Ipads

Ipads in Education

Description of tool:

Ipads are used in technology for many reasons. Ipads can be used for an assessment by you. You can test the students on their fluency, comprehension, or reading ability. You can also have students use the numerous education apps found on the app store. A lot of apps are free; you just have to dig for the ones you want. AppsGoneFree is a great way to find apps that are free for the day or week. It is also helpful to follow users on Twitter that are familiar with Ipads. The tweeters can suggest apps that may be good for education. 

I personally use Ipads in my classroom for IXL which is a practice program for Math and Language Arts. My students also use Ipads for apps to practice their spelling words. I use Spelling City. I have used Ipads in the past for Google Earth and Google Maps. The students LOVE finding their homes and walking on their streets. In previous years, students could earn free time on the Ipads. They played games that were educational or school appropriate. I would love to expand the use of Ipads and include QR codes and reading apps.

Pedagogical use:

There are numerous uses for Ipads. First, you can use Ipads to check for students' reading comprehension, accuracy, and retell ability using an app. You can also give quizzes to the students using Ipads. You have the ability to see exactly what your students are doing on their Ipad using an app called Classkick. You can also assign them problems to do on their Ipad and watch them as they do it. Students can use Ipads to work on Math, Science, Social Studies, or Language Arts. Students can also go on a photo scavenger hunt or use Ipads to go to websites using QR codes. The uses of Ipads for students are endless. 

Pedagogical Use for Ipads

 Holland, B. (2013, July 11). IPads: From Pedagogical Crutch to Education Innovation. Retrieved July 23, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/ipads-pedagogical-crutch-education-innovation-beth-holland

Long, J. (2013, June 11). Why use ipads in education? Retrieved July 23, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=26&v=f_6TcE4-65E

Plan for Ipad use in classroom for the year:

Students will use Ipads to:

• go on a QR code scavenger hunt
• to practice their math skills we have been working on in class using Front Row and IXL
• to practice their Language Arts skills we have learned in class using IXL
• to find locations using Google Maps
• find locations using Google Earth
• read news articles daily from News-O-Matic
• create videos using various apps
• create presentations using various apps
• create project using various apps

My plan for how I will use Ipads will change throughout the year. I am always learning about new apps and I love trying out new things in my classroom.

Apps for Bloom's Taxonomy

 Darrow, D. (2011, October 25). K-5 iPad Apps According to Bloom's Taxonomy. Retrieved July 23, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/ipad-apps-elementary-blooms-taxonomy-diane-darrow 

Ipad Projects for Students

 Bosch, K. (2013, March 19). Easy iPad Projects for Elementary Students. Retrieved July 23, 2015, from http://www.slideshare.net/kbosch/easy-ipad-projects-for-elementary-students 

Location of tool:

You can find apps for Ipads at the Apple App Store. https://itunes.apple.com/us/genre/ios/id36?mt=8

Cost of tool:

The cost of apps vary. A lot of apps are free for the lite version. If you want the full version, you will have to pay for it. IXL costs the school money for a license. You will also have to have an Ipad in order to use Ipads in the classroom. It pays to follow tweeters on Twitter who use Ipads in their classroom. The tweeters can give you ideas on where to find great apps. I am constantly learning about new apps to use in my classroom due to developers always coming out with new apps. 

Why you want to use Ipads in your classroom:

Ipads are great to use in a classroom. The students fully enjoy getting their hands on an Ipad. Students, in my classroom, are more engaged when they have some form of technology in their hands. However, there needs to be a balance. If I constantly used Ipads all day long, the Ipads would lose their sparkle. Students use Ipads for maybe an hour in my classroom a day. It all depends on the activity I want them to do and how engaged they will be in the activity. If students start to lose focus on the task using the Ipad, I know it is time to move on to the next activity. 

Ipads are a useful tool to help engage students using technology. There are millions of apps that you can use depending on what you want to do. Students are growing up with technology and Ipads are a great way to incorporate that technology piece into your classroom. However, remember that there needs to be a balance. Students should not be using Ipads all day long. Even in one-to-one classrooms, students should be doing activities without the Ipad or computer. Having a balance between technology and instruction can help students more than just using the Ipad or computer all day long, 

Sources:

Bosch, K. (2013, March 19). Easy iPad Projects for Elementary Students. Retrieved July 23, 2015, from http://www.slideshare.net/kbosch/easy-ipad-projects-for-elementary-students 

Darrow, D. (2011, October 25). K-5 iPad Apps According to Bloom's Taxonomy. Retrieved July 23, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/ipad-apps-elementary-blooms-taxonomy-diane-darrow 

Holland, B. (2013, July 11). IPads: From Pedagogical Crutch to Education Innovation. Retrieved July 23, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/ipads-pedagogical-crutch-education-innovation-beth-holland

ISTE Standards. (2015). Retrieved July 22, 2015, from http://www.iste.org/standards

Long, J. (2013, June 11). Why use ipads in education? Retrieved July 23, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=26&v=f_6TcE4-65E

ISTE Standards:

Students: 

1. Creativity and innovation
1. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
2. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression
3. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues
4. N/A
2. Communication and collaboration
1. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media
2. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats
3. N/A
4. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
3. Research and information fluency
1. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
2. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media
3. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks
4. Process data and report results
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
1. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation
2. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project
3. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
4. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions
5. Digital citizenship
1. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
2. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity
3. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
4. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship
6. Technology operations and concepts
1. Understand and use technology systems
2. Select and use applications effectively and productively
3. Troubleshoot systems and applications
4. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

Teachers:

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
1. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
2. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
3. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
4. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environment
2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
1. Design or adapt learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
2. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
3. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
4. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments, aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
3. Model digital age work and learning
1. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations
2. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
3. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats
4. Model and facilitate effective use of emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
1. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources
2. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources
3. Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interaction related to the use of technology and information
4. N/A
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership
1. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning
2. Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others

Educreations

Educreations

Description of tool:

Educreations is a way to create videos to show students how to do something. It is a lot like using a whiteboard. The only difference is that it's in a video. Educreations can be used on the computer or an Ipad. You can write on the document while recording your voice. Educreation is a great tool to use in a flipped classroom setting. Students can watch the videos if they were absent or if they need to learn the concept again. Teachers can create a class and videos to the class for students to watch. The students have a class code they would use when setting up an account for Educreations. I like how you can import pictures and write on the pictures. The thing to remember is that you have to draw on the whiteboard in order for the students to see what you are doing. The students can not see what you're mouse is doing like a screencast. 

Pedagogical uses;

Depending on the plan you choose with Educreations, students and teachers can create videos. However, if you choose the free plan, you can create videos and share them with your students through various ways. Teachers can create videos that students can watch at home in a flipped classroom setting. The students could then do their assignment when they came to class. Students can create videos, depending on the plan you choose, and share them with their teaching. 

Educreations can be an instructional tool or an assessment tool. Students can create a video showing the teacher what they learned from a lesson or showing their understanding of a concept. For example, a student can create a video showing understanding of how to multiply numbers. The teacher can watch the video and determine if the student understands the concept. I really like Educreations for a flipped classroom setting. Students can watch the video as many times as they would like, if you allow them to, and gain knowledge of a concept before coming to your classroom.

Example of Educrations:

Just a note: when you watch these, your volume may need to be turned down. I used two different microphones and on the second video, my voice is really loud. I also get really excited about the information in my videos. Just pretend like you are in third grade. 

How to create an Educreations:

I apologize for the siren sound. I am currently on vacation in Las Vegas and recording these videos in my hotel room.

Cost of the tool:

The basic tool which you can record and share lessons is free. In the free version, you get the basic whiteboard tools which you see in the video above. You can create and join classes as well as save one draft at a time. You get 50MB of storage space and email support.
In the Pro Classroom version, you get one teacher and forty plus students. It is 8.25/month billed annually or 11.99 month-to-month. In this version, you can export videos, save unlimited drafts, and 5GB of storage per user. You also get advanced whiteboard tools. You can import docs, maps, and more in this version. You also get priority email support. I like this version if you want more specific and detailed videos. The cost isn't terrible either if you plan on using this as a part of your lessons on a regular basis.
Educreations also has an ProSchool version where ten or more teachers can have teacher and student management. All the students get the pro version, and it has in-app features on an Ipad. You have unlimited storage space and dedicated support. The cost is 1495 a year. However, if your school likes this tool and plans on using it on a regular basis, it may be cost efficient.

Why you want to learn this tool:

Like Edpuzzle, this is a great tool to use if you flip your classroom. Students can learn a new concept while watching a video. You can show students how to do something while actually doing it and not just talking. Students can watch the video as many times as they like and the videos don't take very long to make. If you upgrade to the pro version, you get a lot of great tools and can truly make videos more exciting.
 Educreations is a tool to implement if you want an easy way to create videos for a flipped classroom. The videos are easily embedded into a website, blog, or LMS. Students can watch the videos as part of an assignment and the teacher can keep the videos as long as the storage capacity isn't met.

Sources:

ISTE Standards. (2015). Retrieved July 22, 2015, from http://www.iste.org/standards

Teach anything to anyone from anywhere. (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2015, from https://www.educreations.com/ 

ISTE Standards:

Teacher:

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity

1. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
2. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
3. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
4. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environment

2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments

1. Design or adapt learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
2. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
3. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

3. Model digital age work and learning

1. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations
2. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats
3. Model and facilitate effective use of emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning

4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility

1. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources
2. Develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital age communication and collaboration tools

Students:

1. Creativity and innovation

1. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
2. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression

2. Communication and collaboration

1. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media
2. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats
3. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems

3. Research and information fluency

1. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media
2. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks
3. Process data and report results

4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making

1. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation
2. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project
3. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
4. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions

5. Digital citizenship

1. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
2. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity
3. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
4. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship

6. Technology operations and concepts

1. Understand and use technology systems
2. Select and use applications effectively and productively
3. Troubleshoot systems and applications
4. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies

Collaborative Learning Research Articles

Collaborative Learning Research

12 Principles of Collaboration in Learning 

This resource has a graphic that shows the 12 principles of collaboration in learning. The resource was created by the staff of TeachThought. The original purpose of the graphic is geared towards business, but it can be adapted for education. The first principle is that the individual benefit of collaboration is just as important, if not more, than the overall group benefit. Each student will add his or her knowledge to a group project and that is what makes the project much better than if a single student did it. 

Principle two states that a student must do the strategy before implementing technology. A student must know the concept before typing information about the concept. Technology is a tool that can help students enhance the strategy. 

The third principle says that students must listen to the voice of the student. Each student must listen to each other when collaborating. One idea is not necessarily better than another. If a student puts both ideas together, the project will be that much better. 

In the fourth principle, students must learn to get out of the way. Each student must do their part in a collaboration. The students must allow the other students in the group to do their part. When this happens, one or more students will have to back off to allow full collaboration. 

Principle five states that students must lead by example. A teacher can demonstrate to the students what to do, but the students need to take the project into their own hands. If one student steps up and shows the other students how to collaborate successfully, the rest of the students will follow in that student's footsteps.

 Principle six states that collaboration should be integrated into the flow of work. Students can start a project by themselves, but collaborate on a later part of the project. Collaboration can be an integral part of classroom learning.

 Principles seven and eight state that the teacher should create a supportive environment and measure what matters. Teachers must let the students know that collaboration can happen in a classroom. Students need to know that they can work together successfully through modeling appropriate collaboration skills. During and after the collaboration, the teacher must grade what truly matters. If the teacher wants to focus on how the students collaborated in the group, that is what should be graded. 

In the ninth principle, the students need to learn persistence. Not everything will go correctly when students collaborate. However, they must learn to not give up. The longer they work together, the better the collaboration will work. Students must learn to continue to work through the problems they may face while using collaboration.

Principle ten states that students must adapt and evolve. If one student works better visually and another works better kinestically, the students must adapt and find a way to work with each other. The more students work with one another, the more the students will be able to adapt to working with each other.

The last two principles, eleven and twelve, state that collaboration will benefit the students and make the world a better place. Students who learn how to work together will continue to enhance peer relationships. Students will collaborate with others for the rest of their lives. Each day that a student works with another student, they are collaborating. Almost every job that a student could have someday has some type of collaboration. If students are able to learn how to collaborate successfully at a young age, the student will excel as an adult in the area of collaboration. 

12 Principles Of Collaboration In Learning. (2013, June 10). Retrieved July 8, 2015, from http://www.teachthought.com/learning/12-principles-of-collaboration-in-learning/ 

How Collaborative Learning Leads to Student Success

Matt Davis writes about a school where students collaborate on a daily basis. The school is a private school located in California where students pay tuition to attend the school. Every student is admitted to college after high school. The biggest difference at the school is the way that students learn.

The teachers at this school allow the students to lead the discussions and collaborate on their assignments. In English class, the students lead the discussion about a book they are reading. The teacher may stand in the corner and facilitate the discussions, but the students are doing the leading.

In Math class, the students work together to work out their math problems. The example the article states is students recreating triangles with rope and chalk. The students are working together and the teacher observes to make sure the students are preforming the task successfully. When the students take tests, they take them in groups. The questions on the tests are harder because the students get to work in groups. The same goes for the students assignments. The teacher challenges the students because the students collaborate on their homework. The students are able to answer questions that they may not be able to answer on their own. 

The teachers admit it was hard to turn over the control of discussions to the students, but the school is seeing the benefit of the students collaborating. It doesn't take long, however, for the teachers to set up student collaboration. The teachers need to just be willing to let the students be in control of their learning and trust them to successfully collaborate with their peers. 

 Davis, M. (2012, December 5). How Collaborative Learning Leads to Student Success. Retrieved July 8, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/stw-collaborative-learning-college-prep 

Deeper Learning: A Collaborative Classroom is Key
In order for collaboration to work effectively in a classroom, the teacher must model the correct way to work in a group. The first step would be to tell the students their task or assessment that they need to complete in a group. Once the groups have been set, the teacher and student can decide on rolls for each member of the group. This gives the members of the group a purpose or individual tasks to complete. Another helpful step is go over group rules. Rules such as one person talks at a time and be respectful of your group mates can help the group run smoothly. A poster of the group rules can be posted in the classroom for students to look back on during collaboration.
Students must learn how to be good listeners in order to work cooperatively with other students. Students also need to learn good conversation techniques such as eye contact, offering empathy, and not cutting a person off who is talking.
A great activity a teacher can do with the students is save the last word. This activity is where each student shares information one at a time. The other students must repeat what the previous student said. Another thing students can do is the three than me rule. Before the student can speak, that student must listen to three others before sharing again.
In order for students to have deep and critical group discussions, the students must learn how to ask good questions. The teacher can ask the class to generate a discussion topic and model open-ended questions on the board. Question stems such as "when you think about ___, what comes to mind?" helps students start discussions during groups. The teacher can provide a sheet that contains question starters for students to utilize during group discussions.
Students need to learn how to wait for answers; usually a few seconds which allows everyone time to think of a response to the question.
Not everyone in the group is always going to agree on an answer. Students must learn how to negotiate. The teacher can assign a student to be the negotiator. The negotiator would listen to all the students points of views and point out the ideas that everyone has in common.
If the teacher wants to have a successful collaboration of the groups, the teacher must model what he or she expects of the students. Students who understand the expectations of groups will then perform their roles successfully.

 Alber, R. (2012, December 31). Deeper Learning: A Collaborative Classroom Is Key. Retrieved July 8, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/deeper-learning-collaboration-key-rebecca-alber