Digital Conversion Bytes
Vol. 14 - April 14, 2017
iPads + SMART Board = SMART Fun at Charles Haskell
The following story was submitted by the 3rd grade teachers at Charles Haskell Elementary.
Here at Charles Haskell, the iPads are consistently utilized in our third-grade classrooms. During centers, students are actively engaged using various digital resources on the iPads. For example, in a center rotation students could be creating reports on Chatterpix, enhancing their fluency on Lyrics2Learn, participating in literary element discussions on Seesaw, and/or developing their comprehension on sites such as Front Row or Studyladder.
The iPads also play an active role in our whole group lessons. Students are able to wirelessly connect their iPads to our class SMART Board to enhance their learning and understanding. One way we used this new process was when we were studying angles. We used the new SMART Labs feature in SMART Notebook and created the following categories on the SMART Board: acute angle, obtuse angle, and right angle. We then split the students into teams of two, and had each team created a group name. Then we took the students on a scavenger hunt around the building. The students used the iPads to take pictures of angles they saw in the building. Once back in the classroom, the students wirelessly connected their iPads to the SMART Board and then sent their pictures to be displayed on the SMART Board in the correct category. As a class, we then looked through all of the pictures in each category, and the teams took turns explaining why the pictures they took represented each angle.
We have also utilized the iPads in preparing for the upcoming tests. Apps such as Plickers have been beneficial because they keep the students engaged as well as provide immediate assessment. One of the test-prep activities we did with Plickers was to separate the students into groups of two. Each group received the following materials: iPad, reading passage, Plickers card, and a highlighter. A question was displayed on the SMART Board, and the students were required to use their test taking strategies to find evidence in the text to answer the question. After each group scanned their answer, we looked at the results as a class and talked about the best choice. The groups that got the answer right got to choose one member to go to the front of the room. If they were able to show their evidence, then the student whose turn it was participated in a round of Bean Boozled!
Cimarron ROCKS!
Ms. Cara Stephens, 8th grade science teacher at Cimarron Middle School, is constantly challenging her students to illustrate mastery of a concept through a variety of media platforms. Here is an example of one of her students and how they utilize the Chromebooks to collaborate and demonstrate understanding.
The following story was submitted by Lindsey, an 8th grade student at Cimarron Middle School.
One of the projects we worked on was the Rock Cycle Literary Project. We were asked to make a poem, skit, short story, movie or comic strip about the rock cycle for the class. The chromebooks made the assignment easier because were able to look up information quickly and my group got to review how to write different types of poems. It also made it better because our assignments looked more professional and neater than it would if it was on paper. Mrs. Stephens is a awesome science teacher and Google Docs lets us access our assignment at home. Making it easier.
About the Project
Mission: Empowering all students to succeed in a
changing society.
Vision: Advancing excellence in everything we do!
Digital Conversion, simply put, is about learning and not about technology. The project will provide student mobile devices, digital content (curriculum, including textbooks), professional development, network infrastructure, and a Learning Management System. This project will provide our students with the experience, skills, confidence, and adaptability they will need to succeed in college and in the workforce.
Email: epstechnology@edmondschools.net
Website: http://edmondschools.net/parents-students/digital-conversion/
Location: 1001 W Danforth Rd, Edmond, OK, United States
Phone: (405) 340-2812