iPads in the Classroom!

I follow Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits blog on Bloglovin', and although I'm not a primary grade teacher, I'm intrigued by many of her posts and find that I can modify them for the upper grades. She's a rock star teacher and I wish that she taught in my district so that I could peek into her classroom and learn from her! Yesterday, she blogged about using iPad's effectively in the classroom. These tips would be great for ANY classroom that has access to iPads and that's why I'm sharing her tips here! 

1. Begin with iPad basics: Set clear expectations (6 rules to follow) and earn your iPad Citizenship! How adorable is the license below?! :-) Again, I can see these lessons being important in any classroom, for any age. Yes, some kids know how to operate an iPhone or iPad at the age of 2, but there are definitely routines that you want your students to follow to ensure success. 

2. Using Movie Maker to take ownership and highlight student learning. I love how quick and easy these videos are on the iPad! No fiddling with cameras and plugging wires back into the computer. Use the iPad! I love the director's sheet for planning and the project requirements checklist! 

Click on over to Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits blog and check out her full post on Effectively Teaching withiPads.  She shares a great video detailing the use of iPads in the classroom and she also has a link to her Teachers Pay Teachers page so that you can buy her bundle of lessons. 

I don't have iPads in my classroom for every student (one day, hopefully!), but I did apply for a grant a few years ago with my humanities colleagues to pilot one for teacher data. We use the Confer App to track data in reading and writing conferences. The app allows you to input student reading levels and group students based on levels or other teaching points. I really love Confer and I'll blog more about it this week. If you haven't checked it out yet, click here to learn more. 

Tonight we're linking up with the Show Licious Craft & Recipe party! Click on over for more awesome stuff!