Edgaged

Zack and I are in the long tedious process of updating the student iPods/iPads to iOS 5. There is one major benefit to all this busywork: wireless updating. From now on, the students can update the operating system on their devices through the wireless internet. Right now (according to the pictures that are posted below) we have to plug each device into a computer, download the iOS, and then put the devices into the sync cart to put the apps back on the devices. The reason we have to use all these computers is that you can only update one device at a time on  any computer. That includes our sync cart that allows you to put apps on 30 devices simultaneously. (Makes a lot of sense...huh?) Hopefully we will finish before Christmas break. Then once January kicks in, we can spend some time showing the benefits of iOS5.

This is to put the apps back onto the student devices.

Edmodo is looking to really change classrooms. It provides teachers with the opportunity to receive instant results in a poll, quiz, assignments, group discussions etc... It really can become an online classroom. I think most teachers at the elementary level are thinking that this could be a great tool for guided reading groups. You could communicate the group expectations and directions all online, carry a conversation with them, and allow the students to collaborate on projects and ideas. Last week, I introduced the website to some 4th graders. As they were discussion a poll I had created, the students were having to scroll all the way to the top of the website. When over 30 replies occurred, it really started to crowd the page and make it long! As I was telling the students to flick their finger so that they could get to the top of the page, a student stopped me and said, "Mr. Yoder, you just have to tap on the black bar at the top of the page and it will go straight to the top...

Last week, I had the opportunity to work in a second grade classroom (Mrs. Miller's) at South Side Elementary School. When I first worked with these kids about a month or so ago, they struggled with knowing how to navigate through the iPad. Following directions was difficult because they were just plain excited about using the devices. What a change I have seen in this group of students since the beginning of the year! Now that the novelty has worn off a little, they listened carefully. It was almost so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It was so quiet that they actually laughed at my jokes! They also have no problem moving throughout their iPad. The students were working on a bat project where they would share pictures and report facts that they had learned about the animal. They used an app called Photo Farm (new to me) to find pictures so that they could import them into Videolicious. It is a pretty good, simple app that pulls picture from Google pictures without using a web...

Thursday is a very big day. The peer coaches of East Noble School Corporation have been working hard to provide opportunities for teachers to learn or gather ideas for ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. Zack and I have had the unique challenge of trying to provide sessions that are applicable to lower Elementary as well as grades two through four. It has been good for Zack and I as well because it has forced us to look for more materials or even just to become more oriented with materials that have previously been discovered. My wife, Michelle Yoder, is even helping with this endeavor as she is sharing her experience with first graders as she has tried to use the iPods for more than just skill and drill. This is exciting for me as I have been an active part in her classroom and have been able to watch the kids use the iPods as learning tools. Here are some things we will be presenting: Big Universe - Big Universe is a collection of online books for grade levels k-8. ...

One of the challenges that Zack and I have faced the last few weeks is finding apps that allow primary students to create on an iPod. Sure, there are a lot of apps out there that help kids practice and develop skills, but most of the production opportunities are with the iPads and are too complex for a kindergartener or a first grader to use. Doodle Buddy has worked well in the past, but teachers obviously need more than one free app that will allow the students to be creative. This week I came across an app called Story Kit. (New to me, not to iPods.) I think this app will really allow young students to show their creative abilities. The kids have the option to take pictures, add text, and record their voice while reading it. I could see this being used in all content areas. It could be to demonstrate a skill, publish a story, publish a how-to book, share an event, etc. Not only that, but it is a pretty simple and straight-forward app. I hope to have the opportunity in the near futur...

Last week's post had to do with the exciting project that I was able to be involved with at Avilla Elementary. The students created spirit signs using Doodle Buddy for the Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougar volleyball team. The game is on Saturday the 10th and many of the students will actually be at the game. (I know I will, and I will get pictures!) This week, we actually heard back from the Cougars and they had a message for the Avilla first graders! What an opportunity technology has provided for these students. Who knows if this would have happened without the 1:1 initiative throughout East Noble Schools.   [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6by13xvbjc&w=480&h=390] Here's the action from the game!!! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K0a3jmTgEQ&w=640&h=390]

Last week I had the opportunity to work in Mrs. Yoder's 1st grade class. The students are using their iPods and creating pictures using the Doodle Buddy app to focus on being "College Bound." (Being college bound is a mind set that college is in their future and they need to work towards it.) Mrs. Yoder's sponsor school is Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU), and it just so happens that the MVNU girls' volleyball team will be playing St. Francis in the near future. The students will also have the opportunity to go to the game; so the whole experience will be exciting for them. I was excited to be able to help them in this activity. They all took a picture of a volleyball and created some spirit posters to help encourage the Mt. Vernon Cougars towards a win. I helped them with the devices while Mrs. Yoder taught the lesson on how to use Doodle Buddy. They were extremely excited and some were even able to make multiple pictures. I hope to be able to continue par...

Wrong Way Today I was excited to help 1st graders connect their iPods to the wireless internet. Mrs. Baker at South Side was gracious enough to allow me to come in and assist her. Yesterday, I thought I was such a genius because I had created a video that I thought would help the teachers get their kids connected. Once again...I came to the realization that teaching fourth graders is a much different world than first grade. My video only kept their attention for about 20 seconds, most kids were just playing apps (I know I heard Talking Tom yawn), and I realized just how dull my video really was. (I'm feeling very humbled at the moment.) Right Way As the kids are on their iPods doing their own thing anyway and I'm actually trying to tell them how to connect to the wireless, (first grade remember) only a select few can follow me. I am assuming they have experience with these devices at home. I eventually just gave in and let the kids have some free time with the things. Mrs. Bake...

Here we've come to the end of week number two and the students are extremely excited. It was fun having the opportunity to deliver the boxes of iPads and iPods and see their excitement. It was fun to see the excitement of the teachers as well as they have long anticipated the day that the devices would arrive. As I walked the halls of North Side today, I witnessed the new technology being used in numerous classrooms (despite the lack of Internet). Hopefully next week the network issues will be resolved and we can get kids going on email and Internet access. This will really open up the world to them. Now that Zack and I have gotten through this initial rush of trying to get apps loaded onto the devices, we are now getting to the point where teachers can start scheduling times for us to assist them. We are putting into the works a plan to use YouTube to display various teaching videos for both the students and the teachers. I was thinking it might even be a good idea to create a vid...

Hello all, This first three days of school have certainly been interesting. Zack and I have been attempting to load apps and make sure all classes have an accurate count of devices per student. This is difficult due to the ever changing numbers that come in and out of classrooms (especially at the beginning of the year). I know those frustrations for you as teachers. Some stability would feel pretty good right now, right? I'm finding (as I've entered this new role as a peer coach) is that the same desire for stability exsists in the tech department. Other challenges we are facing is the devices just not loading apps correctly and also the drag on the network. Yesterday, as I was sitting between two kindergarten classrooms, I could tell that almost every kid that had a device at South Side was using it. The lag on download speed was without a doubt felt. (That wasn't necessarily a frustration...more of a comfort in knowing it was being used.) Hopefully soon Zack and I will b...