Flipping roles in the classroom

This year my fourth grade class has 15 iPads to use! The iPads have allowed the classroom to become very interactive and hands on. It has also made reteaching easier as well as implementing higher order thinking.

If you walked into my room during math you would not see me in front of the room teaching and all eyes on me. Rather you would see students in stations teaching each other, doing hands on activities, in small groups with me, or even making their own lesson.

EDUCreations has been a big hit in the classroom this year. Many students are more eager to master the concepts we are learning so that they can make a video showing their mastery to show to another friend. You can even e-mail the video clips to parents to show progress or as a success celebration for a student who may have been struggling with this concept for a while! I use the student made videos for review for others and also to find out how deeply the student understands the concept. I also record myself and what we are doing in class on this app when students are absent. That way when students return than can use an iPad to catch up from the missed lessons. You can add voice, writing, and pictures on this app.

Here is an example of a student's clip that he made for rounding. 

Another rotation that we have been using is Ted Ed. Students hearing the same information multiple times in different formats is so important. We use Ted Ed to watch videos that go with our math content and then answer questions about the videos. This gives great insight to the students full awareness and understanding of the concept you are teaching. Ted Ed is also set up so it is very user friendly for students. The different steps they go through in Ted Ed are as follows: 

1. Watch-- Watch an uploaded YouTube Video 

2.Think- Open Ended or Multiple Choice Questions the students will answer 

3. Dig Deeper--This is where students can have an Extension activity or another opportunity to learn more

4. Discuss--This is a place to place an essential question or another open ended type question for students to answer and comment on others responses  

5. And Finally....-- This is where the take away activity will be located. What is the students to do now with the information he/she has learned. It can also be a place for a summary of the content.  

Here is an example of a regrouping TedEd.

Technology creates a fun learning environment for students, and I believe that it will prove to be successful the more learning students can take part in on the iPads. It is also a great way to develop self motivated learners. Let your students take charge and responsibility of their own learning!!