Voice Recognition

I have tried the Dragon Dictation app out with a few students. At first we have all had a good laugh with the results of our reading into the iPad, but once we learn to slow our speech and speak clearly, results have become more accurate.
My students and I will continue to work on using Dragon to input work, at the same time learn to cut/paste into Google Docs for a more functional way to edit the result.
Has anyone figured out how to print off the iPad? Each time I try, it will not find any printers (I have tried in multiple places EMS, Sicomac, Lincoln and at home with a wireless printer). Thank you...

iPads in the Elementary Schools

Third and fourth graders have been reinforcing their math skills with some of the Math apps and it is going very well. The students love working with the iPads and look forward to having a turn on it to practice their math skills. It's really great for those students who need extra practice with math.

We have one iPad in a Special Ed class and it has caused lots of excitement for the class. It has been a great motivator.

A fun way to practice math facts!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/math-drills/id302881525?mt=8

Math Drills is a great app that allows students to practice their math facts and assess their progress over time. With addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division drills, this app could be used across grade levels. The only downfall is that you can only save data from 10 students at a time.

Word Study Apps?

I would love to find an app to compliment the word study program in the upper elementary grades, but thus far have only found free apps appropriate for beginning readers.
For example, I am looking for things that focus on r-controlled vowels, syllabication, prefixes and suffixes, etc.

Has anyone found anything useful?

Thanks!

Confer

I found a lite version of Confer. It's a teacher tool that I love! It keeps track of your conference notes, and when you are ready to print the information it will upload the data to a spreadsheet in google docs.
I have used it for my reading and writing classes (I work with grade 3-5). I especially like that I can confer with the students individually, then tag the students by my teaching point in order to create a small group for my next lesson.

Student Use in the classroom

I see in some previous posts that many people are starting to put the iPads into the hands of our students. I am curious to hear how people have been using them in the classroom with the kids. Have students been using them in small groups? Have they been rotating through a "station"? Has anyone been able to bring more than one iPad into the classroom at the same time for students to use? Any suggestions for using them based on what you have experienced?

Great Internet Safety Apps

I've been spending quite a bit of time playing with the iPad, exploring the extraordinary amount of apps that are available and trying to make connections with our curriculum at every grade level.
Some of the free apps that I have been playing with and really like include a series of 4 apps entitled President Garfield (a Garfield comic strip) that deals with Cyber-Bullying, Online Safety, Fact or Opinion and Forms of Media.
In addition, I have used an app called Nutrition Tips with our 2nd graders who are working on a Nutrition slide show using KidPix.
I also love the app, Vocabulary Cartoons. This is a great app that allows you to introduce vocabulary to kids (grades 3 and up) in a very creative and fun way. For example, the word "TRUCULENT" an adjective meaning inclined toward conflict; eager to fight has a comic of a man kicking an overheated truck with the caption "The TRUCK YOU LENT Uncle Frank made him TRUCULENT". The mnemonic devises used in each comic will be a great aid to help kids remember the vocabulary word.
Lastly, I have been looking at a variety of apps for students that will help to streamline and filter web searches like SortFix Kids, KidsWWW and See and Find Quintura Kids.
There is a great deal more exploring to do but I am starting to feel a lot more comfortable and positive about the benefits of using the iPad in the classroom.

Small group activities

In Language Arts I use Doodle Buddy to allow students to sketch their visualizations. Students are more eager to do this on the iPad than in their notebooks with paper and pencil. Also, in small group setting it is easy for the students to each add to the visualization/sketch. It was easy enough for my 4 year old to test out and interesting enough to keep my 5th graders engaged.

In Math, I found a great activity for small group called Towers Infinite. It uses the same basic rules as Sudoku but takes it to a 3-dimensional level. The clues along the outside of the grid (4x4 up to 6x6) tell you how many buildings you can view. The buildings go from 1-story up to 6-stories depending on the level. The student must strategize knowing a taller building will block out a shorter building. Like sudoku, each level building must appear only once in each column or row. This game was very addicting to me over winter break, and it has been a hit with my students.

Reading A-Z

http://www.readinga-z.com/book/itune-books.php

The Reading A-Z website is now offering select titles levels A-M for free download. This would be great for anyone who teaches primary grades. I can't wait for the site to expand their selection of books and levels! It says more is coming soon!

iPad alternative -

This is a video on an Android Tablet. I am sure that by the end of this week more tablets will be announced at the CES show in Vegas.

Frog Dissection App

I downloaded the Frog Dissection app to my IPad. I feel like a surgeon! The students will be able to "dissect" their own virtual frogs. Come to my room next week to see it live and in action!

A Great Way to Find Free and Discounted Apps

Check out App Shopper, this app is free and updates frequently. It is a compilation of all free and discounted apps available on the app store. You can search for apps according to price, type, and category. Definitely worth looking into!

A Great Graphing App!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/graphing-calculator-hd/id374274107?mt=8

As the fourth grade enriched math teacher I am constantly seeking ways to extend the learning of the higher students in my class. I have a variety of learners this year, some that know how to complete mathematical equations high above their level. My class was working with coordinate planes and graphing simple points. I had a group work with the iPad to practice graphing equations. The Graph Calc HD application serves the purpose similar to that of a graphing calculator. The students were able to easily input an equation and see the line, and also attempted determining an equation from looking at the graph. While this was a challenge for my students, it is definitely an application I would recommend for advanced learners and students at the middle school level.

Integrating Technology into the Classroom

If you would like to participate and have a live discussion, here is the information:
6:45 p.m. EST (Elluminate) George Couros: Unintended Benefits: Building Relationships Using Social Media in Schools
George Couros is a principal in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada, is a motivational workshop presenter in areas of successful technology integration in the classroom, including the use of social media and digital citizenship, as well as the power of Professional Learning Networks, to help connect teachers around the world.

7:30-8:00 p.m. EST: Post-Webstitute Chat in Elluminate
It is free, and very easy to sign up for. Should be a fascinating time!

Go to: http://englishcompanion.ning.com/group/ecnningwebstitutejanuary92011?