Technology in Education: Notes from the Closet

What do kids love to talk about most?  Themselves, of course! Recently I had an opportunity to collaborate with a 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Moore .  In the beginning of the school year the students are still getting to know their classmates and their teacher.  Ms. Moore had the idea organized and knew what she wanted the students to do on paper but the technology was open for suggestion.  We talked about iPad apps that would be easy to use for incoming 2nd grade students that would allow them to record audio with their images.  While my preference is Educreations  we decided to use ShowMe since it was already loaded on the iPads at Coonley. Students began by filling out a graphic organizer with the following specific prompts: write your name in a creative way and take a picture of it capture your reflection in an unusual way through a picture spell a word that is meaningful to you with objects or people and take a picture take a picture of something t...

Here at Coonley students follow a simple code of conduct:   be responsible, be respectful and be safe . Sounds simple, right?  As adults we all know what this means but for students sometimes it takes a bit more detail.  In 4th grade Ms. Malhiot's class decided to dig deeper. Setting the Stage Still getting to know each other,  Ms. Malhiot's students discussed their various learning styles.  As the picture suggests this class is "off the chart" (pun intended!) when it comes to being visual learners.  Having that knowledge helps the teacher determine what types of activities students might respond to best. Even though the Cougar Code is displayed in the classroom Ms. Malhiot decided to take the concept and give students a chance to visually represent it.  This not only reinforces the notion that this is an important set of rules but gives students specific examples of what someone might mean when they walk in and say "Be Responsible!", "B...

Leland iPad Teachers:  here's an Educreations video showing you how to add apps to your iPads using Apple Configurator.  Educreations is already loaded on your iPads if you'd like to use it with students!