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. ...