Teacher Input

Last Wednesday during PLC time, teachers were invited to use the iPads in order to find out what they would do and what other apps they might want. I was teaching a class, so I created documents for them to go through together as a subject area and provide me feedback. The first sheet gave them directions.
They were to explore the apps in their folder and write down any that they wanted removed.
Next they went to the App store and looked for apps that would apply to their subject area. They had a 3 column piece of paper to fill out and get back to me; apps they wanted (for sure), apps they might want, and apps they wanted removed. If the app cost, they were also to include that on this page. Last they were to write down any questions they had about the iPad and/or apps.

So far...
I have not got a lot of response. This was initiated 20 minutes before PLC time was over, so they did not have enough time to get through this activity. I think I am going to have to have a meeting after school where I can be there to help get this rolling. I want and NEED their input.

However...
I did get a lot of positive feedback, that they really liked the iPads and thought the kids would to. They all want to use them in their calsses.

Hopefully...
When we get back on a regular schedule (snow days aaargh:) I will have an opportunity to sit down with each department and really take a look at how we can integrate them into their particular curriculum.

Awesome New App for Geography!

Earth Observer

This app provides tons of maps. Zoom in on the area or country you want to look at and change the view. You can change the maps to view all sorts of information about the world, some examples of maps provided include, area per person, population density, infant mortality, natural hazards, weather, and lots more. This allows students to see other uses of maps, not just finding locations and directions. They are able to compare different major cities in the US by just looking at a map.

We created a worksheet for students to fill out while they are exploring this program, choosing areas to compare and different maps to look at. It is a pretty self directed activity in that they can choose the locales they want to focus on, they just have to record some of the information they find for accountability.

Some of the things we had them look at and compare were;

Identify regions/cities in the US with a large population density...Mark them on your map with squares

Why are certain regions of the US more populated than others? Explain.

What part of the US are infant mortality rates high? Mark them on your map with circles.

We then had them do the same on maps of Europe, and Africa.

Then they described similarities and differences between the US and the other country they were looking at.

The students loved this! They like looking at data and comparing it. They also want to find out why things are the way they are.

Overall this activity went really well! I think it has been one of the best yet!

Screenshot of Earth Observer App.

More New Apps

Here is some more stuff we have found...it is by no means all that we have loaded so far, but some other good apps. Teachers got to play with them during PLC time today so hopefully I will get some good feedback from that!


iFactor - enter anytrinomial and have it factored for you






Gourmania - Another fun game for a foods class. You are working at a hotel resturaunt. Find the ingredients to make your customers orders.




FormulasHD - Find any mathematical formula. Search by subject, then topic.





Video Science - View short videos of many different science experiments



Chopping Mania - Fun for culinary arts or "foods" classes. Practice your chopping skills using your finger as th blade!



Audiobooks - This app houses thousands of free audiobooks. It is sponsored by librivox.

Shakespeare in Bits App

Shakespeare in Bits

Today one of the English sections, which is currently reading Romeo and Juliet, used the iPads with her students. This application allows you to choose what you are reading by Act and Scene (we only have the lite version so far, so all we can use is Act I Scene I). Whatever you pick is then displayed as text and movie. You can read the text while the movie is playing. One of the coolest features though is that any word in the text that is highlighted, if you double click it, the modern version of the word show up. This is great for a book like this, when so many of the words in the play are no longer used, you can just tap them and it turns into a word you understand and recognize.

A few other features of this app, provide an overview of each Act and Scene, character analysis, and notable quotes from each act and scene.

We used this app with the push in Special Education class. They were able then to work at their own pace and comfort level, and listen or read, whichever they preferred. I think this worked really well. The students were all very engaged, they liked being able to watch the play, as well as convert words into modern English.
This is an app we are definitely looking into purchasing the problem is the cost is $14.99 per iPad x 30. You can do the math, but it is a pretty penny. We are currently discussing whether this is something that would be worth it down the road??? I will let you know what we decide!

No Fear Shakespeare

The rest of the classes (they are already finished with Act I Scene I) used the site No Fear Shakespeare (http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/), to read the story. This site provides side by side view of the play. One side is the original text, the other side is a modern version of the text. Kids were in groups and read this aloud, each playing a particular role. During their reading they had to find one example of an allusion, personification, and 3 thoughts. They had to do this with each version of text. What they soon found was that there were not many, if any, literary devices in the modern translation. They then had to explain why they thought this was.

They liked reading from an electornic device instead of a text book ( I think this just proves that they are digital natives). Most would prefer to read on a device like this instead of a print book.

Librivox

I also just added an audio book app (free of course) with access to tons of audio books (through librivox). Hopefully in the next few days we will experiment with having them listen to a portion of the play.

Molecules App

Friday, January 21, we were able to reschedule the Science class I was working with to use the Molecules App. This went really well, students were excited about the app, and some even talked about getting it on there phone or iPod Touch. I liked this lesson because it encouraged students not only to use the app, but to use the other website to draw and find out information about the molecules they had chosen. The app provided a 3-D version where you could count the atoms in each molecule to make up the chemical formula. Where using the 2-D picture you were not able to count all the atoms, because some were hiding behind others. It also challenged students to draw in 3-D. They seemed to really enjoy the activity, and found it more difficult then they thought. They were required to pick 5 molecules, draw them, label the atoms, predict the chemical formula for the molecule, and create a key for their drawings. We also showed them the old fashioned way of doing things using a chemistry kit and book to make the models. They thought the way we were doing it was much better!

Mondays Plan- Using Romeo and Juliet in Bits App and website No Fear Shakespeare with an English I class.

First day of use in the classrooms!

Wednesday January 19, 2011 was our first day to take the iPads into the classroom for use. Our Geography teacher used the Google Earth app as well as the maps app. I thought the lesson went really well. Students were excited about using the iPads and most caught on quickly (they are so user friendly). We spent the first 15-20 minutes giving students free reign using and practicing with Google Earth. They found all kind of landmarks as well as their houses. We then had them open up Maps. Students were asked to use maps to give driving directions from their house to school. We didn't show them any of the features, but they quickly figured out the directions part on their own. After they gave directions they turned the sheet over and had to draw a detailed map showing their route to school. They really enjoyed this and the iPads were a big help. They liked using them. Overall I would say it was a big success and worked out well overall. I left the pictures at school, but will post them when we go back (the snow days are eating away at our June).

Plans for next week:
The molecules app with Science Classes
Shakespeare in bits in English Classes
Research using the Ipads reference apps

Free Apps Downloaded

Well school was cancelled today due to the ice on the roads, so I will not get a chance to work with the molecules app with the students. I thought I would go ahead and share some of the apps we have synced so far. We have not yet purchased any apps, all the apps you will see here are free, or lite versions to try before we invest in the full version. I have put them in folders based on subject areas, so without further ado, here they are:

Other

Dragon Dictate - Speak into the microphone and your words will appear in text on the screen.

Reference

Access My Library School Edition - My favorite app! Access your online databases by school using your assigned password. Easy to use, only sign in once.

Google - All your Google Tools at your fingertips.

Geography

Google Earth - Functions the same as Google Earth on any other device, use your fingers to zoom in and out on the map.

Government

Constitution and Declaration App - Historical government documents and Supreme Court Cases at your fingertips.

My Congress - Portal to Senators and what is going on currently in the Senate.

Art

Draw Cast - a drawing tool that lets you paint or draw, and create custom colors.

Smudge - "Finger painting without the mess"

Art HD - A great virtual museum of artists and their work

MoMA - New York's Museum of Modern Art App. View virtual galleries, plan a trip, or check out new exhibits.

English

Shakespeare in Bits - Explores Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet bit by bit. Includes translation into modern english, cartoon play, character analysis and more. One of my favorite apps!

Tales 2 Go - On demand delivery of audiobooks.

Foreign Language

TAO - A free translator. Choose your starting language and the language you wish for it to be translated to.

Math
Easel Algebra Lite - Hands on Algebra work combined with "show-me" work.

Tangram - Basic tangrams to help with geometric concepts.

Science

Periodic Table of the Elements - Standard periodic table with specific viewing of each element.

Chemical Elements Free - A wide array of chemical information at your fingertips

Excited for Tomorrow - Lesson with Molecules App

As of Friday, January 14, the iPads were all synced with the free apps I had chosen. Tomorrow is the first day we will be taking them into the classroom for student use. The Science teacher and I are planning on using the molecules app. This app allows you to look at molecular structures in 3-D, and manipulate and rotate them.

The Science students will be searching for particular substances, finding their molecular structures and drawing them. While this is a simple activity it posed some problems in the planning stage. For one the molecules on the app are all protein based molecules and our science teacher wanted all different types of molecules. Second the molecules already in the database were too complex for students to draw in a 50 minute period.

To fix these probelms I did a little research and found a website which contained a lot of simple molecular structures that were already in the correct format for the application. So all students had to do was use this website, find their substance, click on the pbd form, and it opens up the structure in the molecules app! The website is http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/library/.

I will let you know how it goes tomorrow, also if you are interested in this app here is a link to information about it, http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/molecules/id284943090?mt=8.

iPads Are Here!!!

I came in this morning, after being gone for 3 days due to snow, and found the iPad cart waiting for me! It was a wonderful way to start the day and week for that matter. I immediately opened the cart and began adding apps. Kids have been in and out all day asking, "Are those the iPads?" "Which teacher signed up to use them first?" So we are all excited and it is a race to see which class is going to use them first.

Here is what I have found out so far in just a morning with working with them...

Pros

• They are super easy to use and manipulate
• I have already found lots of FREE apps that are going to be useful for all different subject areas.
• The apps can be easily organized into folders by subject area.
• Easy to plug in and charge

Con

• Because there is no "official" cart for the iPad we are using an iBook cart. While this allows for easy charging and safe storage, there is no way to sync more than 2 iPads at a time. This is VERY time consuming. Our tech people are working with Apple to try to remedy this, but so far no dice:(
  

So while the Pros outweigh the cons, it is still going to be a learning process to figure out an easier way to sync.

The Grant

A few months ago, I got together with my English Department and Principal and discussed the use of iPads in the classroom. Everyone involved in the discussion was really excited about the opportunities these new gadgets would provide for our students learning experiences. So came the grant. I took on the writing of the grant, written from the perspective of whole school use ( in all subject areas).
The grant was through our local educational foundation, so there was a monetary limit we could recieve which was $5,000. We decided to go ahead and ask for 10 to test them out, if they were successful we would look to building funds to add to them.
As I was writing the grant, I conducted a lot of research in how other schools were using iPads in the classroom, but most of all, looking through the educational apps that were offered. I was amazed at the number of apps that would be useful and exciting for students to use (and a number of these were even free!)
About a week before the grants were going to be announced, I was asked to meet with the foundation board to demonstrate some of the specific apps we would be using and to explain more thoroughly how we were going to use the iPads. I saw this as a good sign, that they were definitely considering funding the grant.
During this meeting/presentation to the board I used an iPad that was owned by one of the board members and showed some some of the apps that I had researched when writing the grant. I also just explained that we wanted the iPads to enrich what we were already doing, as a way to keep the students engaged in learning.
That Friday the foundation committee came to the Freshman Center out in front of the students in the commons, and presented us with the grant we had requested. They then preceeded to tell us they went ahead and funded another 10 iPads for our building. The Superintendant then stepped in and said that the district had decided to complete our set and provide 10 more iPads, a cart, and an iBook to sync them with!
This is where it all begins, that was the day before Thanksgiving break. Our iPads are in and being finalized at the tech office, and we should have them in our building by January 10th. I don't know who is more excited the kids, teachers, or myself. Everyday since the grant was awarded someone (mostly students) would ask, are we really getting iPads, that is so cool.
I have set up this blog to share with you our triumphs and tribulations while integrating the iPads into our daily curriculum here at the Belton High School Freshman Center.