Story Buddy 2 is just what it sounds like, a writing application for the iPad, but we are using it this week to make math shape word books. We take a photo of each of our foam 3D-shapes: sphere, hemisphere, cone, pyramid, cube, rectangular prism, cylinder, hexagonal prism, octagonal prism and triangular prism. We use the camera built into the iPad and the photos automatically store to our "camera roll". Then we take photos of objects in our classroom to represent each shape. The fire extinguisher is our cylinder; the globe is our sphere, and so on. 

We open our Story Buddy and select "new story" to begin our books. Each student's book is unique as they find different objects around the room to represent the concept. There aren't any pyramids in my room, so I project an image of a pyramid in Egypt on the projector screen and students can take a photo of that. We already know how to write "I see a", so students type that in themselves onto each page as I pass out a study sheet with a list of all the shape words. We work on identifying the beginning sounds in the list of words because we already know the names of the shapes. We have been working on the shape names since the beginning of the year, and we've watched some fun videos that can be found on the Napa ED1STOP website under Discovery Ed streaming called "Math Monsters". These are stories about all the 3D- shapes that bring the concepts to life in a developmentally appropriate context for kinders. 

This project takes several days as we work hard to load the pics from our camera rolls, resize by pinching and rotating when needed, and using the style key to make our letter font larger. We are learning key vocabulary that can be used across other iPad apps as well as math vocabulary and the underlying concept of shapes. There is ongoing collaboration as we look at each other's books and help each other to get the stories finished. It's fun to see what other people found in the room to represent a hemisphere! Sharing ideas is part of the process. "I like that your sphere page has a globe and an eyeball; I see that your cylinder page still needs a photo." We are critical friends for each other. That's the kind of friend who is "critical" for your success, not the bossy kind. 

Finally, we find a quiet corner of the room to add sound to each page of our new shape book. Mrs. M can use the sound playback feature for assessment to see if we can say the names of the shapes. We are ready to publish our books and store them in our iBooks library. We are building our digital portfolio, and we can be proud of our work and share it with others. 

By: Kimberly Floyd

Her eyes were glazed over and she looked exhausted.  She was the teacher.  Her question made sense to me.  In all honesty, she wanted to know, why should she use iPads when she could teach the content herself?  Why should she?

A teacher can teach literacy, math, spelling, vocabulary, science, social studies, art, foreign language, etc, without an iPad.  Good teachers can teach without lots of bells and whistles.  That's what makes them good.  Technology will not make you a better teacher.  You become a better teacher because of your passion to be a better teacher.

Last year I met a baker whose goal was to make the perfect baguette.  That's it.  Everyday he would come to work with one goal, to finally make that perfect, crusty, chewy, golden loaf of bread.  I remember asking him, "How will you know when you have made the perfect one?"  The baker just smiled at me and said, "I'll know." 
 
So, what's the connection between the  teacher and the baker?  The connection is in the answer to the question, "Why should I?"

The baker bakes with passion, and a desire to better his practice.  He comes to work with a sparkle in his eye, and determination to reach his goal.  He bakes because he cannot imagine doing anything else.

And the teacher?  The teacher's goal should resemble that of the baker, perfecting one's practice until that day in the classroom when her eyes have that sparkle, and and her heart knows she has had that perfect lesson. Those perfect lessons do happen.

So, why do I use iPads in my classroom?  I use iPads because I can do more than ever before.  I can differentiate curriculum quickly. I can allow students to review content independently.  I can provide multiple avenues for students to access content.  I can keep students engaged longer.  I can assess deeper thinking when they create digital stories and record video.  I can watch students assess their own work when they listen to or view their own creations.  I can observe students collaborating in ways with digital tools that seem to even the playing field regardless of language barriers.  I can share student work with parents instantly.  Those are some of my reasons for using iPads.

  Why should you?

By: Martha McCoy


Are 21st Century learning, PBL, and teaching with technology just the newest wheels of school reform to be reinvented only to cycle back into oblivion? 

The traditional walls of our classrooms, our schools, and our minds are opening up to new ways of preparing ourselves and our students for a rapidly changing future.  In my thinking we are not reforming, we are transforming. We are taking the richness of our experiences,  tapping into our passions, and learning how to harness the power of research by learning how to live and teach with an inquiring mind… a mind that looks for answers in every action; a mind that thrives on discovering new problems to be solved and is open to new ways of thinking and acting.  A mind that seeks a greater purpose to our actions in the context of or community and our world.

Global citizens have inquiring minds. They are tenacious, gritty, open to change and most importantly, they care and are able to laugh!

By:  Kim Floyd

I started with one iPad before anyone realized how they would change our classrooms.  My staff made fun of me.  My principal at the time thought I was nuts. Parents could not understand what their kids were doing. No one believed my one iPad mattered, but I knew, and the kindergarten kids knew, our classroom would never be the same.

Three years later, I cannot imagine teaching without iPads. I currently have a 2:1 iPad ratio.   My students are engaged, they believe their work matters, and they are confident learners.   They have become independent, curious students. Their work is differentiated.  Some days, when  I look over my classroom and realize that every student is on task, and there is that quiet hum of contentment, I know having iPads is part of that success.  We are not working harder, we are working smarter.

I started small, and still do.  At the beginning of the school year, I introduce iPads by modeling. They just watch me, and I begin to instill in them how I care for and use my iPad for learning and sharing. I do whole group work using my iPad under my document camera so the children can interact with me, and we model iPad skills together. Within a few days, I begin what I call a "slow release."  I teach a few children at a time how to access an app, or login with a password. We begin with a few apps at a time. I do a lot of monitoring, and have a "no tolerance" policy for iPad antics. We learn in small groups.   And then magic begins.  They can do it.  They work in pairs.  The collaborate to solve problems. They can move in and out of apps on cue.  And sometimes, they carry their iPad back to me with that confused look in their eyes, and reteaching or troubleshooting begins.  We are learning together.

What about you?  What will you do with your iPads?  Remember that little blue engine that taught us the power of the words, "I think I can, I think I can"?  I love that story.  That little engine moved forward one little chug at a time.  You can transform your classroom too, one little chug at a time. Try one app. Draw a digital picture. Create a digital story.  Take a photo and email it home.  Just do one new thing with your iPads today. I think you can.

by Martha McCoy
iPads in Kindergarten didn't make any sense to me when I first heard I would be teaching kindergarten in a pilot program that provided one iPad per student.  It seemed like a misuse of valuable resources and I thought using iPads would deprive kindergartners of 'real' play-based learning. I was worried about too much screen time and lack of social interaction if kids were 'plugged in' so young.  Would using iPads inhibit their communication skills? What about their writing skills? Would they just 'play games' and not really learn anything?  What about the rest of our school? 
It didn't take long before I announced to the world that 'Every student should have access to an iPad!' The portable touch screen technology makes learning accessible to everyone, irregardless of literacy skills, language and background.  I watched students listen to and interact with digital stories, play phonics games, create stories, practice their letters over and over, and do puzzles on their iPads with just two days of instruction. This was impressive but what was even more remarkable was that students showed great persistence and ingenuity in figuring out the apps.  They were undaunted when faced with failure! They were willing to take risks, experiment, and use their prior knowledge independently.  While using iPads, the ususal subjective judgement or praise by the teacher about a student's failure or success was nonexistent. I was watching children's brains in action. I witnessed a high level of motivation and problem solving as children helped each other and shared their work...and this was just the beginning.
DOLLARS WELL SPENT
Think about it. People do not question investing large sums of money in high school intervention programs to 'close the achievement gap'.  But Kindergarten?  
The truth is you get a lot more BANG for the BUCK if you intervene early by building English vocabulary, math and literacy skills before the age of 5.