The end of term one is on the horizon and everyone involved with the BYOD class would have to agree, it was an exciting, productive yet challenging start to the year.
Here are the top five things I have learnt in our first term with the BYOD class:
1. Term one with any BYOD class requires extra time, patience and determination as students become familiar with the device and the key Apps you’ve chosen to use.
2. You need to have a “filing system” in place so that students can access work from the teacher and upload completed work easily. Jason set up the app “Showbie” mid term and it was the solution to so many issues we were having.
3. Explicit teaching of a book creating app such as “Creative Book Builder” is useful. Each book can then act as a record of all the activities and learning experiences done on the iPad for a particular topic.
4. Just because everyone has access to an iPad doesn’t mean it is the best way to teach something. It is a tool and although incredibly useful in a lot of situations it is not always the right teaching tool for every lesson.
5. The app “Explain Everything” really is awesome.
Last Friday Nicola, Jason and I sat down and discussed our approach to term two. As I listened to some of the ideas, it reinforced to me how fortunate we are to have such a convenient, useful and creative tool at our finger tips.
Chantelle Sansness