My Ipad Presentation

I have been using and Ipad in my classroom for almost 2 years now.  I was asked to present to staff how I have incorporated ipads into my grade one classroom.  I wanted my session to focus on the projects that my first graders have done, it is not just about the apps.  The apps are a tool to achieve an outcome!  When I sat down to plan my presentation I wanted to make sure some basic ipad skills were taught as well.  And of course what would an ipad presentation be without sharing of apps!

What were my projects?

• Idress weather project using doodle buddy
• Pictello stories - 3 different ideas
• Strip designer to enhance your writing
• Sonic Pics video presentations

What skills did I teach?

• Locking an app (guided access) - very cool if you have kids that like to wander off task
• Moving apps in and out of folders
• Renaming folders
• Taking a screen shot
• Opening pictures from camera roll within another app
• Printing from the Ipad
• Photo Streaming
• Adding short cuts to the home screen
• Searching for apps you know you have... but where?
• Deleting apps and finding them in your purchased part of the app store to add them back later

What are my favorite apps?

• All the ones I blog about of course!

Of course I asked them all to follow me here!  So welcome if you joined!  And I shared the site I follow to find amazing new apps!

And what is a presentation without getting a little personal?????  I shared my ihealth blood pressure monitor   and my Weigh Watchers app My Score Plus.  

So in a nutshell, that was it and it was fun.  I know a few left inspired, a few left itching to buy their own ipad and others left with the notion that "hey, maybe I can do that!"

 

idress WINTER Scene.............. finally!

We love to use the idress app in our classroom.  I have blogged about it a few times!

It was always my pet peeve that unless snow was falling from the sky, the picture was a lovely green scene.  Not so friendly for us northerners where we don't have green for 6 months of the year!  Well in the latest update there is a winter scene!  Now the ground is still not snow covered and clothes are still hanging on the line BUT the trees are bare winter trees!

To turn on the winter trees hit the i button in the bottom left corner, click the tree season and switch it to winter.

If you have not already done so this is a good time to adjust your temperature levels as well.  I have mine custom set to match what we northerners think is Really Cold and what we think is Hot.

Looks like today is a little Cold but feels balmy after the week of -30!  I guess we will have to do something outside since we are still not back to school!  Happy New Year everyone!

 

October Apps

Well September blew by, and now its October....eekkk!  Where does time go?

We worked hard on the September apps and I can honestly say ALL grade ones know how to use their Teach Me Grade One profile.  The favorite app of the month had to be Spelling City.

I kept a lot of the September apps in my October folder but added a few new ones.  What's new???

Puzzle book: Mickey's Spooky Night (interactive story) 99 cents


Patterns App - free


idress -  $1.99 (Part of our morning calendar time)




Counting Game 99 cents


Phonics $2.99 lots of great features when you get this app set up!


So that's our October focus along with a few of September's favorites!  Happy ipadding!
 

A teachable moment... just go with it!

Today was one of those throw the lesson plan out the window and just go with the teachable moment kind of days.  As we checked the weather on idress, it told us it was -18C.  Cold yes, but a true northern girl like me knew it just had to be colder.  So we quickly opened up safari and went to Environment Canada.  We discovered it was a whooping -29C with the wind, almost indoor recess weather, but not quite.  So it was time to talk frost bite and making sure we wear all those winter clothes that idress has hanging in our icloset!  As we talked I thought....... we should write about this!  And write we did!  We got out the markers and wrote an interactive story about dressing for the weather.  The kids decided it should be a rebus story so we would see the pictures of the clothes.  Then we decided if it hung in the hallway, all the kids would know why they need to wear the right winter gear!  So here it is......

Notice our app to app pictures posted around it!  The kids just love when it is their turn to do the weather, only 3 left and everyone will have had a turn!  I guess tomorrow we will go back to the short vowel o lesson I had planned on doing today.  I just love those teachable moments!