Ms.+Harris

Miss Harris's iPad Page 21st Century Skills.....Here we are!

I am so excited that our fourth graders will be using iPads in the classroom again this year! iPads give students the opportunity to have information at their fingertips and access to so many fun and educational games and activities. The iPads make learning fun!

Click on the link below to learn more about the iPad and its many uses for the classroom. [|Learning with iPad video]

I will use this page to post apps that we like and how we are using the iPads in our classroom.

~Miss Harris



iPad Use Update: (11/19/12)

This year, we have 7 iPads in our classroom and access to a cart filled with a class set of iPads.

The iPads are a hit again this year. We are currently using them during literacy centers, to reinforce math facts and skills, and at indoor recess and dismissal.

Math--Students can access IXL, which is a test-prep website which helps prepare students for the big NJASK exam. Students are also able to use an iPad when they are finished their math work to access one of the apps that provides multiplication facts practice. In this way, it is used as positive reinforcement and motivation to complete their assignments, as well as extra practice with their skills. One of the math apps that seems to be the biggest hit is Rocket Math.

Literacy Centers--Technology is the Literacy Station that is most desired by all of the students. Students may choose to work with an app that reinforces skills and strategies that we are working on in whole group and small group reading instruction. For example, this Unit we have been working on identifying the sequence of events. Students may enjoy creating a cartoon with the Toontastics app that follows a sequence of events, or they may create an ibook with the Story Buddy Jr. app or the Pages app to reflect the strategy of sequence of events. Students are also able to access the AR website to take AR quizzes after reading books independently during the Independent Reading Station.

Dismissal--We have a series of three different times students are dismissed within 5 minutes of each other. Therefore, some students are left with 5 to 10 minutes of down time. A great use of this time has been the use of the iPads. Students may use this time to discover apps that look interesting. Students have also flocked to the iPads during indoor recess time. This is another great use of their free time.

AR Projects--This marking period, students were required to read an AR book and create a project based on the book. Students were given several options for the project, some of which included the use of the iPad. Some students chose to create a commercial advertising their book using the video feature of the iPad. Others chose to create a presentation using the Keynote app, while others used the Toontastics app to create a cartoon to reenact scenes from the book. Creativity with the iPads is endless!

The iPads continue to be a wonderful asset to our curriculum.