As a teacher that has the opportunity to work in a school that has a 1:1 iPad initiative, I wanted to seek out tools that could be applicable to this type of technology. I want to take full advantage of using the iPad to its fullest capabilities that way our students get the best, up-to-date experiences in the classroom.
Participation is one area in my classroom that I would like to enhance by using the iPad. Rather than use a separate device to collect answers and responses from students during class discussions, I can use a classroom response system that is already built into the iPad. According to Derek Bruff, the Director of the Vanderbuilt Center for Teaching, creating an active learning environment is easy with the technology I currently have at my fingertips. By using “clicker” apps on the iPad, students are more likely to stay engaged throughout the lesson knowing that a response will be required. As well, using this type of technology allows for students, who tend to be more shy in large group discussions, to voice their thoughts in an alternative manner. By getting more feedback from all students and not just a select few who are more extroverted, I can adjust my lesson to fit the needs of each class. Since I teach at a middle school, keeping students on their toes with engagement is necessary and adding something new like “clickers” will be an exciting new twist to my classroom. My students tend to thrive on friendly competition opportunities and I can see using “clickers” a great way to add some spice to the lessons! One of the recommended apps to use as a “clicker” is Nearpod. Nearpod is an app that is automatically available to my students as a presentation tool, but as a teacher, when I create lessons on Nearpod, I can insert activities as formative assessments or response systems. These results and comments can remain anonymous because they are only visible on the teacher’s Nearpod lesson.
Another piece of technology that has me intrigued is the Chromebook. I like the possibility of students having access to a USB port for mobility purposes and the option of having a flash player. If students choose to create work and they end up having to move to another district, I would hate to see a student lose access because they no longer have a district provided email address that is typically associated with accounts on school iPads. By providing students with a device that gives you the user-friendly interface like the iPad, but also provides a USB port for saving material, I feel like having Chromebook is a win-win situation. I also like the option of having a flash player installed more readily, as with our school laptops, in order to use more interactive science websites. The activities online are phenomenal for science classes and provide opportunities for applying what students have learned when we may otherwise be forced to stay in our own classroom. Some of these activities include interactive dissections, physics, body systems, cell simulations, etc. I believe it can be so much more fascinating for students to actually “do” science rather just read and take notes about it, and using these types of interactive websites would enhance the classroom greatly.
Bruff, D. (2016). Classroom Response Systems (“Clickers”). Retrieved November 5, 2016, from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/clickers/#activities
Participation is one area in my classroom that I would like to enhance by using the iPad. Rather than use a separate device to collect answers and responses from students during class discussions, I can use a classroom response system that is already built into the iPad. According to Derek Bruff, the Director of the Vanderbuilt Center for Teaching, creating an active learning environment is easy with the technology I currently have at my fingertips. By using “clicker” apps on the iPad, students are more likely to stay engaged throughout the lesson knowing that a response will be required. As well, using this type of technology allows for students, who tend to be more shy in large group discussions, to voice their thoughts in an alternative manner. By getting more feedback from all students and not just a select few who are more extroverted, I can adjust my lesson to fit the needs of each class. Since I teach at a middle school, keeping students on their toes with engagement is necessary and adding something new like “clickers” will be an exciting new twist to my classroom. My students tend to thrive on friendly competition opportunities and I can see using “clickers” a great way to add some spice to the lessons! One of the recommended apps to use as a “clicker” is Nearpod. Nearpod is an app that is automatically available to my students as a presentation tool, but as a teacher, when I create lessons on Nearpod, I can insert activities as formative assessments or response systems. These results and comments can remain anonymous because they are only visible on the teacher’s Nearpod lesson.
Another piece of technology that has me intrigued is the Chromebook. I like the possibility of students having access to a USB port for mobility purposes and the option of having a flash player. If students choose to create work and they end up having to move to another district, I would hate to see a student lose access because they no longer have a district provided email address that is typically associated with accounts on school iPads. By providing students with a device that gives you the user-friendly interface like the iPad, but also provides a USB port for saving material, I feel like having Chromebook is a win-win situation. I also like the option of having a flash player installed more readily, as with our school laptops, in order to use more interactive science websites. The activities online are phenomenal for science classes and provide opportunities for applying what students have learned when we may otherwise be forced to stay in our own classroom. Some of these activities include interactive dissections, physics, body systems, cell simulations, etc. I believe it can be so much more fascinating for students to actually “do” science rather just read and take notes about it, and using these types of interactive websites would enhance the classroom greatly.
Bruff, D. (2016). Classroom Response Systems (“Clickers”). Retrieved November 5, 2016, from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/clickers/#activities