How I use technology in my classroom

I love technology as a teaching tool! There are so many ways I can use it engage, motivate and extend my students learning!
Here are just some of my favourite ways I have use technology in my classroom; 

Pic collage

I love this app! My students use it to present their work in creative ways all the time! They can add text, images, gifs, borders, backgrounds etc. They can even edit their images and find images from the internet without leaving the app!

It is great for a 5minute quick add images and text or as a more detailed, imaginative way to present their work. I even use it to when posting on our Instagram page! It’s so simple to use!

Stop motion animation

This is certainly one of my favourite projects to get my students to do. We use an app called iMotion.  The students love creating their ‘sets’ and characters and then creating the actual Stop motion. It can be tricky for some of them to grasp the idea of moving things so slightly, but they have created some amazing mini movies! Once my students create their Stop Motion they transfer it into iMovie where they add sound effects, music and voice-overs.  

iPad as a student whiteboard

This is just one of those little things that has a big effect on my students engagement. When asking students questions that have a multitude of answers (or in maths) the answer to a sum, I get my students to write down the letter or number on their iPads using the app Doodle Buddy and hold it up. This allows me to see all my students’ answers and encourages my students to want to write and show their ideas. 

QR Codes

 QR codes are so easy and versatile to use! I frequently use them instead of writing up a URL address, I just get my students to scan the code and it takes them straight to the website.  I have also used them to differentiate student’s work and sort them into groups. 

I recently created this fabulous QR library display and book. Students scan the code and it takes them to the book shown in the image. The books are all from www.storylineonline.org and are amazing! The students absolutely loved it and we are know going to introduce them to our school community by putting a book of the week QR code in the newsletter weekly!

Apple TV

As we are a 1:1 iPad school and I have a Mac computer I could not live without my Apple TV. It allows my students to beam their work up onto the screen so they can show their work immediately. It has saved us so much time not having to connect and disconnect devices or putting work onto USB’s. It is now as simple as flicking up and pressing the airplay button. The students love being able to share their work with the class at the touch of a button. 

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iMovie

iMovie is a great app! It allows my students to create movies that look semi professional. It gives my students the option to add voice-overs, add text, edit their movie clips, trim clips, add music and sound effects and more! You can also create movie trailers using the great, easy to use templates within the app. 

Games

This is one that I am still exploring but LOVE! Games are a great way to engage students using something they are genuinely interested in. We have used the app Minecraft to create word work games and this year we are going to be using it as part of our ‘How does you garden grow’ integrated studies theme. We will have our students from years Foundation to two create their own Botanical garden within Minecraft. I will keep you posted on how it all goes!

YouTube 

We are so lucky at our school to have YouTube open and useable (a lot of schools have it blocked). It is a great educational tool when used correctly. I use it to introduce topics in much more exciting way! What would kids prefer me sitting their talking to them? Or an engaging movie clip where there is colour, singing and humour- I know which one I would prefer. It is great for my visual learners and those who have difficulty concentrating and listening for extended periods of time. It’s also great for those recess, lunches and wet day timetables where the students wont sit down quietly and eat or play; I pop on a YouTube clip and presto- perfectly behaved children! 

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Blogs

I have had student’s blogs in the past and found them so useful! I love www.weebly.com it is so simple and easy to use (we even used it for our blog!) I have used them in a variety of ways such as:

·      for students to post on and have discussions with each

·      for parents to comment on their students learning in positive ways

·      to share students learning

·      to share website links with students

·      to make student homework accessible

·      to share YouTube learning clips with students

·      to share classroom timetables, notes and news with parents

·      and much more! 

Camera 
This one is so simple yet effective! My students are constantly taking photos of their learning and using them in different Apps to present their work in new and interesting ways. 

These are only a few of the main ways I use technology in the classroom! There are so many more engaging ways it can be used and I am constantly finding new and exciting ways to use it.

 We would love to hear the ways you use technology in your classroom, just leave a comment below!

- Sarah