Category: iPad

Posted in Geocaching, iPad, iPod Touch, QR Codes, Roanoke County Schools, social studies

4th Grade Jamestown Geocaching

Posted on by Tina Coffey

A few weeks ago, a teacher came to me wanting to do a Jamestown Geocaching Activity with her students.  I had been doing a lot of work on iPads, and had enjoyed some of the quick, 1 minutes video podcasts by History is Fun.org.  I decided to incorporate both the iPads and Geocaching into one activity.  Here’s the activity I created:

1.  Download Podcasts videos to at least 6 iPod Touches/iPads from iTunes.  You can find them here: Historyisfun.org Podcasts.  You’ll need the following videos:

  • The Voyage
  • John Smith
  • Powhatan/Pocahontas
  • Hardships
  • Representative Government
  • Women
  • Slavery (I used this one as a practice example)

2.  Hide 6 Caches with the following labels on each cache: Jamestown Cache Labels.  Mark the locations of the caches with the GPS Units.

3.  Students were broken up into groups, and given a clipboard, a Jamestown Geocaching Answer Sheet, an Order Strip for 6 Caches, and an iPad with the videos (but iPod Touch would work too), a pencil, and a GPS Unit.

4.  Students worked in groups to find and answer the questions using the videos.  I suggest the following jobs for members the group:

  • Navigator (Works GPS Unit)
  • Scribe (Writes the group’s answer)
  • Governor (Keeps folks on track, carries the number strips, reads the cache questions)
  • Historian (Carries the iPad/iPod Touch and plays the appropriate video)
  • Scout (Double checks to make sure the group is at the right cache number, Re-hides the Cache in the exact location, )
  • Judge (Checks the group’s answers with the QR Codes)

5.  When students were finished, they used the app, Scan, and the following Jamestown Geocaching QR Codes to check their work.  A traditional Answer Key is located here if you do not have time for this part of the activity.  Students re-watch the videos for the questions they’ve missed.

So far I’ve had two classes complete this activity, and they loved it!  I liked using the iPads because they were big enough for the entire group to see.  I found it really important to discuss reading the questions BEFORE watching the videos…and practicing with the Slavery video was very helpful.

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Image:  Kolk, Melinda. compassrose.jpg. 1-Apr. Pics4Learning. 9 Nov 2012 <http://pics.tech4learning.com&gt;

 

Posted in English, iPad, iPod Touch, Roanoke County Schools

Spelling City on the iPods and iPads

Posted on by Tina Coffey

I know many of the teachers in my schools use Spelling City in their classrooms. I see the students come to the computer lab on Fridays to take their tests.  I was so excited, though, to see that the site now has an iPad/iPod Touch app!  Now students can practice in their classrooms or on their own handheld devices.  It does allow you to take the Spelling Test, but it does not allow  you to print results.   You could have students bring you their device when they are done, though, and record their score right off their screen.   If you have the premium membership, student grades area already recorded for you in a grade book  like format.

Posted in Ideas, iPad, iPod Touch, Projects, QR Codes, Roanoke County Schools

QR Craze

Posted on by Tina Coffey

You’ve seen them, right?  On the corners of mailings, on the windows of businesses, maybe even on the tags of things you buy.  You may have even used them…used your phone to scan one and get coupons or reviews for a business or more info on a product.  But did you know they are being used like crazy in classrooms?

Here’s one of my favorite videos about the use of QR codes in the classroom.


And here’s one based more for elementary school:

So basically to use QR codes, you need the following things:

  • QR Code Generator (usually a website that will easily make the code for you)
  • A device with a camera to read it(iPod touch, iPad, cell phone, or computer with webcam)
  • QR Code Reader (which you download to the device with a camera

Want to create a QR code?  It’s easy…your students can even do this!

Here’s a few QR Code generators:

Here a few QR Code Readers:

And here are some cool links to use them:

And here are some ideas for using QR Codes in the classroom:

 

 

 

Posted in Instructions, iPad, iPod Touch, Roanoke County Schools

iPad and iPod Touch Handouts

Posted on by Tina Coffey

Some of our special education teachers will be receiving iPads or iPod Touches over the next few weeks set up by Devlopease, a company from Radford, VA who specializes in writing apps for special needs children, setting up devices, and training people on using them.  If you are one of the teachers receiving a device, here are some handouts that might help you navigate some of the ins and outs of using your device with Roanoke County Schools’ network and computers.
http://www.box.net//static/flash/box_explorer.swf?widget_hash=06xi3iyzxa&v=0&cl=0&s=0