Cheers for iPads!

My future classroom will definitely use iPads. Here are just some of the benefits:

• saves money by combining books, diaries, writing implements, calculators, work processors, etc.
• allows students to take control of their own learning
• allows students to engage more interactively with content
• allows instantaneous and continuous access of information

The list can go on and on, but what's more important is how will I use iPads in my future classroom to facilitate student learning? iPads in my classroom will be a powerful educational tool. I will use them to improve education efficiency and standards. I can use them to show math processes to my students, and not just answers. I can poll my students on things they don't know to allow myself to spend more time teaching the lessons they struggle with. As a  class we could go on a virtual field trip or use them to take attendance. The ways iPads can be used in the classroom is so expansive- too expansive to list all in this short blog.

Not only are iPads great for the classroom, but it using them also beats using laptops or regular desktop computers. iPads are more portable and efficient than using larger devices like the laptop or desktop. iPads also offer many great apps that can be used for educational purposes. These are great reasons to choose an iPad over a laptop/desktop, but the icing on the cake for most schools has to be the price. iPads usually go for anywhere around $399-$499 (which may seem expensive). When compared to the price of a desktop for every student or a laptop for every student- there is no comparison. iPads are great way to save lots and lots of money while also providing the students with much more benefits!

SMART Exchange

SMART Notebook tools are interactive learning software that provides teachers with the essential tools to manage classrooms, assess students and encourages collaboration. It's designed to easily integrate with your existing classroom technology and your school's wireless network. It offers for easy transition between lesson creation and classroom management. More importantly, it keeps students focused on learning, easily assess student understanding, and encourages collaborative learning.

What all can be done with SMART Notebook tools?

For my future classroom, I could use SMART Notebook tools for the students benefit. I could have the students use My Home to personalize their home pages with photos, images, and information. This will provide students a glimpse into the lives of their fellow classmates. I could also have the students use My Binder to easily organize their schedules, assignments, and class notes. This tool uses labeling with keywords and other tags to ensure organization. This would be very beneficial for my students.
As the teacher, I could also incorporate SMART Notebook tools into the classroom instruction. I could use an interactive lesson delivery, which uses a wide variety of drawing, annotation, and presentation tools. It optimizes file saving and reduces image and video file sizes for easier storage. I could also share lessons with fellow teachers using SMART Notebook tools. An icon on the toolbar links you to the SMART exchange website, where I could also find lesson plans and get ideas from fellow teachers.
Overall, SMART Notebook tools are a GREAT way to enhance learning in the classroom- not only for the students, but for the teacher also!

Inspiration.

Inspiration is a powerful way for students to reach high levels of cognition performance. 

It's used as a learning and teaching technique and visually illustrates the relationships between concepts and ideas. Concepts are linked by words and phrases that explain the connection between the ideas, and helps students organize thoughts to further understand information and discover new relationships. The many benefits of using Inspiration software are:

• Helps students brainstorm and generate new ideas
• Encourages students to discover new concepts and the propositions that connect them
• Enables students to gain enhance knowledge of any topic and evaluate the information

In my future classroom, I will use Inspiration in a variety ways. My favorite way of using Inspiration is to create concept maps over stories that the class is reading or studying. The students can have fun and express their creativity. They also simultaneously learn skills that are useful in their future and are inspired to be creative. Inspiration can be used to teach numerous literary works throughout the school year, and can even be used to teach writing. Inspiration's potential in the English classroom is limitless.

An example of the way Inspiration can be used is to create a basic concept map of J.K Rowling's character Harry Potter. 

LRC eKit.

Little Puppy Rap

This LRC eKit is called Little Puppy Rap. This eKit includes three items:

• dog puppet
• hangUp Number Board
• the story "Little Puppy Rap". 

The dog puppet is a hand-held medium sized dog puppet. You are able to control the dog's mouth when using this puppet. The hangUp Number Board is a wooden number board. There are slots for the numbers 0-9, with a block number that fits into each slot. They are removable. The "Little Puppy Rap" is a large printed story by Alan Trussell-Cullen and illustrated by Astrid Matjijasevic. It is an emergent level read-together story. 

This resource could be used to explore rhyming, and counting with students in grade K. While researching, I found many usable resources that relate to this eKit. On Discovery Education, there is a song "When I was Young" that can be used in relation to the eKit story. It teachers students how to count backwards, which is a focus of the story. Another resource I found was also located on Discovery Education. It is a video called "Rhyme Time" and highlights rhyming in ways to help the students understand the general concept of rhyming.

My ideas for using these resources in instruction include:

• Reading through the story while using the hand held puppet to narrate that actions that happen in the story. This will give the students a visual and will help them follow along with the story and keep their attention.
• Reading through the story while using the number board to give the students a visual of the countdown of the numbers 1-10 that happen in the story. This will help the students follow along with where the countdown is in the story and allow them to practice the countdown of numbers. 

Both of these ideas will help the students learn by focusing on a certain aspect of the story. Both ideas focus on visual learning and the number board also focuses on mathematics in the form of counting numbers backwards from 1-10.