iPads in the Preschool Classroom

Today I’m hosting Chapter 8 of Teaching in the Digital Age for our Summer Book Study. I was glad to see that Puerling did not talk about game-style apps for kids because those are not my favorite for the classroom. I think children get enough of that at home. I like using the iPad as an additional listening center, where the children turn (or swipe) the pages of a book as it is read to them. I’ve read on other blogs or forums where teachers say it’s wrong to use iPads in a preschool classroom. Puerling discussed ways to introduce the iPad to young children. The main points from the chapter are in bold along with a few ideas I thought of while reading. Facilitate conversation while observing photos. Using photos with children was discussed in chapter 2, and the iPad is one way to share photos with children without the cost of printing them. Leafsnap HD is an app that could be used in the classroom or outdoors to identify leaves. Engage with literature. Develop skills in music. Other Ideas…

iPad Apps from Holy Trinity 10 Important Questions To Ask Before Using iPads in Class Digital Tools Teaching Strategies Lenny Gonzales By Terry Heick When it comes to deciding how or whether to use iPads, schools typically focus on budget issues, apps, networking logistics, check-in and check-out procedures, school and district tech-use policies, hardware precautions, and aspects of classroom management. But it’s also important to think about instructional use, and to that end, consider the following questions. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Also worth considering: How can parents, families, and local businesses be involved in procuring, managing, or integrating iPads in the classroom? These kinds of questions can help you get the most out of the iPad’s use in your classroom. This post originally appeared on TeachThought, where Terry Heick is the director of curriculum. Related Explore: iPad, Mobile Learning

Math Apps (Pre-K, K) iPads in Education- Examples from the Classroom Language Arts Apps (Pre-K, K) Free printable preschool worksheets to help prepare your child for school. Our preschool worksheets are great for busy teachers, parents, and homeschoolers. Welcome to preschool at TLSBooks! The following pages offer a variety of free printable preschool worksheets promoting early childhood education. Teachers love using these fun preschool worksheets to supplement their early childhood education programs. This ever-growing collection of fun, printable, preschool worksheets includes material which introduces various concepts, reinforces color recognition, improves fine motor skills, and introduces numbers and letters. Each child learns and develops according to their own timeline. You may print these preschool worksheets for your own personal (includes printing materials for your classroom), non-commercial use only. In order to view and print worksheets from this site you will need Adobe Reader version 6 or later. Printing Tip: If a worksheet page does not appear properly, reload or refresh the .pdf file. Find us on Google+ All worksheets created by Tracey Smith.

All in One Apps (Pre-K, K) Favorite iPad Apps for Pre-K, K, 1 Hello, everybody! Today I am going to tell you about my all time favorite apps for Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First Grade. Of these, my personal favorites are marked with a star*, too, so that you will know that these are the very best of the best, in my opinion! Basically, to use these apps, I put them in folders on my iPads according to skill. To get the kids started with a new app, I usually give the class a very brief (a one or two minute whole group explanation) on how to play with the app before we begin our centers. Do they stay on the apps within the folder? 1. Common Core StandardsMastery Connect FREE! Best Apps for Learning the AlphabetFish School By Duck Duck Moose $1.99 (Best for Pre-K; my Kinders this year found it a little boring.)Touch and Write* $2.99 (Write your letters in pudding, ketchup, paint, shaving cream, etc.!) Best Apps for Writing the Alphabet and NumbersLetter School* $2.99 (This one is so good I put it into TWO categories!)

Tips for the One iPad Classroom, and a Free iPad Rules Download! Do you have an iPad in your classroom? Are you wondering how you can make use of it when there is only one device for all of your students to share? Well, never fear, I have tons of ideas for you right here, and a “Rules for the iPad” free download, too! Before you get started using the iPad in any manner, make your expectations on how to use the device clear. Rules for the iPad: Carry the iPad with two hands. Sit down while using the iPad. Hold the iPad from the base, not the cover. No banging, slamming, or hitting the iPad. Share nicely and stop when your turn is over. I made a poster for the rules with picture cues to help the children, and I am sharing it with you here today! Be sure that you physically demonstrate how to share the tablet. Sand timers make it easy for little ones to share. A different way to share the iPad is to teach them to take turns pressing the “buttons.” Here are some ways to use the iPad in a classroom where there is just ONE, and many children. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Early Childhood Education and the iPad I was fortunate enough last weekend to receive an invitation to the Sydney Catholic Schools Early Years Conference. I was interested because the conference was centred around creating a clear and coherent vision around Early Years pedagogy. I was also intrigued to see how the iPad fitted in with this vision. One of the sessions I attended was Technology in the Early Years - Apps and iPads by Kate Highfield a Lecturer in Early Childhood from Macquarie University Sydney. Kate suggested that we could plot apps on a educational continuum depending on where the different apps contribute to cognitive development. Instructive Apps:The first type of apps that were identified (Instructive) were those apps that were drill and practice. Manipulable Apps:The second category (Manipulable) are those apps that allow multiple responses to the app. Constructive Apps:The category that Kate was most excited about was the last. PuppetPals: FREE Create your own animated stories. StoryKit: FREE

Teaching and Learning: Using iPads in the Classroom Updated 01/2014 If I had thirty iPads in my class, what would I do with them? How would I use them to help my students learn better and help me teach better? Speaking of computers, they were supposed to be the transformation of teaching and learning as we know it. Kinesthetic Learners The iPad has a number of unique features that provide for interesting possibilities in teaching and learning. As a completely portable learning tool, the iPad camera allows documentation to be taken to a whole different level. Students can also attach videos, and voice recordings to their field notes. In math class the GPS of the iPad establishes locale in ways that are profound. Connecting Beyond the Classroom Of course, the mobility provided by the iPad's wireless telephone connection capability allows the unprecedented access to the Internet anywhere students are. How do you use iPads in the classroom to help teaching and learning?