Augmented Reality & Kinders

Augmented Reality (or AR) might be a mouthful for 5-6 year olds, but our students didn't have any trouble using AR yesterday during their library time! We downloaded a new app called Chromville onto our library iPads, printed out pages for the students to work with, and they just jumped right in! As with most new things, I learned of Chromville from my Twitter PLN members. Shannon Miller & Andy Plemmons had both used it with their classes and I was excited to try it out. One thing I liked immediately was that it was user friendly and my youngest library visitors would be able to use it easily.

On Monday, before Kinder came in, I had the iPads loaded with the free app. I had also printed off several different pages for them to work with. You will have to go to their website to print off the pages for the students to use. There are several different pages to choose from and one that is customizable.

During library time, I showed the kinders the Chromville app and how it worked. We talked about 3D and what that looks like. After showing the students my example, and talking about making sure they did their very best work, I turned them loose. They worked hard to create a picture they would be proud of, and when they were finished, they were able to use the iPad at their table to bring their picture to life.

Here is a short video that explains the Chromville app and how it can be used.



I shared this video by Paul Hamilton with the teachers on our campus during a faculty meeting.




It shows how students can use the customized page to create a story character, and then use a graphic organizer to plan the story before writing.  This was something the kindergarten teachers have been working on with their students, so they were very interested in this aspect of the app.

I can't wait to see how the teachers use this and the wonderful stories the students create!

"Appy" Hour with Curtis Teachers

We had a lot of fun in the library this week during our first "Appy" hour, sharing our favorite apps to use with students & to help us be more efficient!

After snack plates were filled & sodas poured, we were ready to get started. The first app we looked at was Aurasma, which is an augmented reality app. After showing the teachers the auras in the $1 and $20 bills, we talked about how we could use this app with students.  Ideas brought up were adding it to a book review or a report and using it with projects displayed for Open House.  We are just at the beginning stages of learning about augmented reality, but several teachers are interested in learning more about this and how they can use it in their classrooms.

The free ColarMix app was also brought up and we looked out how we could use this with our upcoming Dot Day Celebration.  Fablevision has shared a special Dot Day sheet that can be used with the ColarMix app. When the page is scanned into the app, the decorated dot becomes 3-D.

One of my favorite parts of the time we spent together was when teachers started sharing some of their apps and how they are using them in the classroom.  Two teachers shared student examples of how they use Educreations with their class. Educreations is an app that turns your iPad into a white board. You can work with photos or text and then students can use their finger to write on top of the object. One teacher had used it with students while working on multiplication and another teacher had students correct sentences using the app, having them explain their corrections as they went along.

 

 



Another app which teachers felt they could use in the classroom is Photocard. From the website: "Bill Atkinson PhotoCard is a free app available from the iTunes App store, that allows you to create custom postcards using Bill's nature photos or your own personal photos, then send them by email or postal mail from your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch." You can also save it to your photo stream. Ideas for using this app were for book projects in reading, state or country projects in social studies, or animal projects in science. 

 

You can get more information, as well as a helpful how-to video on Bill Atkinson's website.

 

We also talked about Evernote, to help us be more efficient while gathering data and give us a place to organize that data. Teachers can create a folder for each student, organize information on that student and have data to share at meetings or ARDs, instead of carrying bulky binders full of student data.

 

Here is a helpful video from the Evernote website explaining the many uses of Evernote!

 

 

 

Our first "appy" hour was fun and informative!  Our next get together, on September 24th, will focus on Twitter and creating our PLN's! 

 

What is your favorite app for your classroom? 

 

Happy reading & learning!

Shawna Ford