iPad+Learning+Centers

iPad Learning Centers are being distributed during the 2013-2014 school year at Vestal Elementary Schools. This page will chronicle our journey and provide resources needed to see the full potential of these devices in learning.

The first goal of our implementation is to be very purposeful about how these ipad centers will enhance learning, not being a simple 'digital worksheet' vessel, but rather be devices that engage learners in creation, collaboration and communication embedded learning. This needed to start with good first instructional practices.

To this end our first job was to decide on what apps were to be loaded initially on these iPads. With thousands of apps to choose from this process had to be deliberate and be based on learning targets. What is it that we want our students to be doing with these iPads and what are the best 1-3 apps out there that will do it? We also needed the apps to be simplified at first because we knew that given too many choices often has the affect of turning people off because they don't know where to start.

After many hours reading blogs, talking to educators from around the world, and using various apps, the following 'image' was created to be our initial app image for K-2 iPads. (Please note: yes there are free apps on this list, but not all are free. When selecting these apps we decided that paying for apps wouldn't be a limiting factor to functionality so if the paid app offered more functions to allow more creativity we opted for the paid app. What good is the iPad if we skimp on apps because of cost?)

Creating digital media stories allows students to write and tell their stories, show evidence of learning through re-enactments of events or retelling of novels, evoking emotions through PSAs or personal stories of their lives. Whether creating true digital stories, documentaries, or other digital media stories there are an incredible amount of apps out there. We went with the following three:
 * Digital Media Stories:**

Students start with storyboarding: (use either mind map app below or other skicky note app) Padlet (this is great for students collaborating

Puppet Pals Sock Puppets Videolicious

iMovie


 * Writing Cartoons: (specific genre within digital media stories)**

Cartoons are a great engaging way to have students show their learning of either conversational language, sequencing of events, cause and effect relationships, character analysis, or simply to tell their own story using this medium. (and of course so much more) Although there are a lot of web cartoon writing tools out there, but not all have apps associated with them yet. I love using ToonDoo but as of rolling out our ipad centers they didn't yet have an iPad app so we decided to go with:

Toontastic


 * Mind Mapping** (Concept Mapping, graphic organizing...) This is where students will start forming their ideas for story telling prior to creating digital media stories.

Inspiration

Scribble press (K-2) Book Creator (older) Little Story maker Dragon Dictation (speech to text)
 * Write and Illustrate:**

Notability
 * Taking notes and annotating pdfs:**

Turbo Collage lite- create image and save to camera roll Postino- create postcard, adding to back of image, can email to parents or physically mailed
 * Create Postcards:**

iBooks GoodReader Read me Stories Read2Go Flipboard
 * Read:**


 * Interactive Whiteboard:**

Educreation Explain Everything Great Overview Video

Garageband: create your own podcasts and background audio
 * Music creation:**

Voicethread
 * Collaboration:**

These are must haves to assist with many of the work flow issues, as well as Dropbox Evernote Skitch Schoology (This is the LMS of choice for us at this point, you might subsititute Edmodo, Canvas, Haiku... or other LMS platform here. Whatever platform that allows you to have students upload projects, collaborate and communicate with others.)
 * Productivity:**

Monster Physics
 * Invention:**

Facetime Skype Rover
 * Connecting to your Community:**
 * Kid Friendly Browser:**

Formative Assessment: Socrative How it works

Other apps to be included: Google Earth BrainPop NASA Starwalk Letterschool (fine motor skills, practicing numbers and letters)

MS/HS only: Pages Numbers Keynote Dictionary.com Native Numbers (MS and special education)