Setting Up an iPad Programme for Young Children

YIS KG Resource site has an app section-tried and tested since September 2010.

http://yiskg.weebly.com/

Also check out the iPad category on the side bar (right).

Yokohama International School has invested in 15 iPpads for the Kindergarten and Grade One classes.

What I believe and how this has affected my implementation of the programme.

I believe children should construct their own understandings and be given opportunities to explore in practical ways, make connections to their existing knowledge/experience base and reflect on their learning.  Transferring their understanding in ways that work best for them, applying their understanding to new situations. I also believe there needs to be explicit teaching times to learn new skills. The key is balance.

Collaborating with colleagues is vital as we share ideas and support each, learning together. Ipads are new and very new in Education. We can not do this alone, so we read other peoples blogs and Wiki’s. We are open to suggestions. So do you have any suggestions?

I will keep you updated on what’s working for us.

choosing Apps

The array of apps is very overwhelming. I looked at blogs and Wiki’s where educator’s had reviewed apps for iPads. Each teacher was asked to search out apps and our IT support ‘go to girl’ Elif, set up a Goggle doc for us to share our finds. I think I am right in saying many teachers found it a bit overwhelming: Where to look?  What to choose? How to know what you are getting? Go for

free apps? How much to spend? In the end Elif and I took the reviews and made some chooses. We kept our chooses free or cheap. We did ‘splash out’ on the Doctor Seuss books. We are calling this ‘the first round’.

I found this sites very useful, reading reviews and checking out You Tube which sometimes shows the app being used.We have made a site of resources. It has a section for iPad apps. Only tried and tested apps.

http://teachwithyouripad.wikispaces.com/

Matching Eductional Philosophy to Apps

Our biggest issue is matching  apps to our educational philosophy. Many apps seem little more than glorified worksheets. Whilst I am very interested in high quality apps that help children practise handwriting (corrects formation) etc . I do not want digital pages of addition sums with the occasional moving gimmick. Practise has its place, but an iPad that is only used for this is an expensive worksheet. I may hear the cry, but the children love it, I agree they do it. It’s easy… so is take out pizza, but you shouldn’t live on it.

We are on the look out for great open ended apps that let children problem solve and develop their creative thinking. We also want skill practise apps to.

So we begin…

We have had an experiment week (We had two iPads in our class) where the children were allowed to use the iPads whenever they wanted. They were allowed to explore the iPads  with no direction about what to do or what to use. I did have a serious talk with them before they used them the first time; they told me how the iPads should be treated.  Later in the week I tried directing children to some apps, they were happier with their chooses!

The First class time with iPads

Questions we posed.

What kinds of technology do you have (electronic things) at home or school?
Telephones like an Ipod and it has games (Iphone)
Computers
Phones have games
Walkmans
Wii
Video games
Games on areoplanes
DS
Ipods
Itouch
Ishuffle
Camera on Katei (mobile phones)

What can you do with the iPad?

Jolie: You can play games on them and if you are too bored you can go and play games.

Sojiro: is a computer. I like playing the Lego.

Mai: You can draw something. I drawed a picture of a rabbit.

Molly: Sometimes if you don’t have a telly you can watch telly on the Ipad. I like playing the Lego.

Taiki: Is game drawing or maths things. I do Lego.

Hashu: In case you don’t have Lego you can go to the Ipad and play Lego. I like doing the Toy Story.

Matthew If you don’t like the books in KP you can have Toy Story on the Ipad.

Julia: It could have a lot of games in it. I draw a tree.

Is it  good to have iPads in our class?

We can play games and use it.

The story is reading [to you], it’s good because then you know what it says.

Goggle earth you can see Japan and everywhere.

How do you use an iPad?

If your grown ups were coming into school and didn’t know how to use Ipads what would you teach them?

It is a computer

You need to charge it, you have a plug and you put it in a hole and it charges.You turn it on with the black button at the top

Slide the arrow aross.

You turn it off and put it away.

You have to be careful with it, don’t leave it on the floor. It will break.

Sharing Ipads.

We don’t have enough iPads for one per child, so we need to share. We  negotiated  the best to work together with Ipads.

We need to share
Give someone a turn
It needs to be in the middle
You need to agree which game or story to use.
One person then another person
The other person can talk a little bit, not annoying talking, blah,blah. Talk if you ask them.

This is something we will continue to work on…

Collaboration: K Team and The Japanese Department integrate the iPad using Goggle Earth

We are working closely with the Japanese Department on our new unit of inquiry. Tasha (Kindergarten colleague) suggested at our joint planning meeting using Goggle earth. We are going to look at Japan’s position on the globe, its size and shape and look at the mountain ranges.

To prepare the children for this exploration of Japan we had a ‘try it out’ session. This enabled the children to learn the features of the programme. Goggle earth on an iPad is great because it is easy to control  the movements. Below are some of the conversations that went on.

Julia: I see, I see, look ohh I press this bitton , what is it ohhh pictures.[linked to picture of a walking trial] I see the square[the link icon]… cool what is it… rocks. I am giong to make it back small.

Mai: Lots of sand… Egypt, it’s the gound, where is this place? Maybe its a road. It has a line. I want to find the same one.  Look Brazil,  I see roofsroofs. I see the city. It looks like the roads and the cars… but so small.
Sojiro: It’s the sea… we go into the sea, far away. I see the Goggle earth.wwwwoooooooo (spins world). I don’t see anything. We want to see the YIS. Look up, it’s along way. A long, long way, small Goggle earth. Look cars.

Taiki:  Isee the sea, ground. Wow!
Hashu:  Do you want to make it vert tiny? Maybe this is water. What is that… carpet on the road? We are up in the sky, We are past our world.

Matthew:  The blue stuff is water. It’s broken. Why would there be carpet on the road? I can’t read it it. Try and find an areoplane up the the sky, this is heavan. We found the place where God is. We found space. We can see space rockets. Very very tiny very very big. How did you find that?
Molly: We see tress and trees and road. Look buildings, see buildings. Look Mai turn this [circle on top left of screen rotates image] it will go round round. You can first… you have to make it big. Snow… Look snow!

Jolie: It won’t go back … it’s big. look we can turn it around [left upper side control] Wowo look at the that… don’t move anymore please.

Updates about the programme…