My students need one iPad mini and 2 keyboard cases to make learning more interactive in reading and math, and provide more timely and accurate assessment feedback.
"Tell me and I will forget, teach me and I may remember, but involve me and I will understand." -Benjamin Franklin
My students are some of the most curious and receptive people I have ever met. What if interactive, hands-on learning could occur across all subject areas for my students?
Learning in my classroom is organized around learning centers.
Students work in heterogeneous and homogeneous groups. In our school, our curriculum is made by the teachers, aligned to the common core standards, and meets the very specific needs of the community we serve. In order to adhere to our school's statement that learning is "interdisciplinary, thematic, and teaches the whole child" learning must be collaborative and interactive. We have been able to get some iPads, but in order to achieve our school's goals we need at least a 2:1 ratio of students to iPads. Already, students are more engaged with the listening center since we started using the application, Speakaboos, on one iPad. We have also begun an exciting new computer science program called tynker, but with the amount of iPads we have now it takes at least two weeks for all kids to get a turn.
My Project
With an iPad and two keyboards, students in my class will be able to engage with a variety of Web 2.0 tools proven effective with lower elementary students. In reading, learning will be blended. Each day, all students would visit the iPad center, where each student is logged into a site similar to edmodo where students are responsible for reading, analyzing, writing, and responding to classmates' posts on content. Tools such as edpuzzle will be used to display content in various modalities, while still holding students accountable for learning. Students will be able to read books at their level that have vocabulary support as well as comprehension questions. In addition to reading, math instruction would be blended as well. Each day students would rotate through a computer science center utilizing the web application, tynker. As students move through the lessons, students would program their own game, publish them, and engage with various forms of writing.
By donating to this project you are giving "digital natives" the tools to be successful in a world filled with Web 2.0.
Social learning, collaboration, and interactive learning are all attainable using tools the iPad makes available. With these technology tools, the possibilities are truly endless.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Giarratano and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
