This is an excellent article written by Jennifer Kohlhepp at gmnews. What is really interesting is that the enthusiasm and passion of the teachers being interviewed has been mirrored in the writing of the article itself. It sounds like Miss Kohn has made Jennifer Kohlhepp a bit of a convert. Not only does it give you an insight into a number of really useful workflows but it gives you ideas for using the iPad in your own classroom. Enjoy!!!
The day will come when today’s students talk about heavy backpacks like grandparents talk about trekking to school in the snow.
With the introduction of iPads into third-grade classrooms at the elementary school, the Millstone community has seen a glimpse of this future.
“Technology is the future of education, and the iPad is a device like nothing else on the market,” third-grade teacher Jennifer Kohn said. “It is poised to change the learning landscape for our children and … gives the students of Millstone an advantage in the areas of technology, scholastic advancement and literacy.”
Recognizing that today’s students are growing up in a world dictated by the use of state-of-art technologies and inspired by what her 2-year-old daughter learned to do with an iPad at home, Kohn applied for and received a grant from the Millstone Township Foundation for Educational Excellence to purchase 15 iPads for the third-grade language arts classes to improve student literacy.
To achieve this goal, Kohn researched and installed word study, vocabulary, decoding, fluency and comprehension applications onto the devices before handing them out in class. By touching an icon on the screen at her direction, Kohn’s students could easily open an application and begin an interactive study activity. Through the use of apps like Chicktionary, students learned to manipulate letters into words in a fun and engaging environment where letters appear on hens, and roosters crow at successfully created words.
Students also improved their reading ability by recording themselves with the Sundry Notes and iBaldi applications in order to listen to their recordings, assess their fluency and rerecord improved readings for digital portfolios for their parents. The third-graders also learned a lesson in multitasking with the iPads, which allowed them to simultaneously take notes and draw visualizations while reading books in apps like Penultimate, Notability and Chalkboard. They also wrote and illustrated their own stories using the Story Buddy app and created art in Drawing Pad. Kohn could also use eClicker during any lesson to take a quick poll to see how students were progressing and to modify her teaching in the moment to best reach all students.
Read the full article:
http://mexa.gmnews.com/node/43330
Students also improved their reading ability by recording themselves with the Sundry Notes and iBaldi applications in order to listen to their recordings, assess their fluency and rerecord improved readings for digital portfolios for their parents. The third-graders also learned a lesson in multitasking with the iPads, which allowed them to simultaneously take notes and draw visualizations while reading books in apps like Penultimate, Notability and Chalkboard. They also wrote and illustrated their own stories using the Story Buddy app and created art in Drawing Pad. Kohn could also use eClicker during any lesson to take a quick poll to see how students were progressing and to modify her teaching in the moment to best reach all students.
Read the full article:
http://mexa.gmnews.com/node/43330