in my room.
As the apps change and mature, they are becoming more sophicated. Therefore they require more space to operate. The story apps in particular are more interactive, have embedded video and rich sounds. These are all things I asked for in an app last fall. I am pleased with the evolving apps and find it hard to complain, but now I feel the 16GB just isn’t enough. I have gone to “the cloud” and that was suppose to be ‘the answer’ but I’ve discovered I’m at my max cloud space and need to purchase more cloud space. This isn’t a poor me blog post. I know I’m extremely lucky to be blessed with so much technology and to be encountering these types of issues. But I also feel a responsibility to the larger population. I know educators and parents are looking to others and asking “what apps should I purchase?” “How much space do I need?” “What do you recommend for home use?” I recently went through this with my own brother and sister-in-law. My answer last year was 16GB is enough space. This year I’m not convinced.
The iPad is a device that enables so many possibilities. It’s hard to know how you will use it before you own one yourself. I know my colleague Royan Lee uses the devices more for backchanneling and blogging and space might not be an issue. I see lots of schools around our board purchasing iPads for their libraries. The educators think they can put apps on for all grades and it will be used easily. I’m foreseeing lots of issues in regards to storage and student creations. I haven’t worked out these obstacles and I’m sure there is a way around the space issue. I just haven’t worked out how. So I look towards my PLN for suggestions.
What do you think 16GB or more?
I invite you and your class to participate in an eBook narrative writing project. All the details are attached. Each student in our class is creating a winter narrative that has a key message. They are writing the books and then publishing the eBooks in the app Book Creator. We would love to read your books. We hope to have our books and story pitches done mid January.
Let us know if you will be participating in this eBook Media Project.
Yes, I love the app Puppet Pals HD. I tweet about it, I recommend it and I blog about it. It’s not the app that I really love, but the impact this one little app has on my grade three students. Let me explain…
Narrative writing is one form of writing that I don’t particularly enjoy teaching. It’s a long form and it takes a long time to model narrative writing. It takes an extremely long time to do shared writing with narratives. I find young students struggle with story development. They have a simple problem like the boy was lost and then it’s instantly sovled by finding the boy. The stories are usually quiet simple and a little dry. There is rarely any dialogue or voice in their stories. Even though the students are exposed to so many incredible read alouds every day, they still struggle with the writing process.
I have my students use an organizer, then write a first draft and then they peer conference. Revisions are expected and sometime they happen. Editing is an exhausting process with such young writers. I’m sure all of the primary teachers who are reading this are now shaking their heads up and down. We’ve all spent hours conferencing one on one with students to ‘fix’ their work in order to have it published.
However, provide an end goal of ‘publishing’ on Puppet Pals HD and boom! Students are motivated to write. I think the app allows them to visual their stories. Puppet Pals is a storytelling app. The students select their characters and their setting. They record their stories and move the characters around. It’s hard to tell a story without dialogue when you are physically moving characters around on a set. We are on our third narratives and students are now rolling. They understand what their stories will look like in movie format and are now writing with voice. Yes, it’s true. Grade three students are learning about writing with dialogue and expression.
Why do I love Puppet Pals HD? It helps me as a teacher focus on the process of writing and concentrate on their ideas. Students look at the app, then they write their organizers and their first drafts. They conference and then edit their work. When I conference with them, I can focus on one or two learning objectives. I don’t have to go through their entire work and fix every word, captial or punctuation error. I can pick an instructional point and talk with the student about how to improve next time. The students aren’t discouraged because their page isn’t filled with corrections. The students know their next step and may go back and edit with that one focus in mind. I’ll check it and then they go publish on Puppet Pals HD. The movie is all about their thinking and storyline. It’s not about their punctuation or handwriting. Puppet Pals HD lets my students get to the real thinking and learning behind writing narratives. That’s why I love Puppet Pals HD.
Angie
P.S. I do believe students do need to learn how to revise their work and edit for multiple foci. However, in the beginning of the year I just want them to write freely and not worry about conventions. As they become rapid writers I can assist them in the editing process. I’m introducing the app Book Creator this week. This will be a way for students to publish their written words not just their ideas. I think most of my students are ready for this app. Their writing has improved drastically and now I want them to publish in a book format. I will continue to provide choice and ensure the benefits of Puppet Pals HD isn’t lost.
It’s taken me two weeks to get organized and update to iOS 5 and sync the apps I want to use this month. I don’t like the management piece of the integration of the iPads. While I love selecting new apps and installing them I don’t like the actual software updates that occurred a few times during the year. It involves backing up, removing all software, reinstalling new software and then syncing apps. It sounds but it’s very difficult with our network and multiple devices. Luckily our area Computer Resource Teacher Stephen Louca @Slouca received a plea of help and arrived on my doorstop with easy step by step instructions. It worked but we didn’t anticipate that it would take hours to update. I started the process within the network of our school at 8:10 in the morning and when I left at the end of the day the devices were still updating. This is way too long for devices for learning. (It turns out there were some issues with our board’s internet carrier. Of course, it happened on the week I was trying to update.)
Today on Twitter Ron @ron_mill posted instructions on how to do multiple syncing. http://learninginhand.com/blog/clone-an-ipad-or-ipod-touch.html
Thanks Ron, I’ll save these steps for next time. Wait…next time Apple will have come up with something more clever and there will be new steps involved. 
I do like the possibility of iCloud. I’ll keep you posted on how it works within the network.
Fingers crossed,
Angie
Yes, I must confess. I can’t stop purchasing apps. I scour the internet for new apps that will help my students better communicate their thinking and learning. Last fall, there were few apps on the market that I deemed suitable for my grade 2/3 class. An explosion of apps occurred around the holiday season. I discovered app reviewers who have vastly expanded my knowledge about apps. I follow Carissa @iPad_Digitalstorytime and read her reviews each week. I started following the #Freeapp Friday and each Friday I download free apps and apps that are on sale. What teacher can resist a bargain?
I recently updated and synced my class iPads and realized I have way too many apps. I selected only the ones I felt my students may need for the next month or so. I installed some holiday apps such as Xmas Calendar, Twas the Night Before Christmas and ToyHopper. I ran out of space on my iPad. Yes, I’m full and I only downloaded a fraction of the apps I own. Hmm…
I’m sure many teachers can relate, I am always searching for things that will make it easier for my students to communicate their thinking, consolidate their learning, practice their skills and something that will make them laugh or brighten their day. When I started teaching 20 years ago, I used to spend my Saturday morning scouring garage sales. Now I spend my Friday nights searching the app store. My folders on my iPad represent the boxes of stuff teachers collect, because ‘you never know when you might need it again.’
I can’t stop buying apps. I’m addicted. I have more apps than my students could ever use. I wish I could stop, but I can’t pass up a deal. What if that next perfect app is out there waiting for me and I’m not looking for it? I think I need help. Is there a support group for app addicts? If so I need it. Twitter just feeds into my addiction. Tweets such as Hey, have you seen this app? This app is on sale this week. and I just used this app in my classroom are red flags waved in my face. I must embrace and own these apps too.
It needs to stop. Yes, I must continue to search for the right app, but I think it’s time to step back and really spend some time exploring the apps we have and finding effective ways to use them. I can’t keep going on to the next and best.
Oh, by the way I just bought the app Book Creator this week. It wasn’t on sale and I resisted the temptation to purchase it for the past two months. However, after my students struggle with Pages, I finally bought Book Creator and I’m in love with it. Yes, my addition continues.
Help,
Angie
Last Friday my students welcomed their families in and led them through a reflective experience. They shared work samples from the term as well as reflection pages and self assessments. Yes, I do still have binder portfolios and not full electronic portfolios. After the students shared their binders they grabbed their iPad and showed some of the work they have created. It was wonderful to watch the reaction of the parents. I carried my grade twos from last year into this year’s group of grade threes. So, half of the class shared their work on iPads during last year’s conference too. I was actually surprised at the way the families interacted. This year there was no, “wow, that’s what an iPad looks like?” or “Can we touch it too?” comments. This year the kids clicked on and shared their work. I found the dialogue was much richer because the parent could now look past the technology and appreciate the actual creation of work the students created. I was able to have conversations with parents about the structure of the eStory they created. We talked about the problem and solution in their child’s story instead of the cool factor of the iPads. I was so proud of how quickly my students were able to get to the work and get past the technology. Goal achieved!
Cost is usually a deciding factor in educational decisions. Recently I read an exchange of tweets between Alec @courosa , Dean @shareski and another educator. They were debating in 140 characters the merits of netbooks verses iPads. This isn’t an uncommon debate. I hear and read about it frequently. Netbooks are much more inexpensive to buy and with the amount of online creation tools it would appear this would be a good choice. However, it’s not that simple. One cannot make the choice without thinking about the users, the purpose and the setting of the use of the device. I would like to provide my perspective which is one of a primary teacher who works with 7 and 8 years olds within a networked class. I also sit on our Blueprints school team and provide input on future purchases for our school.
I am very fortunate that I teach in a classroom with many different types of learning tools. My students have access to desktop PCs, one iMac, a SMARTboard, a SMART document camera, iPods and iPads. I stand strong in my belief that our learners need to learn about different types of tools and select which tool best suits the job at hand. No one I know relies only on one piece of technology in their daily lives. So I don’t necessarily believe one device is better than another. However when making purchases we need to weigh the options and think about our current users and our school setting.
Our school is part of a large district and our desktops and netbooks are all imaged and connected to a network. The reality of that is it takes 8 to 10 minutes for our students to log in and access the network. These are 8 to 10 minutes that are valuable classroom time. An iPad is simply a click and the student is ready for learning. Our network also blocks many downloads and some of the wonderful software for comic creation or animation is not accessible for our students on a netbook or desktop. Since our computers are networked our students do have access to many different types of software that have been selected for use. The image is usually updated yearly so if something interesting or time saving appears our students might not have access to it until the following year. In contrast on an iPad new apps are being developed every minute and can be downloaded instantly for use in the classroom. I’m not an expert on our board network and I won’t pretend to understand how it works but as a classroom teacher I do see the limitations. I do like how I can share files and photos with students in a protected network and students can create and save without our school network without going to an outside source. At times we select the desktops over the iPads for certain tasks. Our learners need to know when to select which tool and for which purpose.
One of the items raised in the Twitter debate was students can use Google Docs and manage their work. This is where the user needs to be considered. A simple debate over iPads verses Netbooks can’t simply be about cost. A young learner does not have an active email account that can be used in a school setting. They can’t simply manage Google Docs nor do I as a teacher want to oversee this for our students. Many online software that is available requires a log in which usually leads back to needing a personal email address. This is not ideal for young learners. An iPad has apps that don’t usually require logging in. The iPad is ideal for young learners because they can use carefully selected apps instead of going online and entering in web addresses and trying to locate the site which can sometimes lead to the wrong address and sometimes an inappropriate site. Apps ensure a quick and safe access to content for young learners.
I mentioned classroom instructional time. Many apps on the iPad save preparation time and creation time. In regards to word study, the students open an app and all manipulatives are on the screen organized and ready to use. Creation apps require little training. Young learners touch and create in minutes or days. In the past I would work with students on a desktop and use programs such as Garageband. It would take weeks to train the young students to be independent on creating audio files/podcasts. The iPad app Garageband has a simple interface and young learners quickly pick up how to navigate the app and create content. I see this time and time again with the apps that I use in my classroom.
The management of the iPads takes a great deal of my time outside of the instructional day. I spend a lot of time selecting apps, syncing, charging and saving work. However, that is done outside of the teaching day and my students’ time is protected and valued. I see the use of iPads in the primary classroom as an essential piece for creation. The students used the app Phoster to create a simple poster to advertise for Frightlite sales in our school. They took a photo of themselves holding a Frightlite, inserted into the app and wrote the slogan and information. They were done in 15 minutes. In the past I would have had to take photos and then upload them all to the network and then deployed them to their files. The students would have had to use a more complicated software such as Publisher and inserted the photos and then worked on the slogan and text boxes. Yes, they end result would have been the same, but the precious time in class was used more effectively. I often hear, yes but you can do that on a PC and I reply maybe but the time it took students was dramatically decreased which leaves more time for other learning or for refining their work. I also use many apps that our network cannot yet support. Apps such as Puppet Pals HD and Toontastic are fantastic storytelling apps with movement and voice. The files are exported as quicktime files and view and shared. Currently we don’t have any software on our network that compares with these apps. I’ve worked with groups and used SMART Notebook to create movie files with the recorder. It works but it’s not as polished and takes almost twice the time. Time that could be spent learning something else. The iPad enables students to create instantly, practice or gain information in an instant. We know the weather by a quick click on the app. We practice our words of the week in minutes using apps such as Skywrite. We create stories and movies using Animation HD, Puppet Pals HD and Toontastic. In the primary networked classroom, an iPad provides opportunity for instant learning.
Older learners who have email accounts and can navigate Google Docs are suited for netbooks. A school needs to consider the purpose of the tool. In our building our older students need access to the Moodle to access class content and create blog entries. The netbooks are used as word processors, guided reading texts, and presentation creators. At this point, netbooks which are cheaper are a good investment for this current group of learners. I would argue that there are many apps that would be beneficial for older students but at this point the netbooks are a step in the right direction. In a few years when the netbooks crash or die, which they will because the aren’t built to last. My primary students will be in the older grades ready to get their hands on the latest and greatest tech tools available and they will be ready to show their teachers how to use them.
The debate of iPads verses Netbooks is not a cut and dry argument. One must consider the cost, the user, the purpose and the setting of the use of the tool. I also believe the educator who is designing the purpose of the tasks also influences the type of tools that need to be available. All of these factors influence which tool is best for each situation.
My two cents,
Angie
Make you mark! How will you make your mark this year? How will you facilitate your students in making a mark in their school, their community or their world?
This is my thought as I enter a new school year. Our school social justice issue is ‘Celebrating Diversity’. I was struggling with the kick off of this big idea with young children. I will be teaching a grade three class this school year. An interesting tweet caught my attention and I learned that International Dot Day is September 15th. Who knew? http://fablevisionlearning.com/dotday/ I have always been a fan of Peter H. Reynold’s work. The Dot is a great way to kick off celebrating diversity within ourselves and in our classroom. As I thought about the messaging in the book I also thought about the iPads I have in my classroom. I sent out a tweet and thankfully @peterfuj responded and said students could use Flash as described in Peter H. Reynold’s blog. http://www.fablevision.com/takeout/flash/index.html I asked if anyone knew of any animation apps and I received a lot of suggestions. @peterfuj recommended the app Animation HD, I recalled @digitalnative stating the ShowMe app would be very beneficial in the classroom and I always know I can use Doodle Buddy and iMovie to get good results.
Here is my proposal. I invite all of you to learn alongside me. Please check i to the blog and watch and learn. Or join in with your class and try this project. Or if you have suggestions and want to coach from the sidelines I invite that too. This fall I’m launching Celebrating Diversity in ourselves, our classrooms and our school.
Learning Intentions: To understand that each of us is unique and cherished. That within our class we have some diversities to be celebrated. Within our community we have a lot of diversities that need to be acknowledged and celebrated. We will also learn about narrative writing and media creation through stop motion animation or movie creation. We will begin to think about how each of us will make our mark this year. (in our school, our community or our world)
Are you open for the challenge? This year instead of blogging about things I’ve done, I want to engage my readers by inviting them into the process. Come join me. Make your mark!
I’m entering year two of the iPad pilot project. I have upgraded to the new iPad devices and now have camera and video functions. I’m really excited about this new function and hope to make s lot of use of the FaceTime feature. I am fortunate to be ‘looping’ some of my students I had last year. I have some of my grade two students joining me in a straight grade three classroom this year. I’m looking to these students to take a leadership role and help our new students pick up the use of the iPad devices quickly.
I have loaded all of the apps and have the iPad devices ready to roll. A question I’m asked a lot is ‘what apps do you use?’ Here is a list of the apps I’m starting with this school year.
Word Study apps- students enter and begin using a variety of tools such as magnetic letters, whiteboards, SMART board, Desktop computers, sand and iPad devices.
Purpose of Word Study apps: To practice weekly words and build vocabulary.
Writing Apps-
Purpose: students will use these apps to storytell, to organize their thinking, to create and to publish.
Recording Apps
Purpose: Students will use recording apps to read aloud their books to increase fluency and self reflection. They will record discussions and build oral language skills. They will use recording apps to create podcasts and audio files for their presentations.
Storybooks
Purpose: Students will use ebooks and story apps in guided reading lessons & independent reading
Creating
Purpose: These apps are true creation apps that fit in almost all of the other categories too. These apps are for creating a publishing a variety of things.
Math
Purpose: the iPad device can be used as a variety of manipulatives all rolled into one. I haven’t yet used these apps in the classroom but will be trying them out this year.
Indoor Recess Apps
Purpose: For students to have immediate access to all of the game choices and materials needed during a recess time.
On the first screen I have a WeatherEye HD app, Twitter, Pages, PhotoBooth, DropBox, eClicker (haven’t been able to get that one to work in class yet) & FaceTime.
It’s taken a year to build up these apps. I am thankful to all of my PLN on Twitter who share their app selections. I’m also happy that developers put out deals. I follow #FreeFridays, and app deals on Friday on Twitter. I’m especially thankful to Carissa at @iPad_storytime who reviews story apps and posts reviews and sales each week.
I feel I have a base to start the year and I know I’ll continue to add to the app collection. Last year I had ten apps now I’ve loaded almost a 100 apps. It’s going to be an exciting year!
R u a primary teacher? What’s on your screen?
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