Some days as a teacher, you really feel like you have done a good job. Today was one of those days.
My class of 33 year 3's and 4's were up for a challenge. Having planned the day meticulously, aware that the teaching assistant was out on a course, so the jammed packed morning was looking ominous. However, the students rose to the challenge and I had the most enjoyable time in the classroom alongside them.
So reflecting on the day - what was it that made the difference? I believe it was the iPad. Every child has access to a device as today they were asked to take control of their learning.
What did I use in the classroom today?
www.bbc.co.uk/Newsround , I decided to start the day by showing on the class large screen, the live updates of the children's topical news programme Newsround. With the shocking events in Paris over the weekend, it was positive to face the tragedy and answer questions raised. Sensibly, advice for those affected by the story was responsibly spoken of. This episode also mentioned the hugely popular Minecraft game and the 'ghosting' which can take place when an unknown player decides to be unkind and inappropriate when playing online. The best known Minecrafter spoke about how to deal with this type of cyber bullying, which was timely and important. This class is hooked by Minecraft and it's important to send a message to the students that I as their teacher recognise that.
1) Showbie - to set up the resources and scaffold the different levels of expectations for the learners in each year group.
2) Book Creator - to store and expand onh e understanding of what email is and how to use it safely and responsibly. The star is to protect identity.
3) Webster's Bedtime - By Hannah Whaley having read the previous books in this wonderful series, this book backs up that devices have a time and place, they too need to be recharged and chat resulting from sharing this book can open discussions about when it's time to switch off from technology !
It was also the inspiration for the second part of our lesson today, which was the question 'what would a device say about sending emails...if they could talk?' What advice would they give - a lesson in personification.
4) Yak-it Kids - this fun animation app really appealed to this age group. They were transfixed by the example and eager to see how they could make their own version. The incredible part of this process was that the class found a renewed enthusiasm for writing with their pens in their English book (and joined up too!) , as part of the deal today was that a scripted speech needed to be prepared before the app could be opened...I've never seen the students write in such a focused way!
Th drawback for some of the students with this app was that their scripted speech lasted longer than 15secs (a limit in this the free version of the app) so they worked on creating their animation in Adobe Voice and produced some excellent examples of extended animation, full of character, completely individual and expressed their understanding in their own words. This part was transformational in this classroom ,
SAMR is a model designed to help educators infuse technology into teaching and learning. Popularised by Dr. Ruben Puentedura, the model supports and enables teachers to design, develop, and infuse digital learning experiences that utilize technology.9 Nov 2013
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