Week 5 and 6: Steady As We Go • Heck Awesome

After weeks and weeks of excitement, new tools and waves and waves of awesomeness, things have finally settled and iPad life has been smooth sailing.

With my students now the captains of their iPads…

they easily navigate between apps, using Goodreader to complete assignment notebooks, worksheets, take notes and write paragraphs.

New apps that we (I say we because I currently have a dynamo…awesomely tech savvy…she totally speaks geek student teacher) have introduced to our students have been warmly welcomed and tired with a fantastic energy and without hesitation. We have tried Baiboard, Socrative, Study Blue and Bitsboard (all of them and all but Bitsboard are also internet based….BONUS for your non-iPad users or if you do not have iPads). We continue to have great success and celebrate all the awesomeness of what each app offers our students. All while knowing there are just so many more awesome apps out there!

My students are still finding their way around Google Talk (I introduced them to it about a week and a half ago). This app allows them to easily communicate with me if they have any questions while they are working on their homework. While my students have become expects at using Edmodo as a communication tool, we quickly found that for homework help, Edmodo doesn’t reply fast enough and the multiple posts and long streams of communication can be confusing for them. We are still in the lets try this out phase of Google Talk… setting our course and hoping we find more treasure…but my students are over the moon they have this tool to use and uber excited at what it can do. Bonus…can we say independent students advocating for themselves…geee!

My Goals for NEXT WEEK…

Each student has 5 tools (apps) on their iPads they are confident, independent and proficient at using
These 5 tools meet and support their educational needs
Of these 5 tools (apps)...

One to two of them improves access to the curriculum and improves output of information
One of them allows us (me and my students) to communicate with ease (at home, in my class or away from my class)
One to two of them provides interactive and engaging funs that reinforces new and old skills.

So until next week you can find us sailing the open seas, rocking our iPads and spreading our awesomeness where ever we travel!