1:1....Even in K!

Blog 1
A blog that I read was posted by Kristin McGinnis.  Her blog is Hip Hip Hooray in K!  She had a guest post on Education to the Core-Making Technology Meaningful in Primary.  McGinnis posts about how she uses her devices, which are iPads, in her classroom and how her students start out with the basics of how to use the iPad and build upon that as the year gets rolling.  There must be a great deal of step by step instruction on how to use the devices, as some may never have used an iPad, how to use the apps on the device and how to troubleshoot if problems arise for children to become so independent while using the devices.  I am always interested in how teachers manage that with little ones and always looking for new tricks and tips.  Do teachers have other adults in their room to help them? Is it mostly taught in small groups and if so what are the other children doing? So I went to McGinnis's blog to ask her.  I will update my blog with any responses.

Hi Kristin,
I really liked reading about the app you use with your kindergarten students. I often have my students record their reading using a voice recorder but video recording is such a great idea and then uploading it to Showbie!  I will have to check out that app!  I always like to see how other kindergarten teachers use devices in their classroom. It must take a great deal of front work to get them to independently use their devices.  Do you use small group instruction when teaching the children a new app?  Do you have help in your room when you use technology for projects?  Thank you for any tips! 

You can find the guest blog post at:
Making Technology Meaningful in Primary

You can fine Kristin McGinnis's blog at:
Hip Hip Hooray in K!


Blog 2
Another blog that I read was Mrs. Davison's Kindergarten and she posted "What We are Doing with iPads!" She provides a wealth of information and ideas of how she and her students use 1:1 technology in her classroom.  She provides videos of students telling whay they like using iPads and how to get started using them.  This blog is full of pictures, ideas, projects and links to many apps that she uses in her own classroom.  The apps and projects are for all subject areas which I find is going to be helpful to me to learn new ways to use the tablets with my kindergartners. One of the things that I am always trying to improve upon when using devices is how to manage them with a classroom full of 20 five-year olds and what are so meaningful apps to use.  Some that I have searched and liked are usually a paid app.  I wonder how many districts have a budget for apps to purchase.  I asked Mrs. Davison about apps that she uses and if they are paid apps or free.

Mrs. Davison's blog:
Mrs. Davison's Kindergarten

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Mrs. Davison,

I was looking at your blog and the page about "What We are Doing with iPads! It was interesting to read about and see all of the pictures of the children using different apps and creating different projects using technology! At my school we have to submit a form for paid apps and a set of apps are already pushed to our tablets based on what my team of K teachers wanted. I was wondering how you choose apps and if you are able to purchase any for your iPads?
Thanks for any tips!
Sue

Blog 3

I also looked at a blog, "Back to School with iPads: 5 Steps for the First 5 Days," which was written by Beth Holland. She gave some good tips about how to get going on the right foot with devices starting with the first five days of school  She talked about teachers should set clear expectations for all students and shared another teacher's blog providing elementary students with a representation of what responsibility should look like. She also posted about staying organized and using meaningful activities.  I think this is something that I consistently think about when implementing technology.....is the activity meaningful?  There are many times that I read a blog and think to myself, how do these teachers make it seem so easy, so I reached out to ask more about implementing the first 5 days in kindergarten.

This is the link to Beth Holland's post:
Back to School with iPads

Hi Beth,
I really liked the tips you posted about on your page for the beginning of the school year in a 1:1 classroom. Do you have any more specific tips for a kindergarten classroom that would work well to start off the school year?
Thanks for any input!
Sue

I will update my blog with any tips that I get from those I reached out to.

I received a reply from Beth Holland.

Hi Susan.

Thank you for the comment and the question.

I think that the most important thing is to start with building a class community and culture that supports using technology for learning. In kindergarten, it is so important for the students to understand that iPads are there to support their learning and to help them make connections to their classmates as well as the rest of the community. If anything, I would start by just using the camera and teaching them how to document their learning.

I would also take a less-is-more approach. Too often, I find iPads loaded with apps and games. If I was teaching kindergarten again, I think I would use only SeeSaw and Book Creator for most of the year. They allow students to capture the physical with the digital, archive their learning, communicate through whichever medium best supports them, and learn to share in positive and productive ways.

Finally, 1st grade teacher Meghan Zigmond wrote a wonderful back-to-school post that has some great ideas: http://www.zigzagstech.com/2015/08/starting-out-with-ipads-the-first-wee...

I hope this helps.
Beth

Here is the link to her comment!

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/back-to-school-ipads-5-steps-beth-holland?utm_campaign=new_comment_alert&utm_source=edutopia&utm_medium=email#comment-273096

I really liked the tip she gave me about less-is-more because our tablets in kindergarten can get easily filled up with apps that we don't necessarily use.