Doubles facts

Today we tried something new in math to show our learning. As we continue to move towards implementing Common Core State Standards and we want our kiddos to do more showing, explaining and proving their work and thought processes I have been finding that creation apps such as Doodlecast Pro, Educreations, Phonto, Pic Collage, and so many others are going to be a wonderful asset. Today on a bit of a whim, I tried something new and a little bit out there. As I always tell my kiddos, "You won't know until you try it"- right????

So here's what took place. Our math lesson yesterday and today revolved around learning and practicing turn-around facts. Along with that we discovered and discussed turn-around facts for doubles numbers as well (or rather the lack of a turn-around fact).  As a multi-faceted assessment/learning tool today, I started by emailing my students a copy of a fact table from our math journal. When they opened their email they saved the photo to their camera roll so they would be able to access it from various apps.
We then went into Doodlecast Pro and imported the image and rotated it to landscape orientation. At this point their job was to independently:
1) Press record and find, highlight, and recite all of the doubles facts
2) When they finished they were then supposed to explain the pattern that the doubles facts made on the table
3) Tell what makes doubles turn-around facts special.

Last, they emailed me their finished Doodlecast recording to me. My plan was to then share these with parents at our upcoming parent teacher conferences.

Reflecting on the experience, I think the objective was good, the students' knowledge of the technology was good as was their basic knowledge of the concept, however, "proving" their ideas has proved tricky for them and I honestly don't think it was the assignment but rather the fact that this is so new to them or maybe it's this particular class as they are very dependent on me for approval. We are constantly working on becoming independent thinkers but it has proved to be very difficult for this particular group of  kiddos.

Number Stories Tech'd Out

This week in math one of our learning targets was to create and solve number stories. We used an app called, DoodlecastPro to help us show our learning for this target. Doodlecast Pro is an app which allows you to record yourself while also recording your writing and/or drawings.

After learning about the 3 main parts of a number story (numbers, words (story), and a question), students were given 2 numbers and a bag of manipulatives. With their partner they had to show their numbers with their manipulatives, take a picture of their representation and then come up with a story to match. They then uploaded their pic to Doodlecast Pro and then recorded themselves telling their number story while also adding the corresponding number sentence. The results were phenomenal and compared to the math journal version seen below, this was sooooooo much more engaging. I can see where kiddos will definitely remember this vs. the blue and white, boring page from our journals. 
After doing this with a partner, students created their own number story following the format above the next morning. After creating their number story, they emailed their video to me which I am now able to use as an assessment piece or add to their digital portfolios. I also emailed the video to their parents.
See below to view samples of some of our partner videos.

Apple Distinguished Program Award

Being one of six model technology classrooms in our district has been a whirlwind of a ride. There have been many ups and downs as well as obstacles to overcome and plenty of time involved in everything from syncing devices, to finding apps, to preparing lessons which embed the technology as well as teaching and prepping the kids for technology usage. It has all been worth it as the gains I am seeing in my students' engagement, time on task and creativity has been phenomenal. I've also seen students increase their skill levels in various areas and take a renewed interest in their learning as well. 

Last week added an additional bonus though- we found out that all of our hard work has brought with it another positive. Our model classroom initiative has been named an Apple Distinguished Program for 2012-2013!!  You can read more about it on the district's blog.

Phonto

This was yesterday's lunch at my house to celebrate Groundhog Day. No I haven't changed the focus of my blog to household hints and recipes (I'd be done blogging within a week if that was the case)... so what in the world does this have to do with technology- well, it' the fact that I used a FREE app called, Phonto to label my photo.
Very simply, Phonto is an app in which you can take/upload a photo and then label your picture. I'm sure there are many other great uses, but for my purposes I am thinking this will be a great app to use to reinforce our non-fiction conventions unit.
Students can easily change the font, color, size and rotation of the font and it was easily shared. In this case I emailed it directly to my blog. 


Here's a quick video to show you how easy it really is to use.

5th Annual Pulaski Tech Academy

On Friday, my district hosted our 5th Annual Tech Academy. The theme for this year was, "Apps Away: Google, Notebook and iTunes".  The sectionals focused on utilizing Google Apps, Smartboard apps, and iPad apps for student engagement and learning. All of the presenters got these Kick-app t-shirts which we wore to identify ourselves during the day. Totally love the play on words and the graphic. 

If you'd like to check out the presentations from our various sectionals, click here to find the various presentation links. 

I was asked to do the "There’s an App for That~ K-2" sectional. The info read as follows:

"There are so many apps and so little time!  This session will highlight some of the district iTunes apps installed on your classroom iPads as well as share other iTunes apps.  Strategies will be shared on how to find apps as well as time provided to do so!  The app purchase process will also be reviewed!" 

Our district has specific apps preloaded onto each grade level's iPads so I had to try and highlight a little from each level. I also asked staff if they had any specific requests which is where the multi-player and multi-account apps came into play. Feel free to check out my presentation by clicking on the picture above.

Individualized Spelling

Last week we officially started spelling and in my class each child has their own individualized spelling list. This year we are using an app called, A+ Test, by Alligator Apps to help us practice our words. This app has helped to make individualized lists much easier to manage and has given each child ownership of their lists. 

Student typing in his words
 and recording them.

On Mondays, students first write their words on a paper list to take home. After they are done, they grab their iPad and create their weekly list on the app by typing each word in and then recording each word with their own voice. This has been a neat feature and has taught us that we must speak clearly, loudly, and slowly.

During the week, students have 3 options within the app to practice their words: Practice, Unscramble, and Ace It. Each of these offers a different way for students to practice their words and each utilizes the student's recorded words.

On Fridays we take our test using the app as well. The app will read each word to the student (the student's recorded voice). Students will then write their word on their spelling paper and then enter it onto the iPad. In this way kiddos are still making the transfer of spelling to the written word and practicing their handwriting at the same time, but are also getting practice with their keyboarding skills and how words "look" on the computer. As adults, we often take for granted the simple things such as: when we write we use lowercase letters, however, on the computer the keys are all in caps which can be confusing for our youngest learners. 

After finishing their test, children then send their test to me via email directly from the app which gives me a digital record of their errors which I can track over time if needed. The app also scores their test and gives students the option to go back and retest all of their words or to retest their mistakes. My kids have really enjoyed the immediate feedback of how they did on their test.