A Peek in the Classroom: Kari Ruse Utilizing Text Here and Padlet

A new series I'm going to attempt is to create videos to give a glimpse of technology integration in the elementary classroom. I'll titled it 'A Peek in the Classroom' and the purpose is to provide the opportunity to observe how a teacher is utilizing technology in an effective manner. This allows colleagues and other teaching professionals to gather ideas and build confidence in their delivery of lessons in a 1:1 technology environment.

Ms. Ruse, first grade teacher at Rome City Elementary, is utilizing Padlet and Text Here on her class set of iPod Touches. She uses Padlet for the distribution of content and project materials as students are able to view/download pictures, watch video, and reach websites linked to her collection of plant Padlets. Previous to this lesson, students chose a fruit or vegetable for their plant project. Ms. Ruse then sent the link to the Padlet via email according to the students' choice.

In this lesson, students are studying the text feature of labels. First they look for labels in their books and how authors use labels. Later they access their Padlet to download a picture of their fruit or vegetable so that they can use it in Text Here. They do so by "long-pressing" on the image and saving it. One tip that I frequently chip in to students as they attempt to save the images is that they need to have a "steady finger." If they don't, it won't save the picture and they have to try again.

The other tool Ms. Ruse is having the students use is Text Here. In this app, students can create captions on top of images with ease. Here students are labeling the parts of their fruit or vegetable with Text Here. Some students use the arrow feature. Some students use the tip of the speech bubble to point out the parts. Either way, the application is easy to use and does not require a vast amount of time.