Blog Post #7

iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarden

I learned that kindergarten classes in Fairhope and Gulf Shore elementary classrooms are using iPads to create book trailers using iMovie. These children definitely know more about iMovie than I do. They are doing this on a daily basis and use iMovie in their centers. The kids are looking forward to editing each others book trailers and watch them. The Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) is also being used on a daily basis in these classrooms. The AVL is a free online encyclopedia filtered for the age of the students. Students are assigned keywords to look up every week and are getting practice by doing this research.

We all Became Learners

In this video, Mrs. Bennett speaks about how everyone in the classroom becomes a learner, not just the students. She gave the example of how she teaches in early morning library class and will learn something new about the technology. She then teaches the students in that class what she learned and tells them to go teach their teachers. In return the teacher teachers the rest of her students. This is a very prime example of how everyone becomes a learner.

iPads in the Classroom

Twenty-three schools in the Chicago area were given iPads in the classroom as a test run. The teachers said that the students have paid more attention in the classroom thanks to the iPads. The students use apps on the iPad to help with their spelling words and letter sounds.

 Top 10 Reason to Use Technology 
This video was very insightful. It gave ten major reasons why many different kinds of technologies should be used in the classroom. One important reason on the video was that it improved test scores. Allowing certain technologies in the classroom will let students work on their own pace and not be dragged down by slower learners. It also helps enhance students learning abilities by letting them dive deeper in to the school work. Another important reason is that technology gives you access to just about anything in the world. We can take advantage of this by collecting information from some of the best teachers and educators in the world.