10/11/12. Final iPad Course Reflection.

10/11/12. Final iPad Course Reflection.

Risking a lack of creativity, I've decided to respond to each question individually for this reflection. So here goes....

What has been valuable learning for you?
The most valuable learning I have done during the duration of this course begins with myself and transfers to GEMS' students.

I have learned about myself as a learner, teacher and collaborator.
~LEARNER: I am a visual learner who learns by doing. I don't love taking risks with new things but I have learned that I can handle almost anything as long as I remember that there is support everywhere if I need it.
~TEACHER: Through the independent, exploratory nature of this course I have a new goal of embedding independent exploration time into my daily plans for instruction. MY WAY is not necessarily the RIGHT WAY. There are many possible paths in the process of creating. I have a new goal...stop talking so much and listen more.
~COLLABORATOR: Again, my way is not the ONLY WAY. I have gained a new sense of urgency in teaming with my colleagues. The connectedness that the iPad offers all of us is essential to educational collaboration in the 21st century. With the iPad we have the ability to meet, update, brainstorm and create in record time across long distances. I truly believe that once we become fluent with the use and capabilities of this tool, the sky is the limit for what we can do as a team for our students.

These 3 discoveries about myself connect directly to students as learners, teachers and collaborators. Expectations for students (as described in the Common Core State Standards) are evolving. Educators can no longer expect to simply open up our student's heads, pour the content in, close them back up and expect them to regurgitate this information during formal assessments. Students must be afforded the opportunity to access their learning, teaching, and collaboration skills in creative, authentic and meaningful ways in order to prepare for their futures. iPads and other technology like them are a means to this end.

What plans do you have for using the iPads with your students or in your job?
As mentioned above, , my first plan for the iPad is in collaboration and teaming. I have already begun using the iPad during building-based and SU meetings for note taking, creating & sharing documents, and research. I also plan to use the iPad as a student progress monitoring tool. Several apps that we have explored during this course lend themselves beautifully to documenting/capturing student work and analyzing this evidence in order to make instructional decisions. Using iPads with students to enhance their academic progress and provide them with 21st century learning opportunities in literacy is also a goal of mine. This is an area in which I continue to need support...

What do you feel you still need support with?
I am both excited and anxious when it comes to thinking about using iPads with students. I believe that I can find my way around my personal iPad well enough but assisting students with using this tool for creating and learning is a whole different ball game. I need lots of practice with work flow, vocabulary (iPad Speak) and basic classroom/small group iPad management before I will feel comfortable leading a group of students, especially young ones, into the 'land-of-iPad'. I'm not afraid to try because of what I have learned during this ipad course.

Many thanks to the kind and very patient instructors of this iPad course!

Pam Toof :o)



Sent from my iPad

Last autosaved project - Explain Everything movie file

iPad class fun! Working with my group to make a field trip movie. Very rewarding to figure this out!


Sent from Explain Everything for iPad - http://bit.ly/p9PWRZ

Watch My Latest Lesson!

Click here to view my lesson about Petunia's.

Create and share amazing video tutorials with the free Educreations iPad app:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/educreations-interactive-whiteboard/id478617061?ls=1&mt=8

Sent from my iPad

Love this and just wanted to share...

Bro moves home to VT! Behind on iPad challenges...:o(

So it has been one heck of a busy week for me! I am behind on iPad 'homework' for this week but I did teach my first iPad app lesson...kinda. My brother and his wife are moving home to VT next week (yay!) from California and I taught my sister to use the pic collage app to make a fun collage for them. We found their neighborhood in Laguna Niguel, CA in Stuck On Earth, took a picture of it and then did the same for their new home in Swanton, VT. Then used Photoshop to draw the heart and 'borrowed' a picture from Mark's Facebook page to finish it off. Cute, huh!? Quite different neighborhoods, wouldn't you say? We sent the final result to both of their Facebook walls and they were thrilled with it. My sis doesn't have an iPad yet and fears that she'll become as addicted to it as I am! Heehee. She is a reading specialist also and would love to use in her work with students and teachers.

Storyrobe Digital Story/My Trip to Naples, Florida

I am attempting to email my story robe video to my blog. I hope it works. I found this tool to be user friendly. I tried using it without reading the tutorial. I wanted to see how a student might feel if he/she attempted to navigate story robe without help. The only real issue that I had was figuring out how to edit my voice recording without having to record the entire thing over again. I'm sure there are other issues I will run into as I play with it but this first experience was a pretty good one.

Hey, check out this video I created using Storyrobe, a digital storytelling application now available on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

http://app.storyrobe.com/tmp/phpls55mv-7_20_12.mp4

Visit iTunes and buy it today http://itunes.com/apps/storyrobe


Sent from my iPad

Sharing a story with you

Wow! This a terrific tool for composing a story!  Authors compose, illustrate and read using their own language and ideas to create authentic texts that are easily shared with whomever they wish.  Now this what I'm talking' about!  Our students will love this, and so will we.  The sky is the limit with this app for learning and monitoring that learning.  Genre structure/feature studies, story grammar, concepts about print, vocabulary, g.u.m, sequencing, character development, spelling application,... You name it, we can cover it using this tool. 

This is a story shared with you by the StoryKit iPhone application.

Click here to read the story.

Sent from my iPad