Suzanne's Ed Tech Reflections

During Fall break I went to visit my daughter in California. She is a second grade teacher at a small school in northern California. It's a K-5 school in a very nice community. At the end of last school year, they purchased iPads for all of the teachers. The teachers had them over the summer so that they could get to know their iPads. However, they really needed some direction and education in how to use them within the classroom and as a teacher productivity tool. During my visit I had the opportunity to go to school with my daughter since they do not have a Fall break. With her Principal's approval, we scheduled some time after school for me provide training and education on using the iPad as an instructional tool in the classroom. We discussed several different ways to mirror (project) the iPad screen in the classroom. Since all of the teachers have projectors and document cameras, that is where we started. I mentioned that simply displaying the iPad ...

Not only do our students love being mobile but so do our teachers! We have equipped all of our flipped classroom teachers as well as over 40 additional classroom teachers with an iPad, Apple TV, and HD projector to use during instruction. The teachers are using a variety of interactive whiteboard apps to create and present lessons, such as Educreations and Doceri. They also utilize an assortment of web based tools and videos. Presenting an online image as a writing prompt. While there is much to love about this set up, one of the most often heard comments is about being able to move around the classroom during instruction and see what kids are doing and provide one-on-one guidance to students - being "untethered". One of our third grade flipped classroom teachers is especially good utilizing the iPad during his lessons. He seamlessly moves around the room, switching between apps, and providing one-on-one assistance to students as needed. Ver...

One of our very creative students has created an iAchieve logo to use as the wallpaper on  his iPad. I think we might want to consider using it!