12 Tech Integration Projects for the Elementary Classroom

The last few weeks have been full of technology integration projects that not only reminded me why I love my job, but also that I work with some of the most talented and passionate teachers I have ever met.

Here are just a few of the projects we have been working on:

1. Transitional Kindergarten Shape pictures - Drawing Pad

The students have been learning about different shapes and how to identify shapes in everyday objects. With the use of the iPad camera they walked around the room taking pictures of circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares. Some of the students even pointed out stars and diamonds. After taking the pictures they used Drawing Pad to sort them by type. 

2. Kindergarten - Signs of Fall – Pic Collage

The students have been learning about the changing seasons, so as an activity outside of the classroom they went outside to look for signs of fall.  By using the iPad camera and Pic Collage / Pic Stitch they were able to collect and present their photos in a beautiful organized way.

3. Grade 1 - Buoyancy Book - Book Creator

The students have been learning about what objects float vs. what objects sink. As a way to capture

their experiment results, the students used their iPads and took pictures of each object sinking or floating.  Once all the pictures were collected, the students sorted the pictures in Book Creator. Their Buoyancy Books then became a lab report of sorts and gave them a place to reflect on their learning. As an extension activity we invited in a guest speaker to talk about why boats float. Hearing from a real Top Gun about landing a fighter jet on a moving Aircraft carrier may been cooler to me than them, but I think he got his point across.

4. Grade 1 - Angles Comparison – Geoboard

After learning about different angles, the students applied their learning by using the Geoboard app. First they used the app to illustrate different angles (acute, obtuse and right), then they took screen shots of their work and pasted the pictures into PicCollage. Those pictures were then uploaded to Evernote as one of many artifacts in their digital portfolio.

5. Grade 1 – Symbols of America Book - Book Creator

Book Creator is great for collecting information, but it is also a wonderful tool for assessment. At the end of an American studies unit, the students were given the challenge to find and photograph 10 symbols of America from around the room.  Once the pictures were in their camera roll, they moved them to Book Creator, wrote a sentence or two about each one, and then recorded themselves talking about what they learned.

6. Grade 2 - All About Me Podcast - QuickVoice

In preparation for giving the students the option of making a podcast as a culmination activity at the end of their Native American unit, the teachers and I led the students though a simple podcast lesson in which they used Quick Voice to record a little introduction about themselves.  We taught them about speaking volume, background noise, fluency, and expression.  Plus they learned how easy it is to record in Quick Voice.

7. Grade 2 - Math Journals - Book Creator

Throughout the year, our 2nd graders keep an ongoing math journal.  Think of this as a reference guide that they can refer back to if they forget how to do something, or better yet a way to document the great learning that's taking place in the classroom.  To get them started, I helped the students get their books set up, create a simple word problem, and then illustrate their thinking. 

8. TK-2 - Handwriting Without Tears

HWT (Handwriting Without Tears) was a major focus of mine a few weeks ago.  The students in TK-2 are using the app as an extension activity to their handwriting curriculum. At first glance, the app is intuitive and simple to use, and kids enjoy working through the letters.  However when  you look deeper into the Live Insights software (the teacher interface/web portal) there is a huge amount of analytical data in there for teachers.

9. Grade 3 - Book Reviews - KidBlog

Gone are the days of the obligatory book reports and shoebox dioramas.  Our 3rd graders have been blogging since the beginning of the year with Kidblog, and now they are posting their book reviews there as well.  The really cool stuff will happen in a few weeks once the blogs are opened up to the public, and we can tweet the authors and see if we get any comments or feedback. 

10. Grade 3 – What is Math Book - Book Creator

This was an early project, but one worth mentioning. As an investigation into "what is math" our students used the iPads around school to take pictures of signs of math.  They then put these pictures into Book Creator and discussed why they felt a picture of the floor tiles is a good example of math. 

11. Grade 4 - Virginia Institute of Marine Science- Skype

In the fall of 4th grade our students learn about the Chesapeake Bay and the waterways around it.  As an extension activity, we had a Skpye interview with a researcher from VIMS. He talked about zooplankton and was able to keep the students engaged the entire time.  The nice part was that many of our students had jotted down some questions before the interview, so we didn't have questions like, "How old are you?" or "My bother has a friend who does marine research and he told me..." The class was excited to hear from an expert about the current health of the Chesapeake Bay.

12. Grade 4 - Design Thinking Challenge with a 3D printer - Tinkercad

Currently our 4th grade students are learning about water displacement, buoyancy, mass, matter, and volume, and will eventually study boats. During this unit we have two technology pieces happening at the same time.  One involves a Skype interview with a boat building expert from the Calvert Marine Museum and the other involves designing a boat and printing it on a 3D printer.  In short, our students will be engaging in a design thinking challenge where they work with our Maker Ed students to design a boat that can old more than 5oz.