ONE WEEK left to get in those last minute rays of sunshine and mid-day snoozes! I am looking forward to kicking off the year with some fun and exciting techie projects with you and your new kiddos.
In the last two weeks the ITRTs have conducted 6 different K-2 iPad trainings and at the Elementary Tech Conference I presented two sessions on iPads: App Smash iPad Bash. (You can check out my Google presentation at the end of this post.) In all 8 of those sessions I took a few minutes to talk about that one app on the iPad that makes many teachers cringe as soon as they see the icon: the CAMERA! Soooo many teachers want to hide the camera from their students so they can’t get to it during their iPad rotation. I know, I get it…I’ve been a classroom teacher for many years but don’t roll your eyes when I say:
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| From August 15, 2014 |
This one tool can be SO powerful when your kids create meaningful digital creations in just one app or when they app smash (combining the work created in 2+ apps).
Those of you who have had iPads in the classroom before, what do you find all over that camera roll besides pictures of the ceiling, shoes, and random places in your classroom? SELFIES. Kids loooooove some selfies. Why not take something they love and incorporate it into your curriculum? Teach your students HOW to use the camera properly and even how to take a selfie! Why not nip this issue in the bud by doing a selfie project the first week or month of school? Take a selfie with a book you would like to read this year. Take a selfie with your favorite color crayon. Take a selfie with something that is a square. Take a selfie with something that is the shape of a cylinder. Take a selfie with something that has a short a vowel sound. Kids would be all over this and it is so E-A-S-Y. Once they take their pictures, have them upload the pictures into a FREE picture collage app that can be transferred to your computer and printed to make a cute bulletin board. (I would LOVE to help assist you with this if you are unsure of any of the steps) Below are three different rubrics I put together that you can use for a selfie project. What a great way to introduce your class to a rubric and see if they can follow the directions. BAM! A grade for your PowerSchool (smile!) grade book! Rubrics include:
Back to School Selfie Project (click on the image to take you to the download):
Geometry Selfie Project (click on the image to take you to the download):
Shapes Selfie Project (click on the image to take you to the download):
Create your own categories (click on the image to take you to the download):
Once you have completed a selfie project then have a quick class meeting and explain that they each have had the chance to use the camera to take selfies and that it is time to move on and learn how to use the iPad in OTHER ways.
Here is my presentation on App Smashing. Email me if you would like to meet to plan a lesson!
