Welcome to Multiage University! In a cute play off this summer's kid favorite "Monster's University," each of our Multiage (first, second grade) students created a "Meet My Monster" poster introducing the other Jamestown students to an M.U. monster they created.  To help learn the writing process, the students took their monster from beginning to end including brainstorming, first draft, peer edit, revising, teacher edit, and final draft.  Their product was typed in pages, and the students created a portrait of their monster using Drawing Pad. Merging the two together in pages was the final step in bringing their monster to life.  Huge eyeballs and multiple arms galore.... meet our monsters!

5th Grade Book Trailers

The 5th grade created movie and movie trailers using iMovie on the iPad.  The project was designed to demonstrate students' knowledge of story elements based on their reading group novel. Students collaborated to plan and create their iMovies.  Groups began by using a storyboard organizer.  Many students chose to organize their iMovie using the apps Popplet Lite and Corkulous.  After planning, groups filmed scenes using the built in camera on the iPad.  They organized the clips in iMovie and added music, voice over, and transitions.  Students presented their movies to the class to spark interest in reading their novel.  Teachers used a rubric to grade the final presentations.  Some students chose to use iStop Motion to create stop motion videos.

Creating Interactive eBooks in Second Grade

Creating interactive, multimedia eBooks on the iPad is easy and fun.  The creation of these books supports the writing and publishing process and can be done right in the classroom using a set of iPad apps for the workflow.

writing workflow (created in Inspiration Maps for iPad)

 Example from Ms. Blake's 2nd Grade Class:

The publishing flow and the apps that support the publishing process:

• Brainstorm you idea with Popple or Inspiration Maps for the iPad
• Create your illustrations with DrawingPad and save to the Photo Album for use in the book
• Create your book in Book Creator  for iPad or Book Writer for iPad, adding text fields, illustrations and movies
• Share your story to the iBooks on your iPad to be read like a book
• Share to Dropbox to share with the larger community and parents
• Create a QR code to share your online books

From Mr. Turner and the Super Kinders:
One of the greatest benefits of using the iPad devices, Mac books, and Smartboard is that it has given our students a greater ownership of their learning experience. Students are able to track their own progress, challenge themselves, and become extremely engaged within the skill without feeling the need to compete with their peers. It has also given the teacher the opportunity to touch on a multitude of skills in a 60 minute language arts block. Students are constantly engaged and driven to do their own personal best. For example, there are students with a goal to learn 100 sight words. They know which applications will assist with their goal and can independently access it through the appropriate tool. The use of technology allows us to touch a variety of multiple intelligences within the classroom. Students who are visual, kinesthetic and auditory learners gravitate towards these tools immensely. The use of these tools has truly transformed our learning environment into a 21st Century Kindergarten classroom.

In building up to our Valentine's Day Party, the children were told that they would be preparing the cookies we would eat at the party. The children first learned how to bake cookies using the application on the iPad called, "Cookie Doodle". Individually each child used this application; first combining the ingredients to make the dough, then mixing the dough, then rolling the dough, next cutting out and baking the cookies, then decorating the cookies, and finally eating the cookies (using their finger to simulate taking bites of the cookie). The following day, the children were again shown the application "Cookie Doodle", but this time they had all the real ingredients in front of them. Each child was able to add an ingredient using the iPad and then place that real ingredient into a real Mixer. One child who is unable to communicate using words, used the application "Proloquo2go" to communicate wanting a turn, and if he liked something or didn't like something. We were able to follow all the directions and bake real cookies. It was so much fun!!!

Jamestown First Grade students in Mrs. Runkle's Class use iPad and iPod Touch devices every Monday morning for a half an hour during our first math block. Half the class starts on iPads and the other half starts on iTouches and then we switch midway through the time period, creating interactive learning stations. Mostly we practice our addition and subtraction facts. It works really well because there are so many different math apps that they can play and as a teacher, I can differentiate according to students' skill levels and learning needs. I like for them to switch devices so they can have access to both types of screens. At first I thought they would all want the iPad because the screen is larger, but many like the iPod Touch better!

iPad Uses Limitless!!

Do you have a student with motivational issues? Do you have students that are sick of doing the "same old thing" when repetition of the same thing is exactly what they need?

An iPad can solve all of that!!!

For students who need to work on their phonemics, we use the Magnetic ABC app for a new and exciting way to build words. Not only does it increase their engagement, but it takes out the fine motor demand on the student while giving them independence.