ChoiceBoard Creator

ChoiceBoard Creator

This is an app we are trying with a couple of students with special needs. It looks awesome and I can see other students benefiting from it as well. Also please note the reference to the great site at the bottom of this post.

Choiceboard Creator App

Posted on March 21, 2012 

 Choiceboard Creator App is a simple, free iPad app that provides the ability to present questions and answer choices with visually and  audio capabilities. There is a simple method of designating which is the correct answer with an audio response provided when the correct answer is chosen by the user (clapping sound). Here are some of the features of the app as described by the developers:

• Large buttons, and black/white contrast to facilitate visual attention
• Box sizes are now adjustable for those who just need to see a little more clearly
• Clean board design to minimize visual distraction
• Space between choice buttons to avoid inadvertent hits
• Customizable to 1,2,3,4 or 6 choices
• Users can download their own pictures
• Users can create blank boxes as distractors to suit users of all levels
• Now users can preset multiple “correct answer” boxes, and download different sound files to each box – a feature that allows users to choose their favorite music with just a tap
• Other than image files, users can now type text into the choice box – use this feature to teach sight words, letter, number recognition
• Versatile application that can be used to create curriculum content to promote cognitive and literacy skills
• Ease of use. Intuitive interface allows user to set up activities in minutes
• Allows users to create multiple pages for each “game” or activity

Taken from http://otswithapps.com

This has other great resources for children that need extra ot support.

Mathletics

Mathletics   

Here it is!! Mathletics can be used on the iPad. It doesn't have as many features as it does on the computer but it is excellent. Students can log in and away they go. There is a log in for Teachers so they can manage their student's accounts but it is still in the development phase. I'm sure it will be up and going before long. The students can go to whatever the teacher has assigned for them as well as live Mathletics. 

 Mathletics is a site that you have to pay for which our school does and teachers and students love it!! The iPad app is an additional wonderful new feature.

Voicethread

Voicethread

Voicethread is a great tool to collaborate and share with other students. You can use videos' photos and diagrams. The students can leave comments by- text - use their voice to record or and even doodle on the screen as well to help discuss your topic.  I have used voicethread on the computer before and loved it but found it to be a lot of work to set up. It's so easy to use on the iPad with very little setting up involved.
 I used this app to discuss our favorite part of Charlotte's Web.We also predicted what we thought would happen in one of the chapters.  Both turned out so well. Next we are going to share our favorite character in the story with another classroom in BC who's reading the same story to their classroom {We are both participating in the Global Read Aloud project}.

The first 5 voicethreads are free and then it's $2.99 for 5 more.

Another Great App

Show Me App

 Show Me

Ipad Pods

I love this app and strongly recommend using it. I will attach some links to this post so you can explore what others have done. To me this is what all the LwICT is about and this is where real learning happens. 

This month our virtue is Thanksgiving so I demonstrated how to use the app and sent them off to show me something they were thankful for and to tell about it. Here's an example--one of the students went to the word wall and took a photo of the words that said-mom-dad-sister-brother etc. and then said he was thankful for his relatives and for all the fun things they do together. Another printed mom and dad on the board and took a picture etc. Another took a photo of their shoes and said they were thankful for clothes. When we did the feedback part at the end of the day we talked about what we liked and again the children thought it would be nice if there was more detail in the talking part. We'll see how that goes this week. 

Pros

• lots of enthusiasm from the children
• lots of learning--planning-gathering-producing and communicating
• exciting to see what they create and exciting to see success in so many
• easy for children to use 
• I love watching others help with ideas
• I was impressed with how independent they were

Hurdles

• some are less creative than others and like writing some are a little more reluctant--but I know it'll come even if it's a little slower at getting there for some than others
• I will explore how to share with others such as on our wiki but for me it was fine just to share with each other. Sometimes that's all that needs to be done. If I can share, I will on this post later.

links to other sites for show me

http://www.iear.org/iear/2011/6/24/showme-app-for-ipad-review-by-melinda-waffle.html

show me as a tutorial

http://www.showme.com/topic/language

the flipped classroom

http://www.showme.com/about_classroom

great ideas

http://www.mrswideen.com/2012/09/creating-videos-with-showme-app-on-ipads.html

Teach Me Grade 2

 Teach Me Grade 2-

Pod Feedback

This was probably our favorite app that we tried out in our pod of 4 ipads for the month of September.

Pros

• I loved that they could each have their own account and be able to track how they are doing
• It has lots of activities and lots of incentives to keep them excited
• They could work on independently without having to come to me for help while I am focusing on a reading group.

Hurdles

• I wasn't fond of the math section. They have lots of double digit adding and it was too advanced for some. There is no way they would go back to Teach Me Grade 1 either. The math section made it discouraging for the children who stuggle with math. The helpers in the room that were good at math made a difference but the app requires the student to do a fair bit of the math activities.
• I wish you could select the activity as it progresses but it randomly selects what you have to go through to get to the next level--or collect coins. So there is no way to get past the math activities. 

Feedback from the students
This is something new that I thought I would try. I am going to reserve this section for the students to give their feedback on how they felt about the apps we're trying out. We do this a lot for writing and reading activities in our room and I find it is so effective. 

Tues. Oct. 9
What we like about Teach Me Grade 2.

• 
  

What would make this app even better.
Do you want to keep this as a choice for our pod?

Pods of iPads in the Classroom

Pods of iPads in the classroom
What a great opportunity to have a chance to try out the ipads as a pod. I am so glad that we are a division that takes technology seriously. It's so incredible how one enhances the other. Like anything new, it does take planning and preparing when you start something new. I wanted to use the pod as a center while I was doing reading groups and so I wanted to have something for the children to do that didn't involve my assistance. I also wanted to do something that had a purpose not a time filler and not games that didn't have an educational purpose. I will post each app we tried separately so it's easier to read. I had 4 ipads--one of my own and 3 to borrow for first term.
Pros 

• great enthusiasm from children to get their turn
• the learning is so incredible
• The ipads are way WAY easier for the children to use than a computer at this age. They are more straight forward and we eliminate the signing in--the manoeuvring around the sites---and all the errors that seem to occur with the pc's.
• There are so many great apps out there--and they never get bored-- and the developers are coming out with even better apps all the time.

Hurdles

• making sure there was enough time for each student to have equal time. I tried to get 2 groups with the ipad at center time but discovered that if I just allowed one group to go through it was less rushed.
• finding an independent app they could do. I overcame this hurdle by spending time showing the  app on the whiteboard thru the lcd projector and then following thru with feedback at the end of the morning. I also had students that had used the app already to be the teachers for those who needed extra help. The more experience they have been getting with the ipad the better they are getting of course. I have also given in to knowing that my reading group will have to deal with small interruptions when nothing else works.
• Planning--like anything new, as I was saying, it takes time to prepare--but as I get more knowledgeable -- it is easier