Today was a big day in our class. We were able to use the iPads for the entire day instead of just one or two periods. Could we successfully incorporate the iPads into each subject?
It was the Monday after spring break so what a great time to share our vacation adventures by using Popplet. With just a short overview the students were able to easily maneuver through the mind mapping app. I couldn't believe how focused the kids were as they created their Popplet story. The process of saving and sharing proved to be a bit challenging but we succeeded and now students are ready to use Popplet for many different assignments.
In Math we introduced QR codes. All students made a card to take home that has the QR code for our class web site. The card will provide quick easy access for both students and parents.
Our next lesson was one of the kids favorite. This lesson was all about taking three very special photos and then connecting them into a unique story. I let the kids have some thinking time before we went outside to the playground. Many were concerned about how they were going to connect three random pictures. After a few minutes outside all concern was gone as planning, thinking, observing and creating took over. After all picture decisions were made, the students saved their photos to their google doc account and now have the week to complete their story. The room was buzzing with all their interesting ideas and I can't wait to read what they will come up with.
Reading time was fantastic as we used TodaysMeet to share our thoughts about a read aloud Mrs. Callahan (our reading specialist ) was sharing. At important sections Mrs. Callahan would stop and ask a question or ask the students to share their specific thoughts. Mrs. Callahan was able to comment about certain ideas the students had posted. I was amazed at how closely they listened to the story and how much thought they put into their answers. Everyone participated.
We had a busy day but we needed to do one more thing. Using the app "Pages" each student wrote one paragraph reflecting on our first entire day using iPads. The following is one reflection of the day by Eva.
By Eva
My experience with the iPads today was great! I loved using Popplet and I wished we got more time to finish. I love that you can use Popplet to make mind maps. I would have preferred to do our explorer mind maps on Popplet. I could have worked on it all day. I loved how we got to take pictures and tie it into writing. I learned that different objects can turn into something cool. Without using the iPads we would never have been able to do this lesson. I also felt that by using the iPads I payed extra attention. I didn't zone out at all today. Today was very enjoyable. I can't wait to do it again!
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