Plan A

I plan to use the tablets to revive my center time, aka “Break Out Sessions.” There are 6 groups in my class. During BOS, each group is assigned a different center activity. Currently, the “Read to Self” center (adapted from The Daily 5) is my troubled area. Due to the limited space in the classroom, finding a private spot to read was hard. I had to be creative with the way I motivate kids to read to themselves. I got a few colorful plastic chairs that we labeled as “Special Reading Chairs that students would position around the room. Now, the next problem was appropriate reading materials. Once again limited in this area, I was forced to print eBooks that matched the theme for the week. This proved very costly. When I resorted to black & white copies, students lost interest and merely used the time to swing the baggie around.

I predict that the Kindles will resuscitate new life into this center activity. I know kids will want to explore the books on the device. I think I will create another center called “Kindle Free Time.” Once at this center, students will use the Kindles to either play approved educational games or complete a Nearpod “homework” activity. I’m still milling over this….

I’d be back later to tell you how it goes.

Apps to the Rescue

Since my initial idea of how to integrate these devices into my class, I’ve been introduced to Nearpod.

This is an online program that allows teachers to create presentations and activities for students to access on their individual devices. The program reports the progress of the students to the teachers.

Another program that is proving to be instrumental in this process is Dropbox. I created a separate Dropbox account that I used to share files with each device. Every weekend, I change the Dropbox folder contents so the students will have new materials to explore at home.

It has begun..

I’ve always enjoyed the idea of integrating technology into my class and teaching. Over the years I’ve explored many options. I started with a single computer for student use. Then eventually it grew to about 6 computers using NComputing devices. I’ve also encouraged students to bring netbook computers (back when they were being sold). However, I encountered many problems. The 2 major problems I faced were:

1.     Space  - Due to the large student population, the space for physical computer center eventually became non-existent.

2.     Cost – The amount of money needed to set up a proper center that enabled each computer to have sufficient access to the Internet was expensive. Seeing that this feat was self-funded, it forced me to settle for less than perfect hardware, which eventually led to more problems and stress.

At the end of the 2012/13 school year, I knew that if I wanted to use technology in the upcoming year, I had to think out of the box for the new school year because these challenges weren’t going to change. Ideally, being “Mac-maniac”, I thought about trying for the IPad. They would definitely solve the space issue. However, even the IPad mini’s were more than I was willing to afford. Being an avid reader, I decided to research the Kindle Fire from Amazon.

I purchased my personal Kindle in June 2013 and decided I would experiment with it over the summer. Immediately, I fell in love with it. Being quite knowledgeable of the IPad, I automatically began to compare the devices. I realized that, for all of my personal needs and functions, the Kindle carried out all the same functions of the IPad. They both have issues with viewing flash content and they both had a way of working around it. They have different App stores, but most of the apps are available both places.

So then, what was the huge determining factor for me…The COST! A Kindle Fire costs half the price of an IPad mini and can do just about everything I need. Then to make the deal even sweeter, Amazon has a program called Whispercast that allows a single user to manage multiple devices from one account. This means, I would be able to purchase apps and books from my computer through Amazon and send them to all the devices at once or to a single one in particular.

So, at our first PTA meeting for the new school year, I told my parents that wanted them to work on getting Kindles for their kids. However, I wouldn’t start using them until the new term in January. This gave them time to acquire them over the Christmas holidays. After the Christmas break, I learned that 17 kids had gotten tablets for Christmas. However, only 3 of them were Kindles. The others got cheaper Android devices, which at first really disappointed me. However, I did not let that stop me. I encouraged them to bring their Androids as I was certain, I would find a way around it.

Let me interject, that at the end of last school year, I had spoken to my principal about my desire for Kindles in the classroom and she shared my enthusiasm of wanting to see it happen. Initially, I planned to purchase 6 devices off my own for the Christmas. However, I was unable to do so. Needless to say, my principal reassured me of her support with this project and secured 20 Kindles that would be distributed between myself and two other classes. This allowed me to get 7 devices for my class.