We have been very fortunate to be a part of our boards iPad Project for 2 years now. We have fabulous leaders working together with FDK teams across LKDSB to implement the best practices for integrating technology effectively into our classrooms. We have been lucky enough to share our iPad learning journey and successes with other parents, teachers and principals at Mobile Minds presentations, Teachers teaching Teachers workshops along with Summer Technology Institute programs. I look forward to continuing my techy adventures and learning new ways to bring this positive learning experience into our room.
iPad Apps to EXPLORE:
We believe in open-ended apps that give children a chance to explore their creativity. Some of these may not work for all students but we like to provide a wide variety to see which ones our kids can connect with in order to spark their imagination:
See Saw Learning Journal
Our students are really enjoying this app we have on our iPads now: It's called The See Saw Learning Journal and it is a digital portfolio of your child's discoveries!
The main goals of this app are to empower students and engage parents. It is very user friendly for both learning groups. Students will have a voice in what they find meaningful and wish to document. They can add photos (with voice recordings), create videos and use the drawing/writing tools to make art in their "journal" whenever they want to. It sends a notification to me every time they add something, I approve it and then it notifies you as well. Only you can see your child's journal (besides teachers). It has a similar layout to Instagram allowing you to like or comment on your child's work. If your child is interested in this app, we encourage them to document with it at home as well. We hope they will begin writing and typing into it all on their own :) I have parent permission to share the photograph on the left. As you can see, Sawyer has chosen this picture from the iPad to talk AND write about. Both his mother and myself were able to discuss the learning that happened as well as extend it both at school and in the home environment. I can also audio record comments to Sawyer (since they are ALWAYS curious what I typed to their parents). Some of our students enjoy documenting their learning using other apps and tools...and that's okay! This is completely optional for our kids, however, they have all enjoyed using it so far. Our room is full of different types of learners which makes our class so wonderful and unique. |
Shadow Puppet
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The goal of the Shadow Puppet app is to easily and creatively capture student work. We love to use Shadow Puppet to make videos that we can send to you! Students just select which pictures they want to talk about (it may be pictures they have taken or photos from the web that relate to one of their inquiries) and hit record! They can flip through the pictures as they explain what's happening in each photo. They are also able to add text, music or drawings to their pictures.
Here are 2 examples that I am posting with parent permission: Kennedie's Travel Book and Allie's Bat Cave
Here are 2 examples that I am posting with parent permission: Kennedie's Travel Book and Allie's Bat Cave
Educreations
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This is another app we love to make videos with. Students seem to use it quite a bit for Math so they can explain AND write about what they were doing.
Here are two examples that I am posting with parent permission: Evan Buys a Safari Ticket from Zac and AJ's Sea Turtle Math Problem
Here are two examples that I am posting with parent permission: Evan Buys a Safari Ticket from Zac and AJ's Sea Turtle Math Problem
Book Creator
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Book Creator is one we use to make books with! We love making non-fiction and fiction books. In this app you can add text, sound, photos, videos and more! The free version will allow you to create one book and the paid version is unlimited.
Here is an example that I am posting with parent permission: Grace's Gondola
Here is an example that I am posting with parent permission: Grace's Gondola
Green Screen
We have a lot of fun with Green Screen and can bring our imagination to life with this app. Our students have enjoyed going into bat caves, taking train rides, scuba diving with sea turtles, and going back to the ice age to see a Wooly Mammoth.
Check out some of our student examples (even FILMED by students): Scuba Diving, Bat Cave, Train Ride |
Minecraft
We have enjoyed recreating our class museum in Minecraft this year. Our students made signs, typed out facts, found the perimeter of their exhibits, talked about 3D shapes and met several other expectations from our FDK curriculum. Check out this video: Minecraft Museum
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QR Classroom
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We ask that if you have an apple or android device to download some type of QR Code scanner. We put up QR codes around our room and in newsletters. If you see one just scan the code it and will take you to a video or important link. If you do not have access to one of these apps just grab one of our classroom iPads when you are in the school and have your child show you! QR Qrafter is a good one and an even easier one is QR Jump. Have fun learning :)
In our classroom we have QR codes on our math manipulative bins (it will send kids to various songs or games that relate to those materials), on our books (so students can listen to stories and follow along independently), at our exploration station (so students can research their inquiries on PebbleGo, Epic and Wonderopololis) and much more! We also create our students' videos into QR codes so other students can enjoy them!
In our classroom we have QR codes on our math manipulative bins (it will send kids to various songs or games that relate to those materials), on our books (so students can listen to stories and follow along independently), at our exploration station (so students can research their inquiries on PebbleGo, Epic and Wonderopololis) and much more! We also create our students' videos into QR codes so other students can enjoy them!
Here are some other recommended apps in FDK (list created by http://mattbgomez.com):
Reading:
Epic
Storytelling/Creating:
Lego Movie Maker, Aurasma, Venn Diagram, Tell About This, Balloon Stickies, Audioboo, 30hands, Magnetic ABC, Hello Crayon, Pic Stitch, Pic Collage, PicPlayPost, Chatterpix Kids, Toontastic, Felt Board, Little Bird Tales, Educreations, Sock Puppets, StoryBuddy 2, Explain Everything, Doodlecast Pro, Book Creator, Strip Designer, Toontastic Jr, Draw and Tell HD, My Story, Puppet Pals, Kid in Story, Skitch, Popplet
Letter ID/Letter Sound:
Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics, Touch and Write, All About Letters, AR Flashcards, Starfall ABC, Intro to Letters, Interactive Alphabet, Letter of the Day, Alphabetimals, Alphabet Tracing, Endless Alphabet, Letter School, Alpha Tots, Montessori Letter Sounds, Alpha Maze, FlashCards, Alien Buddies, Wet Dry Try
Letter ID/Phonics/Word Work/Writing:
Write About This, Alpha Writer, Spell Animals, Sound Sorting, Phonics Fun ( I use phonics fun 1-4), Letter Sounds, ABC Magic 5, Cimo Spelling, Monkey Word, Word Wonderland, Sentence Builder, Word Bingo, Flashcard Maker
Science/Geography:
My Incredible Body, Google Earth, Brainpop Jr, AR Space, Dinopedia, Plants HD, Pocket Zoo, Barefoot World Atlas, Stack the States, ABC Mouse (Set 1-3), World Book Animals, InstaWeather Pro
Math
Todo Time, Todo Math, RWT Timeline, Maths Toolbox,MathDoodles, Base Ten Math, Adding and Subtracting,MyScript Calculator, Blokify, Intro to Math, Hungry Fish, Counting Board, Math Bingo, Pattern Recognition K, Math Magic, Let’s Make Shapes, Simple Sort, Haiku Deck, Native Numbers, Marble Math Jr, Monkey Math, Splash Math K, Number Maze, TallyTots, Montessori Number Board, Geoboard, iSequences, Hungry Guppy,
Art/Music:
colAR Mix, iLuv Draw Animals, Garageband, Drawing Pad, MoMA Art Lab, Kid Art, Everything Butt Art, iLuv Drawing Dinosaurs, Whiteboard
Creativity/Play:
My PlayHome, Toca Tea Party, Robot Lab, Where’s My Water, Toca Kitchen, Sticker World, Little Things
Apps for all areas:
Teach Me K, Feed Me, Jumpstart Pre, Pirate Phd, Princess Phd, Teach Me 1st Grade
Reading:
Epic
Storytelling/Creating:
Lego Movie Maker, Aurasma, Venn Diagram, Tell About This, Balloon Stickies, Audioboo, 30hands, Magnetic ABC, Hello Crayon, Pic Stitch, Pic Collage, PicPlayPost, Chatterpix Kids, Toontastic, Felt Board, Little Bird Tales, Educreations, Sock Puppets, StoryBuddy 2, Explain Everything, Doodlecast Pro, Book Creator, Strip Designer, Toontastic Jr, Draw and Tell HD, My Story, Puppet Pals, Kid in Story, Skitch, Popplet
Letter ID/Letter Sound:
Ollie's Handwriting & Phonics, Touch and Write, All About Letters, AR Flashcards, Starfall ABC, Intro to Letters, Interactive Alphabet, Letter of the Day, Alphabetimals, Alphabet Tracing, Endless Alphabet, Letter School, Alpha Tots, Montessori Letter Sounds, Alpha Maze, FlashCards, Alien Buddies, Wet Dry Try
Letter ID/Phonics/Word Work/Writing:
Write About This, Alpha Writer, Spell Animals, Sound Sorting, Phonics Fun ( I use phonics fun 1-4), Letter Sounds, ABC Magic 5, Cimo Spelling, Monkey Word, Word Wonderland, Sentence Builder, Word Bingo, Flashcard Maker
Science/Geography:
My Incredible Body, Google Earth, Brainpop Jr, AR Space, Dinopedia, Plants HD, Pocket Zoo, Barefoot World Atlas, Stack the States, ABC Mouse (Set 1-3), World Book Animals, InstaWeather Pro
Math
Todo Time, Todo Math, RWT Timeline, Maths Toolbox,MathDoodles, Base Ten Math, Adding and Subtracting,MyScript Calculator, Blokify, Intro to Math, Hungry Fish, Counting Board, Math Bingo, Pattern Recognition K, Math Magic, Let’s Make Shapes, Simple Sort, Haiku Deck, Native Numbers, Marble Math Jr, Monkey Math, Splash Math K, Number Maze, TallyTots, Montessori Number Board, Geoboard, iSequences, Hungry Guppy,
Art/Music:
colAR Mix, iLuv Draw Animals, Garageband, Drawing Pad, MoMA Art Lab, Kid Art, Everything Butt Art, iLuv Drawing Dinosaurs, Whiteboard
Creativity/Play:
My PlayHome, Toca Tea Party, Robot Lab, Where’s My Water, Toca Kitchen, Sticker World, Little Things
Apps for all areas:
Teach Me K, Feed Me, Jumpstart Pre, Pirate Phd, Princess Phd, Teach Me 1st Grade