iPads for Math

     I enjoyed this presentation. I always struggled with how to use iPads in a math lesson. In the presentation, it said that by 2020 one of the top 5 jobs in demand will be information technology. Since that is true, our students need to be proficient in technology. The presentation mentioned why using iPads for math is beneficial in the classroom. It said that using iPads in math enhances retention of content because they are more interesting to the students. iPads give students more opportunities to explore and to collaborate with one another. It is easy for students to use them since they are familiar with iPads and technology. Having iPads allows students to be hands on in the classroom and students learn more by doing than by being told information. I agree with this because I know that I learn more being hands on rather than being told information. When using iPads for math in the classroom, be the facilitator and allow students to productively struggle. As an educator, you need to make the information meaningful and connect it to the real world. One of the big things that they presentation discussed is coding. I think coding is awesome and one of the coolest ways to implement iPads for math. Coding is great for using iPads for math because it promotes problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, perseverance, abstract concepts, modeling math, precision, and real-world math application. All of these things will better prepare students for the future. Coding meets the standards practices that are set by common core. When students code they create and apply. This makes them more connected to their work. Implementing iPads for math also allows students to participate in STEM activities. STEM is a great way to keep students engaged and it prepares students for the future. I have seen coding used before and iPads in math. I cannot wait to use iPads in my math instruction.

Digital Storytelling

     I found this presentation very interesting. I have used digital storytelling before, but I learned a lot about it that I didn’t know in this presentation. The presentation said that digital storytelling is where the ancient act of storytelling meets modern technology. I really liked that definition of it. Digital storytelling is the act of sharing a story through a digital medium. The two definitions of digital storytelling that was given fit the word very well. One thing that they mentioned is that there are seven elements when it comes to storytelling. I did not know that there were elements of storytelling. The elements are point of view, dramatic questions, emotional content, gift of your voice, power of soundtrack, economy, and pacing. Once they discussed what roles each of these elements play, I realized that there is a lot more to storytelling than I thought there was. Each of the elements play a big role when telling a story. The presentation then went and discussed the benefits of digital storytelling. They mentioned that it is an essential 21^st Century skill and that it can be very complex or very simple. I really liked that they said it can be simple or complex because I always thought it had to be very complex to be a digital story. Digital storytelling is engaging and hands on. It promotes higher order thinking skills, communication skills, tech skills, collaboration skills, and research skills. It also can be applied to every subject. It also appeals to diverse learners and it also gives opportunity for reflection. I liked that it mentioned reflection because I feel students learn a lot from self-reflection. Digital storytelling is also good for students with exceptionalities. I also like that they said this because digital storytelling could be a great tool to use to differentiate instruction. The presentation mentioned two apps that can be used for digital storytelling. They were Shadow Puppet and Puppet Pals. I learned a lot about digital storytelling and am excited about using it in my classroom. 

Tips for Your First Year of Teaching

      This was my favorite presentation because it was the most beneficial to me. It was on tips for the first year of teaching. One tip that I love that they gave was that in the first year of teaching you should take advice from teachers who have been there for a while. That is where most of your help can come from as a new teacher. I know I do this right now as an intern and it really does help. As a new teacher, classroom management and good rapport with the other teachers is key. Classroom management is something you need to establish as your foundation in your classroom from the very beginning. If you do not have a good foundation from the very beginning, you cannot build your classroom. When you are starting your new job as a teacher, set clear expectations as for what you want to accomplish in this school year. In the first year of being an educator, use as many resources as you can. Collaborate with your fellow colleagues, and use online resources such as Teachers Pay Teachers. I love this resource. There are many tools that you can use in your classroom such as Class Dojo, Remind 101, Quizlet, Kahoot, and Google Classroom. All of these tools will help with classroom management, keeping parents informed, and keeping your students engaged. I loved that in the presentation that it mentioned to be a bucket filling classroom. The classroom needs to be a very positive environment and a safe place for your students. Lesson planning is an important part of your first year of teaching. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Even though lesson planning is important, you do not need to memorize it. You need to be passionate about what you are teaching and don’t just teach from the book.  In the presentation, it mentioned that in your first year of teaching that you will fail, make mistakes, embarrass yourself, and not know some of the answers. That is okay. Ask for help, use your resources, and learn from your mistakes to better yourself as an educator. All of these tips that were given in this presentation will definitely help me in my first year of teaching.

Student Led Conferences and Digital Devices

     This presentation was very informational since I did not know that much about student led conferences. The presentation gave tips if you are going to start using student led conferences. One of the tips that were given was to start small when starting student led conferences. Some other tips were to designate a time to have student led conferences and to have the portfolio ready. I agree with these tips as that it helps you to be organized as a teacher. When making the portfolio to be used in these conferences, document everything including quizzes, projects, writing, assignments, etc. Students should be able to pick out what they want to showcase during the student led conference. This helps to give students responsibility in their own learning which is so important. Student led conferences not only gives students a sense of responsibility, it also allows them to self-reflect on their own work. Having students to reflect or self-evaluate themselves in the beginning of the conference is a way to “break the ice” or start the conference. Allowing students to lead their own conferences allows parents to interact with students with their strengths and weaknesses. Student led conferences can help student and parents build a stronger bond. Parents better understand their child’s learning when the student leads the conference. One thing I loved about student led conferences is that if the student is an ELL student, student led conferences can bridge the gap that is caused by a language barrier. For example, the student could interpret for their parents to help them understand what the teacher is saying. It bridges the gap between the teachers and the parents. When showing the portfolios in the conferences, devices expand the way to show evidence and portfolios. There are so many digital portfolio apps out there for educators to use.  Student led conferences helps with the students’ communication skills, prepares them for the future, and gives them a sense of responsibility. The presentation also said to be prepared to mediate conflicts between the students and parents and allow the students to practice. After seeing this presentation, I want to give student led conferences a  try in my classroom. 

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Creative Writing with Technology

       This presentation was very interesting to me. I have never thought of using technology with the writing process or with creative writing. One of the ideas that was given was using Popplet as a brainstorming tool. Popplet helps to organize ideas as well as promote collaboration. The tool is a “mind mapping” tool and once the Popplet is done, it can be exported as a PDF. There are some kid-friendly search engines that were mentioned as well. Kidrex and Kiddle were two that were named during the presentation. These search engines are by Google and are free. They prompt kid-friendly sites and block inappropriate content which is important in this day and time. Some other kid-friendly sites that were mentioned was Pebble Go 365, Brain Pop, Brain Pop Jr., National Geographic Kids, and Britannica School Edition. Another way to use technology in creative writing and the writing process is to use it to focus on a skill. Some tools that were mentioned were Tagxedo. Tagxedo can be used to review or focus on a specific part of speech. Visuwords was another tool that was mentioned. This is a visual dictionary and thesaurus and it moves beyond just synonyms. For drafting, editing, and revising in the writing process, the presentation mentioned Google Docs, Peer Reviewing, Google Draw, and Visual Brainstorming. My favorite out of these is Google Docs. The presentation gave many examples of ways to publish writing using technology. Little Bird Tales was one of these. This tool is free, and it creates digital stories that can be shared. Book Creator is an app that was mentioned for publishing and it is $4.99 or free on the app store. The stories that are made can be published in the iBook store. Gone Google is another publishing tool that was mentioned that I absolutely loved. It is a digital tool and it is video of people editing a Google Doc as story characters. The example that was given was The 3 Little Pigs story. It was so entertaining and engaging just from watching it. The last tool that was discussed was Storybird. This tool inspires writing by using art. This tool prevents “blank page syndrome” and there are many ways to publish the stories that are written. I cannot wait to use these tools for the writing process and creative writing. 

iPads and Autism

        I loved this presentation that was done by Tori, Trey, and Kayla. They did their presentation on iPads and Autism.  In the presentation, they explained why people are going crazy over iPads in education. People love iPads in education because they are everywhere and everyone has one in this day and time. iPads are easy to transport and are very accessible for everyone. They have a touch screen, no stylus or mouse is required when using an iPad. iPads are also very customizable which is a very key when working with children with autism. They are great for children who have autism for many reason. They give children with autism many different options for communication and motivation tools. iPads allow learning to be broken down into chunks for children with autism which is very helpful. The apps that are available to for iPads are customizable to students who have autism. If someone is using an iPad for communication they need to make sure to include a lot of visuals for the child and have categorized systems. There is an app for the iPad that is $49.99 that is great for communication and it is called iCommunicate.  The iPad is great for helping children with autism with their daily schedules and routines. It can help keep track with the child’s daily schedule and routines. There are many apps that can be used for routines. Some of those apps are Choice Works and Visual Routines. When using these apps, or any routine apps, for a child with autism, make sure to include a lot of visuals. Both of the apps that were mentioned allow the user to upload their own pictures to the app to be used in the child’s daily routine. Another way an iPad can help with children with autism is that they can be used as a reward or motivational tool. When using it as a reward or motivation, be careful. Do not give the iPad every time the child is good. It needs to be used as a behavior reward. Consistency is key when using it as a reward or motivational tool. The presentation discussed different apps that can be used for children with autism. A lot of the apps that were shown can be used for any child. The presentation discussed the two routine apps that I mentioned before. It also discussed MeMoves which is beneficial to students who are hyposensitive to touch. Time timer can be used for any child and is a timing tool that can be customized. The user can change the sound of the timer as well as the color that is shown on the timer. Social Skills Builder, Emotions from “I Can Do Apps”, and Social Stories are all apps that help build a child’s social skills. Learning about the apps was my favorite part of the presentation. I cannot wait to use some of the app that were discussed in the presentation. 

Seesaw

This presentation was done by Sarah and Jesse. They did their presentation on the digital portfolio tool Seesaw. Seesaw is a digital portfolio tool that is student driven. It engages students as well as parents and bridges the communication gap between teachers and parents. It allows parents to see what their children are doing in school by showing them videos, work samples, pictures of their child’s school work. How Seesaw works is that students can take videos or pictures of their work and upload it to their digital portfolio. The teacher can see the students’ work as well as the parents of the student. The teacher can also assign work directly into the tool for the students to complete in class. One of my favorite parts about this digital portfolio tool is that the parents of the student can give feedback to their child when they upload something new to their portfolio. The parents can receive a notification from the app that tells them that their child has uploaded something into their portfolio. The parents can then log onto the app and see what their child has uploaded and give them feedback. I love this because it gets the parents involved in their child’s life at school. This app is for parents, teachers, and students. It is a great reflection tool for teachers and students. This app addresses 21^st Century skills such as technology literature, initiative, critical thinking, and creativity. There is a pro version of this app and with the pro version the standards are integrated into the app for when the teacher gives students assignments in the app. Within the app, the teacher can also make folders for the students work and make the work more accessible in the digital portfolio. I really enjoyed this presentation and want to implement this app in my future classroom.