Student-Led Conferences and Digital Portfolios

Student-Led conferences was something that was new to me. I had never heard of it before. I believe it goes along with students taking ownership of their own learning. I really like this idea. I was taught in school that there were really only right or wrong answers and ways of doing things. I still have a hard time in school getting creative and interpreting an assignment. I want to know exactly what I need to do and how. I really struggle with this. Just like this assignment. Yes, there is a rubric but it still leaves room for interpretation. I am not use to being asked my opinion. Facts, that is what I am use to learning and being able to recall for tests. Student-Led conferences puts the students in charge of explaining what they are doing in school. I think I would use this in my classroom. Probably not for official conferences, but maybe host an after school night where the parents come in to the class to have a conference with their child. Another option would be for the students to make a video for each 9 weeks of school. The video could be the students showing their work and discussing what they have accomplished and what they struggle with and what their goals are for the next 9 weeks of school. I think that would be a great tool to teach ownership of their own learning.

Digital Portfolios are another way to keep a collection of student work organized. I would use these in my classroom to be able to assess student growth. I could see areas they have improved on and areas that they are struggling with. Here are some fabulous ideas for how to use Seesaw in the classroom.

I have seen portfolios kept in a classroom before, but not digital. I would think the digital portfolios would be much easier to keep up with and organize with less space. I am old school and have a hard time letting go of all the paper. I am slowly jumping on this digital world train. I come from having to keep boxes and boxes of photographs to now keeping them on disks or the computer. I am now also learning that I need to backup all of my photos and files to be able to access them after a computer crashes. Learned that the hard way, a couple of times! Back to digital Portfolios. I would use these in my classroom. It would be beneficial, to me, to be able to pull a students file up or email to a parent for parent conferences to show growth and/or problem areas. It could be very revealing if there is a pattern in a problem area.

Smore and Powtoon

I am not sure what to say about either of these. I tried to use both of them and found them to be a little difficult. Now, I am not the most tech savvy person, but I usually can figure things out when given enough time. I suppose that has been the problem, never enough time!
Let's begin with Powtoon. I have watch tutorials and love the presentations/movies one can create using Powtoon. I think you need to buy the full version to get the most out of it. Here is a tutorial that was created to show how to make a presentation. It is really cool, but again, how much time do you have to make a presentation? It would not be ideal to make all of your lessons with this presentation, in my opinion. It would be great for special introductions to a lesson unit. I think I would use it in my classroom for my presentation for Open House. There are some really fun animations that you can customize to fit your project. I would also use Powtoon for students to make their own presentations or movie. They could document their own learning. This would be something that could engage students that do not typically like giving oral presentations. It would give them an alternative to themselves standing up talking. They can talk through the avatar. There is a lot of options for students to be creative.


Smore is another presentation program. I made a flyer on smore.com that discussed iPads in the classroom. I was able to personalize my flyer by choosing a background, fonts, and colors. I would use this in my classroom for students to present a research project. It is good for adding a lot of text and videos. Students have several options of how they can share their work. I think that students could really get creative with presenting their work.

Using iPads ti Improve the Social Skills of Children with Autism

I have not had any experience with someone with autism. I know that going into the teaching field I will soon. I need to prepare now and educate myself on ways to help my future students the best way I can. Using iPads to improve the social skills of children with Autism is an amazing way to increase student success. One way we, as teachers, can help our students is to create social stories with iPads that can assist students with Autism learn how to respond in situations. Social Stories can be made with paper, but there are apps that can be personalized and adapted to each individual student. The Social Express is a pricey app, but the benefits are great. I would use this app for all students to reinforce effective social skills. The animations are fabulous. They have interactive elements to them. Students can watch a situation and decide the best response to the situation. There is an option of printing pages about feeling, coping strategies, and awards for achievement. Students may identify with the characters and teachers can personalize them for individual students.

TapToTalk is an app that aids students that cannot verbalize their needs. It can be used on apple or android devices. It has a large free album that gives students the opportunity to communicate their needs, feelings, and thoughts.  There is an option to purchase a more extensive vocabulary album. I would use this for my nonverbal students.

Here are 8 Free iPad Games for Math are beneficial for teaching basic math skills to students with autism. I would use decide which one to use depending on the needs of my students.

I would use mathmateer as a fun way to teach multiplication, addition, shapes, and money counting through building their own rocket ship.

Here are 20 apps that are free to help children with autism. My non autistic 3 year old loves some of these apps. I can see how these would benefit all students.

Here is a video on Proloquo2Go. It has a lot of great ideas on how to utilize their software. This is a way to transform iPads into communication  AAC devices for children with autism. Here is a link to download the app on iTunes.

I would use all of these apps in my classroom depending on the specific needs of my students.

Student Response Systems

Student response systems are great tools for the classroom. They are fun and different ways that can engage students in their own learning. Some of the examples of student response systems that we discussed in class were Plickers. This is amazing! Students are all given a card with a block design on it, and there is an A, B, C, and D option. These cards can be purchased, or you can make your own. The teacher asks a question in a multiple choice format, then the students will hold up the side of the card that represents their answer. The teacher can scan the room with a device and will collect all the student answers. The students can be assigned a number or their names can be entered. The teacher has the option to display the student responses or keep them private. Kahoot! is another student response system. This is one that I have participated in before, during class. This was not anonymous like Plickers, in my class. Students sign in to the system using a code given by the teacher and answer the questions displayed. I really enjoyed answering questions this way. It brought out a competitive side of myself that I didn’t know I had. I did find myself trying to answer the questions so quickly that I misread some of the questions, and that resulted in me answering incorrectly. Overall, I believe this is a fun way to review and assess student knowledge. Student Response Systems are an engaging way to assess student knowledge and understanding. I would use them to assess prior knowledge before a lesson. This would help me to make any changes necessary to my lesson before teaching. I could check for common misconceptions about a topic, and address them before the lesson progresses. They would be great for formative assessment during a lesson. A quiz could be put together rather quickly to assess student basic recall and understanding of the lesson being taught. I would use this in the math class to check math facts. I would use it in Science, Social Studies, Reading, and even Writing class. They are so versatile that teachers can incorporate them into any subject at any point of time during the lesson. The teacher can receive each individual student’s answer. So, this could be used as a summative assessment as well. And
Exit Tickets are also a great use for SRS. The only issue with the student response systems would be if I was in a school that does not have devices or wifi accessible to all students. Here is a list of Student Response Systems that can be used on any device.

ipads in the classroom

Autism and iPads

Autistic children have difficulties in everyday situations, especially in social situations. Ipads can help them communicate and feel less frustration and anxiety. Using apps, teachers and parents can use pictures rather than words to communicate. Some apps that are good for creating social stories are My Story, Little Bird Tales, and Kid in Story. iPads are beneficial to autistic children because they do not need to use a mouse or stylus, it eliminates the difficulty of moving eyes from keyboard to screen, and most of all the portability of an iPad is beneficial. Students can take iPads with them to look at their schedule and to communicate by answering questions. An example is a yes/no app, the child can answer yes/no questions by selecting their answer. Social stories are great tools for helping autistic children know how to act in social situations. Teachers and parents can use them to reinforce correct behavior, teach routines, and give visual examples of behavioral expectations. These stories need to be written in first person to help them relate themselves to the situation. Some links: http://www.setbc.org/pictureset/SubCategory.aspx?id=9 http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/practice/engage/social-stories.html

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