Suzanne's Ed Tech Reflections

Creighton School District recently hosted a group of educators from the Safford Unified School District in southeastern Arizona. Safford has recently purchased iPods and iPads for student use and wanted to meet with us to talk about the process we have used to effectively implement mobile devices. In addition to some great discussions, we were able to visit several classrooms while they were using their iPods. Our visitors were able to see students creating fluency recordings, practicing math skills, and creating their own book using the StoryKit app. We look forward to working with our Safford friends again!

Saturday, January 28, was the official dedication and ribbon cutting of the newly re-built Papago School in Creighton School District. It's a beautiful and very modern campus. The school opened to students on January 4th and they are getting well settled in their new digs. The dedication ceremony was attended by students, parents, teachers, school and district staff, and Phoenix Mayor, Greg Stanton. The third grade chorus sang for the audience. It was a nice ceremony and great way to officially dedicate the new school! Dr. Boyle, Superintendent Mayor Greg Stanton

So, how many ways can you use the Mail app on the iPods? Our iAchieve teachers and students have been very creative lately with using this resource. Here are some great examples: 1. Spelling Tests One teacher has been having students take their spelling tests using the Notes app and then emailing the completed test to her - completely paperless. The teacher doesn't have to carry papers home to grade over the weekend! She can just access Gaggle.net on her laptop and grade each quiz. I did mention this in an earlier post, but here is an example. 2. Math Tests Some students are taking their multiple choice math tests using Notes and Mail.   3. Goal Setting For the 3rd quarter of the school year, students are setting goals for the rest of the year. Again the using the very flexible Notes app and emailing their goal to the teacher. 4. Board Work Upon return from winter break, our newly re-built school re-opened. For board work one morning, the teacher had students ...

The Creighton School District's iAchieve project has been named an Apple Distinguished Program for the 2011/2012 school year. We are being recognized for the importance the district has placed on using technology to impact student learning and engagement through the use of iPods. We are very honored to be receiving this award as you must first be nominated by an Apple employee  in order to be considered. Dr. Dan McCormack, Apple Education Consultant, nominated the iAchieve project. As we continue to integrate mobile devices into our classrooms and student learning, we look forward to sharing our experiences with others. Great job Creighton School District!

As we close out 2011 and usher in 2012, I look forward to exploring news ways to implement mobile devices in our Creighton School District classrooms!