It is a gray kind of marine-layer day here in California. The kind of day that makes me want to hunker down in my jammies, grab my ubiquitous cup of coffee and read a book. Except now that I am an iPad owner, it makes me want to cuddle that sleek, little rectangle and find something new and different to do.
So reluctantly, I put my NY Times crossword puzzle aside and I continued my quest for great Education related apps.
I found one.
When we tuned in to EEC’s blog, we we were shocked to learn that Jennifer Edstrom, Principal Consultant of EEC, had broken down and purchased an iPad, after much skepticism on her part. In today’s episode, we will learn about one of her favorite apps for the iPad so far.
I promised you earlier that I would begin examining how I plan to use the iPad as a classroom teacher. One of the first apps I purchased is one that I wish I had been able to use when I was a fourth grade classroom teacher.
I did it.
I bought an iPad. A 32GB wi-fi iPad.
Those of you who read my initial post about the iPad are probably scowling or pointing your fingers and saying, “I told you so.”
What can I say? You were right. I am mercurial. That’s what comes from being a Gemini.
And my Kindle died. TWICE. In TWO weeks. So I bought an iPad.
Yes.
But enough about me…let’s get back to the iPad. Seriously, cue the Purcell trumpets. If I were typing this on my iPad, I actually COULD cue the Purcell trumpets via iTunes.
For some of you, it’s the end of the school year.
You are tired.
You are writing report cards or narratives.
You are packing up your classroom and squirreling away the supplies for next year that have already arrived in hopes that the summer program that is using your classroom will not find your fresh stock of crayons and help themselves (or was that just my own experience?).
For some of you, you are on vacation. You are lying in a darkened bedroom recovering from the school year.
You are sipping an iced Starbucks drink and wearing open toed shoes.
I have been thinking a lot about snowflakes lately, which is strange because I live in California and it is spring. However, my kindergartner is completely fascinated by snowflakes, mostly because each one is unique, like no other in the universe. And not to sound trite, but so are students. Unique. Like no other in the universe. Recently I spoke at a career panel and was asked by a sixth grade girl, “Why do you like teaching?” I stopped and thought about why I liked being a teacher. What did teaching mean to me? As I looked out over the sea of young women sitting there, I knew my answer. I like the puzzle of teaching to the unique. I thrive on figuring out how to make EVERY child learn what is just right for them. I gauge my success as a teacher upon how effectively I succeed at this. I believe that it is this constant need to advocate for every learner that makes this profession so very interesting. Let’s face it–it requires flexibility, creativity and plain old mental Olympics to achieve this in the classroom.
