Our Lesson Format is Based on the Unit of Practice model for teachers 

Shared Lessons

Do Elephants Need our Help?

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Click the title above to view a challenge-based lesson using the "cycle of inquiry" design. This lesson was created using Edcanvas.   Submitted by Martha McCoy, CJUSD

Science Experiment with iPads:
"Which Stylus works best for swiping, tapping, drawing and writing?"

We only had two styluses in our class and we wanted to find out if we could make one as good as a store bought stylus. We made our own styluses and compared them using a 3 point smiley face scale. We tested 5 different styluses.
  • Yellow App Crayon ($10)
  • Black Targus ($20)
  • Homemade Stylus with sponge tip (3 cents)
  • Homemade Stylus with cotton tip (3 cents) 
  • Homemade Stylus with black tape tip (3 cents)

Findings: We found out that the store-bought 'Yellow App Crayon' was best but we didn't have any money to buy it. Our homemade sponge tip stylus worked almost as well for a lot less money.

Your Lesson Here

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We'd love to share your lesson here.  Once you've shared, we'll email you for any pictures you may have.  If students faces are in the picture, we'll need a release form signed by the parent.  Otherwise, you can simply show an example of the work as in the lesson to the left.

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A Three Piece Band - Two dads learn the guitar chords for 'La Bamba' on the iPad while one son plays backup on Garage Band
 Workshops for Parents
My fellow teacher Pam Rubel and I had a lot of FUN on our first parent education night for the year!  Our muse was the iPad. Tuning into to technology with families is a powerful way to engage parents in their child's education and empower them as lifelong learners. Everyone benefits and the community of support just gets stronger.
It is amazing how much 'content' can be shared when the learning is fun and everyone is excited. We began our night with a formal presentation, but the real learning began when we showed parents how to search for 'The Elephant Song' by Eric Hartman. We all relaxed to the silly song and animated iPad artwork on YouTube. Then we began exploring apps on the iPads.  Parents started asking provocative questions about games, the internet, and how to keep their students interested in the educational apps.  Our discussion went beyond apps and curriculum, we discussed parenting strategies, supervision, the importance of sharing in conversation with their children, and developing routines for their children around homework, screentime, and reading with mom and dad. It was an engaging discussion, not a 'lecture'. I think everyone was surprised. We are excited to play and solve problems together next week.  
Topics for our Parent Education Series include: 
  • Why iPads in the classroom?
  • What is 21st century learning?
  • How to use an iPad, Risks and Benefits
  • The Apps we use for learning
  • Using the Camera / Video for developing language skills 
  • Web 2.0 tools for learning
  • Helping your child with Special Projects
  • How to evaluate Apps for learning
  • How to support your child's education
  • Building English Literacy Skills
  • Social Media and your child
  • Digital Citizenship, Cyberbullying
  • Safety on the Internet
  • Consent Agreements for use of Technology