Creating my Own Class

It's amazing how well the students have come to use the iPad.  There are times I really feel like they are teaching me new things about the iPad and different apps.  The students are so engaged and are interested in their learning.  For example, I have one student who really struggled with the iPad at first and it would frustrate her, but now, she has an A in my class and enjoys using the iPad and has a hard time not using it.  I really think allowing devices into the classroom is an important step into the future of our kids education.  Not ALL kids enjoy it and want to learn this way, but the majority of kids do and are interested in their learning process.

America Now aired a broadcast about the paperless aspect of my classroom, check it out: http://www.americanownews.com/story/16642634/from-textbooks-to-ipads

I have started creating a "textbook" for my Applied Physical Science class.  I already have moved away from using the textbook for anything and have relied solely on material and labs that my PLC has created.  These labs are the backbone of our curriculum here.  Therefore, to do this, I have been using iBook Author, the new app that has been released that makes it "easier" for teachers to create their own textbooks.  Within this program, you can design your own layout and customize it to fit your needs for your class.  After spending the time creating this, I decided I wanted to use this beyond my iPad paperless class, I wanted to incorporate it into ALL of my physical science classes--so I did!  The first day I introduced the iPad to the groups (I have 6 iPads extra, and 5-6 groups per class), they were excited and ready to use something new.  They had lab instructions that were not "broken" and made sense to them.  Many of the lab instructions from the books were choppy and confusing--even for myself (this was part of my motivation to begin writing my own labs).  They had images they could manipulate and view to use as a check point and stay on track making sure they are doing the lab correctly to produce quality data.  They were excited.  There is vocabulary throughout the labs that provided them with my definition along with the Dictionary definition(s).  They had all of the resources right at their fingertips and it excited them.  Even more so, there was only 1 iPad per group--this made it to where the students had to read the lab aloud to one another and repeat the instructions multiple times forcing them to discuss the lab and the questions collaboratively.  I have never seen such powerful group work.  Since introducing this, my students have excelled in the lab work and pulling the content from the lab they needed.

I also have flipped my classroom a few times.  What I mean by this is, I have given them a reading from a website, a video of me teaching, or my debrief in the book to preview ahead of me reviewing the lab with them as a whole class.  They spent about 10 minutes of class time completing the "flipped" activity and taking their own notes.  Afterwards, we were able to spend quality time together practicing the information they learned.  For example, I had my students watch a video on Reflection and drawing Reflection of Light Rays Diagrams.  In this video, I instructed them step-by-step with a demonstration on how to predict reflected rays and supplying them with any of the new vocabulary.  After the video, I did not have to spend the time on "teaching" them the steps but on reviewing and PRACTICING the steps together.  I was able to spend my time circulating around the room helping individual students.  The class time was spent more valuably.

It's amazing the things Apple keeps coming out with to improve classroom instruction.  However, it's not necessary to solely rely on the iPad for the instruction.  A mobile device such as a laptop or tablet would cater to the students and their learning process.  There are many programs out there that would give kids the same opportunity.  Yes, Apple offers many apps to use on top of the learning process, so an iPad would be ideal, but ultimately it is not required to start moving the classroom into a more student-centered classroom by using technology.

Apps:
Evernote: Evernote is the most powerful app I use in my classroom.  I put EVERYTHING we do in my Evernote account--their assignments, their submitted work, their graded work, and websites I find.  I load into Evernote as a PDF most of their activities we will be doing, and have shared this notebook with them.  They have linked the notebook to their own Evernote accounts.  From here they will open the file in the correct program to complete it.  Once completed, they output the file to my Evernote email address where I retrieve it for grading.  I then grade it and send it back to their Evernote account.  Ultimately, this app and program are great because it deals with emailing of files.  The iPad does not have "storage and folders", so it is not easy to upload files into some programs.  However, most apps have the option of emailing a file and being able to email it to Evernote is the answer.  Once in Evernote, you can access the file from any device that has internet or Evernote installed.  It is a Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, and Android compatible program.  Being able to update and sync files in a second is phenomenal.  (From personal experience, I had all of my files in Evernote for this class and my computer got re-imaged and I lost ALL of my files.  However, the majority of them were stored in my Evernote account).  Evernote acts as the students' "BACKPACK" and "NOTEBOOK".

Notetaker HD: This is the program we use for the annotation and creation of documents.  It has the ability for password protected folders and for the encryption of files.  We will annotate PDF's, create graphs, create notes, shapes, etc. in this program.  The program allows you to email the document as a PDF to any email address.  There are options that allow you to pre-program the output settings to make the process of sending the files easier.

GoDocs:  Allows easy viewing of documents.  I have not quite mastered the creation of docs in this app.

iBooks:  If using Pages, you can create ePubs that open in the iBook app.  By opening in iBooks, you can highlight and make notes.  You can also create an iBook in iBook Author to help with studying.  By doing this, the students can highlight sections to make study note cards and all glossary t4erms are automatically turned into notecards.  You must have the updated iBooks for iBooks to open.

Keynote: This is much like PowerPoint on a Windows computer and is the same as Keynote on a Mac.  It is surprisingly user-friendly and you have all of the same functions as you would on the computer version.  However, if the file gets to be too large it will not allow you to email it as a presentation, only PDF.

Edmodo: This is much like Facebook for educators to communicate with their students and other teachers in a PLN (Professional Learning Network). I have begun to use this to give my regular classes their assignments to submit to me electronically as well.  However, if using an iPad, you cannot upload assignments and submit assignments using Edmodo.  I have heard our school is replacing Moodle with Edmodo.  It is very user friendly and the kids seem to enjoy it as well.  You can give quizzes, assignments, polls, insert links, and much more.

Appstart:  For anyone new to an iPad, this is a great app to familiarize someone with the functions of the iPad.

Idea Sketch: This is an app that allows you to build graphic organizers.

Show Me: This is an app that allows you to record what you are doing on the iPad whiteboard within the app itself.  You can upload the video to their website.

Educreations:  This app allows you to record what you are doing on the iPad as well, but it has more functionality and allows you to turn pages and insert images to write on top of for the video.  You can pause and restart.  You can upload the video to their website or other locations for easy access for the students.

Calculator Pro: Comes free for a period of time.  Very handy and has all of the functions of a scientific calculator.

Dropbox: Although my school blocks the use of Dropbox, I use it for my personal files when outside of school.  Dropbox is a cloud service that stores your information in a cloud, much like Evernote, but not able to organize into notebooks/folders.  Dropbox is more like the folder locations on your computer.

Gradebook Pro: I use this program to keep record of my students' grades and averages.  It is much easier than using a paper grade book.

iMovie: The students can use this to create quick, fun movies.  Keep in mind that if the file is too large, it will not email.

PenUltimate:  This app is fabulous.  It has smooth handwriting and also stores notebooks.  This is the main app my students use for note taking and they then export it to their Evernote accounts.  I will also use this app when I am using my iPad as a "slate" for my Promethean Board.

Socrative: This is an app that has an app for students and for the teacher.  The teacher app allows you to create quizzes in the format of T/F, MC, or SA.  The students go to a website and enter a code that then gives them the quiz.  The feedback is instant.  This is a great replacement for the clickers if you do not have them or if you do not use them.  The students can access the quiz from any device that has the internet.



These are just a few select apps of many that I have used.  There are apps that I will download per unit to use and others that I have downloaded and not ever used.  Please let me know if you have any questions or know of any you use and would like to share!