IPads for everyone...

It is my opinion that technology should be incorporated into all facets of education.   Technology is exciting, it is fresh, and it serves to keep students interested.  While earning my Education Degree I was doing some teaching observation in a fifth grade classroom.  The class had just received, through a Federal Grant, I Pads.  The school only had enough IPods for 2 classes so they had to be shared.   The kids were doing research projects and creating presentations using the I Pads.  Some were making videos, some making slide presentations, and some doing a combination of both. 

I was able to review some of the (uncompleted) projects.  I saw some amazing stuff, but one really stood out.  The subject of the video was Chernobyl and included pictures and comments concerning the accident and the current situation.  The student did the presentation as a movie trailer, and if I did know any better I would have thought it was produced by a movie studio.  My experience in this class reinforced my already strong belief that we must do more to increase our student’s access to technology. 

Not only does technology benefit students, it also provides support and assistance to teachers.   One such program (which I also saw us in the class) was an I Pad Application called “Class Dojo”.  The program is used to track student behavior in real time throughout the day.  The reports are accessible by parents, teachers and administrators.   Reports can be rolled up into an email or viewed through the Class Dojo website.   The program is also accessible from Android and I Phone platforms.  Below is the website for additional information.

 

http://www.classdojo.com/