WOW Wednesday: Kristyn Smith, AES

Hello, my name is Kristyn Smith and I teach Kindergarten at Alton Elementary. I was really stressed about writing this post, trying to decide what to write about, what readers want to know and how to follow the past guest blogger’s posts!  I thought about my favorite blog posts, and what I really like reading are lists. Lists of free iPads apps and how to use them in my classroom, to be exact.  So, that’s what you are going to get this week! I hope you can use these apps in your classroom and I know you’ll love that they are free.

Skitch: We use this app in my classroom for storytelling, labeling and even Writer’s Workshop.  You can take an image (picture, google image or draw your own) and label it and write about it.  When I was teaching labeling in Writer’s Workshop, we used this app to draw and label the student’s pictures. Love it! I borrowed this video from Matt Gomez that shows how he uses Skitch. http://mattbgomez.com/new-skitch-app-101-video/

Educreations: I use this app along with my Smart Board to model my writing for Writer’s Workshop.  I love that I can model my writing and record it ahead of time.  Then, when we are having our mini-lesson I can play it back for the class.  You can also save your lessons and go back to them, kind of like anchor charts, but on your iPad!

Harper-Collins Big Cat:  There are quite a few of these apps from Harper-Collins.  They are all free e-books that the students can read themselves, have read to them, or take the pictures and create their own story.  They are really cool and interactive and my kids love them. Great for listening center!

BookPress, Story Creator and Toontastic are other great apps for story telling.
Bugs and Buttons, Word Wagon and Monkey Lunch Box are my favorite paid apps for Kindergarten.
Technology is a big part of my classroom instruction, whole group and small group.  On a daily basis, I use iPods, iPads and my Smart board to integrate technology and keep the students engaged.  With the new addition of more iPads from WOW Academy, I am able to include more students and accomplish more.  I hope this post helped you get ideas on how to use these apps in your classroom!
My students working on labeling with Skitch
What they created with Skitch

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