iPad Classroom Cop

For those of you with technology in the classroom, you've seen it, felt it, or know it. If your a parent of children with technology, you are in the same boat. I call it the Quicky Click. No matter how many times you've told them that it's pointless... No matter how much you giggle at them because they think that they are going to get away with it... No matter how many times you've been on the receiving end of it... The Quicky Click will be apart of your life in this technological world. For you in the lower grades, you can call it the Quicky Clicky for the cuteness factor.

You've set up guidelines and expectations for the use of the iPads within the confines of your classroom. You've discussed all the consequences with them concerning their personal choices. You even work out time within the day so that students are free to explore their devices and look at all those fun things that they really should have plenty of time to look at on their own since they have these iPads 24/7 anyway. But, no... As a teacher, it has become just another thing that I have to police in my classroom.

Let's set the stage. You have been working for hours after school and on the weekends to develop these engaging lessons and exciting projects in order to gain the attention of each and every student in the room. Including the sulky kid in the corner that spends every moment of their existence making your life feel meaningless. You spend hours searching online trying to get ideas on how to incorporate this new technology into your lesson. There are so many teachers who have developed amazing products within applications like Nearpod and Educreations that you weed through in order to best fit into your plans. The day arrives when you must present the results of your hours of hard work and energy. You are presenting that amazing Nearpod on tectonic plates within the Earth. You are walking around the room to make yourself available to each an every student to be their guide to this amazing educational experience. Out of the corner of your eye, you can't believe that it is happening. You can't understand how they would even think that they would even want to try it. You are amazed that they think they are going to get away with it... The Quicky Click!!!

That student is looking out of the corner of their eye at you. They know that at any moment, you will be in a position to see anything and everything that is on their screen. They almost make it into a game or a challenge. "I am going to wait until the last possible moment even though I haven't been paying a lick of attention to what's on my iPad because Mrs. Woody is on her way. I have to do it. I don't want to do it. She will park my iPad if I get caught. But, it's worth it if I get away with it. Do it now, Do it now. OMG there she is"....Quicky Click! Now you look up at me with those innocent eyes and hold your breath. "Did she see? Does she know?" is rolling through your mind. "Mrs. Woody will either keep on walking or hold her dreaded hand out with the palm facing upward for me to place my blessed iPad gently into it." You can just picture all the things running through their sweet little minds in the moment. Which will it be? Did they click fast enough? It's almost like rush you'd get while on a night in Las Vegas. It's the student against the teacher over who has the fastest thumb in the west. Who will be the fastest in this showdown?

What to start with this year? So many choices...

So, my new partner and I got together at her house a few days ago to discuss our classroom management plans and iPad apps we were going to incorporate in the first nine weeks of school. I have heard many times and by many teachers, "Only incorporate one program or app at a time. Don't add or introduce another until you and the students are comfortable with that one." This is so hard when we want to incorporate all and now. It's like being a kid in a candy store.

Our decision was to start by using Class Dojo as our classroom management plan and develop our criteria through the PBIS program that we have at school. We can fine tune it as we go along. Next, is to introduce Tap It. We would both love to put forth a little extra effort now and not have to grade as much later. Has anyone used these two apps? Do you have any suggestions? Is it worth going ahead and buying the full version of Tap It? Is there another app that would do the same job or not cost as much?

The joys of being app, happy! Beth Anne Woody

Model, Model, Model...

Modeling...

So, this is my initial post on a blog that I've created after attending an eLearning Education conference for the past two days. During this conference, we learned about apps, blogs, webpages, 1:1 initiatives, data, fusion, snagit, and all sorts of other things that seem like a complete foreign language to me. On the last day, in the last seminar, an important phrase was given to me by Nicholas Provenzano from The Nerdy Teacher. "Model, model, model...If you can't do it, how can you expect your students to?" or something along that line.

We have spent the entire last 2 days trying to cram as much information that we can into our brains in order to implement a 1:1 initiative (1 device for each student) or going to a project-based learning environment in our classroom. How can we learn what each of these programs do? How can we use them in our classrooms? How fast do you want to implement them? How do we get started? Which is the easiest program or app to use? Can I remember what I learned or even what the name of that app was that I want to do this or that? I am either scared to death to do anything or I want to try everything.

So back to The Nerdy Teacher, he said to start small. So, I created a google account. Baby step. I found the Blogger page. I created a profile. I picked a template. Now, I am typing this post. In a moment, I am going to preview it and see how it all looks. (PS. I am a Math and Science teacher and not Language Arts. Please forgive me.) If it isn't that horrible, I am going to publish it. Then, it's time to smile at myself. I took that first step and maybe even a few more. It's not about who reads it. It isn't even about publishing it. It's about making that first baby step into blogging and hopefully gaining the knowledge to teach my quirky class kiddos to take that small step forward themselves.

Welcome to my Quirky Classroom! Beth Anne Woody