It has been a long time since I last posted... Sorry about that! Hopefully, you're following along on Twitter and reading my weekly newsletters. Most of what we have been up to has been on at least one of those publications.
Today, I wanted to share with you a little bit about a new way we have been using our technology. One of my biggest philosophies with our new iPads is finding a way to use them to create and work together on projects. For me, they are not just about the games and fun apps the kids can play. For this reason, I was excited to read about a kindergarten class using a website called Padlet to share their learning about a book they were reading. I decided to give it a try with this class, and I'm so glad I did.
We did a practice Padlet on Friday. I read the students a book called Dangerous Animals. (They were totally captivated by this book, by the way. There's just something about learning how many humans a certain animal can kill with its venom that's especially exciting for first graders!) As I was reading, the students were in charge of thinking about something new or exciting they heard about during the book.
When we finished, I showed the students how to use the iPads to scan the QR code to the Padlet and how to add their interesting snippet. Then I let the students go. Since we only have the 8 iPads, the students had to share. They do a really good job with this, though, and it won't stop us from using this technology. Within a few minutes, we had a completed Padlet with all kinds of interesting facts about dangerous animals. Check that one out here.
Yesterday, we used Padlet again. This time, we used it to share our learning about our social studies lesson on needs and wants. We followed a similar process, but this time, we added drawings to our bubbles. The students did a super job following directions, and now we have a published copy of our thinking that we can share with others! Check it out here!
This type of sharing of information is a great way for the students to stay engaged in their learning and to know that their learning does not have to stay within the four walls of our classroom!
Today, I wanted to share with you a little bit about a new way we have been using our technology. One of my biggest philosophies with our new iPads is finding a way to use them to create and work together on projects. For me, they are not just about the games and fun apps the kids can play. For this reason, I was excited to read about a kindergarten class using a website called Padlet to share their learning about a book they were reading. I decided to give it a try with this class, and I'm so glad I did.
We did a practice Padlet on Friday. I read the students a book called Dangerous Animals. (They were totally captivated by this book, by the way. There's just something about learning how many humans a certain animal can kill with its venom that's especially exciting for first graders!) As I was reading, the students were in charge of thinking about something new or exciting they heard about during the book.
When we finished, I showed the students how to use the iPads to scan the QR code to the Padlet and how to add their interesting snippet. Then I let the students go. Since we only have the 8 iPads, the students had to share. They do a really good job with this, though, and it won't stop us from using this technology. Within a few minutes, we had a completed Padlet with all kinds of interesting facts about dangerous animals. Check that one out here.
Yesterday, we used Padlet again. This time, we used it to share our learning about our social studies lesson on needs and wants. We followed a similar process, but this time, we added drawings to our bubbles. The students did a super job following directions, and now we have a published copy of our thinking that we can share with others! Check it out here!
This type of sharing of information is a great way for the students to stay engaged in their learning and to know that their learning does not have to stay within the four walls of our classroom!