Capturing a Moment With the iPad

 

One of the things I use my classroom iPad for most is what I like to call "capturing a moment". It is perfect for capturing those special moments that happen inside a primary classroom. It is so much better than using a digital camera (where USB cables can, and do, go missing, you have to find a moment to plug in the SD card and then spend time uploading and downloading images) because everything you could possibly need is on the iPad already, making it much more immediate.

For example, I took the photo below in a PE lesson and during the lesson we were able to add it to a book we were writing about 'teamwork' using the Book Creator app. The discussions around working together as a team to solve maths problems using our hands and feet, along with the photos of them doing it, made the session much more powerful.
 

I can also record and celebrate the children's successes and share them straight away on our class Twitter account and the children can write their own sentences to accompany the photo. This is something that the children absolutely love doing and it's lovely to share good work at home too.

Miss Hayden, Hokusai Class, year 3

Clockwork Brain

We have been using the Clockwork Brain app as a maths extension activity this week in year 3. The activities are really accessible for all children in the class. But they also provide a real challenge as children have to race against the clock to complete tasks. The app has a Victorian theme and the objects in the games are great.

In the 'chase the number' activity children have to memorise the numbers before they disappear and then select the numbers in order from smallest to biggest.
 

In the 'Missing Tiles' activity Children have to race against the clock to select the correct number of missing tiles. Children that want to get more points have to find ways of speeding up their mental maths skills, for example, by counting the tiles in groups of 2 to speed up their counting.
 

We have been looking at light and shadow in science, and shape in maths so the silhouette activities have linked the two subjects nicely. Children have to choose the right silhouettes as fast as possible.


Miss Hayden, Hokusai Class, year 3

 

Reception Ipad Reflection..

It’s not easy to know where to start with our Ipad journey. Just like Miss Hayden I was super excited to receive what felt like a very early Christmas present- A shiny new Ipad! But I was a bit nervous of letting the children anywhere near it!

   In Reception our first term is massively focussed on learning to share, so I thought I had better show a good example.  So as soon as our snazzy green IGuy protective case arrived I took a deep breath and let go…

 

 I gave the children a super quick demonstration of how to take a picture. Then during a whole class circle time, we created our own class twitter profile picture using ‘Lets Collage’.  Each child had a go at taking their own picture and then dragged it onto the screen and finally passed it on to the next person for their turn. It’s amazing how quickly you can create professional looking images. With a bit more practise we can hopefully get a few more whole faces and less one eyed children. It will be exciting to try it again to show how quickly the children’s skills have improved.The program is so simple to use it wouldn’t take much more modelling to allow the children to create their own collages for all sorts of projects. I made another one as we were learning the sound ‘s’ to show the children as a quick plenary at the end of the day.

 

 

  Every day we use ‘reflectionapp’ to listen to music and audio stories through the speakers at ‘Calm Time’. We use the ipad’s camera to record our achievements thoughout the day and then review our learning at the end of the session or day. I am yet to find the perfect smooth picture to allow us to mirror the screen onto the whiteboard, but we are on the the case.

 

  Reassured by the children’s careful but confident handling of the precious Ipad I am now on a mission to find out what app’s are out there and how we can fit them into our learning. So far the ones I have shown the children have immediately engaged them and as you can see bring out lots of interaction and shared learning. 

 The app store is an endless source and I have spent hours, maybe even days, trying out all sorts. But some great recommendations have also been passed on to me via twitter, subscribing to ICT guru timrylands emails, from the great team at the local apple training centre we are very lucky to have at Hastings Academy and of course though sharing our experiences at our weekly meets or ‘Ipad Club’. Meetings are getting longer as we have so much we want to share and new members are quickly joining as the buzz is spreading…  
 

Miss Gibson-Reception, Hepworth Class

The First Steps on Our iPad Journey...

There has been a bit of a buzz of excitement in my classroom recently... a box was delivered marking the arrival of our class iPad. It was almost overwhelming having to decide where to begin putting this tool to use with my class. I scoured the app store and ibookshelves for inspiration for our reading activities and discovered the National Geographic Explorer magazine...

As our topic is endangered animals this term it was the perfect place to begin introducing the iPad to the children. The first reading groups found out about lemurs and the second groups investigated poisonous animals.

The iPad allowed the children in my class to discover information in a really interactive way. With a simple tap the snakes would come to life and videos of lemurs "singing" captured their imagination. They tackled challenging words like poisonous, venomous, ferocious, exoskeleton and paralysis without batting an eyelid - simply because they had to find out about these wierd and wonderful creatures.

The most striking result was the amount of questions the children were asking, not the adult, but each other. They excitedly re-read the text through to shed light on the questions they were being asked - "But it doesn't say what happens if a snake runs out of venom, does it?", "I wonder if the Komodo Dragon could grow as big as the classroom?", "Oh no! But what is going to happen to the lemur now it's been caught?", "Quick, can you read that bit again? It said something about dragons!". These are the kind of question that bring a smile of delight to a teachers face.

Next week we are going to discover which animals have become extinct and why... We will be using the Era of the Dinosaurs app. Follow our first tentative steps in the world of using the iPad in our classroom.

Miss Hayden - Year 3, Hokusai Class