iPad Presentation - Agenda

Learning Objective: Analyze how social media applications can support student learning and professional development.
Success Criteria: Review a blog and Twitter account using Sound Cloud and a blog to facilitate discussion.

1. Download Sound Cloud and Socrative
2. Skim my Blogs and Tweets (10 min)
3. Prepare for discussion:

• What is a strength of using blogs or Twitter for reflection or professionally development?
• How do blogs and Twitter support 21st Century skills?
• What would you do differently in a blog or Twitter?
• What should I add to my blog to support someone beginning implementation of iPads in a classroom?
• How could you use blogs or Twitter for your own professional development?

4. Record your discussion using Sound Cloud (10 min)

• Do not use Facebook when creating an account (You need a private account to obtain links for the sound files.)
• Make the file "Private" when saving to obtain a link to share.

5. Post a link to your discussion in the comments below (5 min)

• From the main menu, select the file, select "private", select the share (arrow) button, then copy the link.
• Paste the the comments below
• Listen to other files and comment about something that you like in the option below, or mark the spot in the file.

6. Socrative exit slip - What can you implement in your classroom? (5 min)

Is it really my fault?

I keep hearing that my iPads are the reason for some of our trouble with network and internet. I'm not totally sure that it's true. We had plenty of issues before my iPads arrived. Once I began using them regularly, I didn't hear about an increase in problems. I actually don't have any problems. When all of the other classes and teachers are yelling at their computers, I just sit quietly and say to my Macbook,  "I love you." We don't have any problems with the iPads. Other teachers have issues with connectivity mostly and often issue with slow loading. I have awesomeness.

We had an upgrade to our system over the break, and it has been a huge issue for people. Many people with Dell laptops (only a year or two old) have network cards that need to be upgraded. There  were a few days, where many people couldn't use anything. What a huge frustration! I know that my iPads connect differently, but if they are taking all of the bandwidth, why is it that I am not experiencing issues too?

Clear up confusion

My poor students have had to endure a bit of confusion this year. I began the year with a Promethean Board and clickers. We would often use the clickers for assignments or submit major essays to turnitin.com, but most of their work was written on paper then turned in to a basket: pretty simple. When I learned that I got the grant, I set up the class on Wikispaces and had the kids try out discussion posting. Once the iPads came, I had so many things that I wanted to try. We continued to use wikispaces, but I also played with clicker apps, notes apps, and e-mail. They seemed to have a different app for each assignment. I was searching for a great plan, but I think I just confused them.

Next year, I will commit to 1 way to turn in work, with few exceptions. I am also keeping a running list of assignments and where they are turned in on the class wiki homepage. I am realizing that I have to be EXTREMELY clear about what they need to do and where they need to turn it in.

Sound Cloud Rocks!

I used Sound Cloud to record my students in group discussions. It was amazing! I gave them a handout to support them with what they needed to discuss about the poem, then put them into groups. Each group used one iPad to record their discussion of the poem using Sound Cloud. Once they began, it was almost creepy to see them all so on task. Since they knew I would be listening, they stayed on topic in their discussion. When they finished the discussions, they copied a link to the sound file and pasted it onto the class wiki page. For the most part, I could hear the discussions very well. There were very few students who sat too far away from the microphone. It was so wonderful to hear some great ideas from students who typically sit silently in class discussions. I hope to use this more and more!

Updating

Updating took FOREVER! It took me about 3 days to get through the iPads. The problem wasn't the operating system update, it was the app updates. Pages took at least 15 minutes. I started with all of them plugged in to my Macbook in the cart, but didn't want to sit there all day long since it seemed to be updating them one at a time. I decided to pull 5-10 iPads at a time and just lay them out in front of me instead. I am confident that there is a better way to do this, I'm just not sure what it is.

Folders

I finally decided to start grouping my apps in folders. The 5-6 pages of apps was starting to be a problem. I can't believe how many free apps I have found! I was able to get them all on one page by creating the following folders: books, creativity, education, grammar, news, notes, other, videos, vocabulary, voice and sounds, and word games. The "other" folder is where I put all of the random apps that they don't need or shouldn't be using. Right now, the only apps that are not in a folder, but on the bottom of the iPad are Safari, Pages, Socrative, and a link to our class Wiki.

To get through the bulk of them, I asked a class to do some for me. I wrote a list of which apps go in which folder on the board to guide them. Most of the kids did a pretty good job on their own. When I needed to finish up what the class didn't get done, I found that it goes fastest to put them in folders while they are synched with my Macbook.

Next school year, I will probably keep the number of apps to a minimum so that I don't need the folders. For now, I like to have a bunch to play with until I decide what I want to keep.

Audio Files

I am finally playing with audio files! I decided to use Sound Cloud for this. This iPad app will allow the students to navigate away from the app but continue to record. Not all recording apps would do this. The other piece that I like is that they can get a link for the audio file and add it to their assignment that they are turning in on wiki spaces. I am a big fan of their work staying in one place as much as possible.

After demonstrating how to use the program, I sent them off to try recording. Complete silence. This is the class that is typically a challenge to keep quiet. When I finally asked them to talk, they hesitated. After a few minutes, they seemed to get over their public speaking fears and begin to play with the program. I am eager to hear what they produced!