iPaddy cake...Better than birthday cake!

You would think it was my birthday! We had such fun today and it was like a sugar rush all day long! Today my students got their iPads, and it was learning on the run! They learned more than I had planned today.  Here is the breakdown of what we got accomplished:

We got the iPads in our hands and we talked about expectations for handling and care of our iPads. We learned some basic things like turning it on, off, volume controls. We learned that a one finger drag downward between apps will get you a search bar so you can quickly get to the app you are looking for. We learned to "chomp" our screens with a 4 or 5 finger pinch to close an app. We also learned the four finger swipe upward will allow us to move quickly between apps for some "app smashing" when we are using a couple of apps to complete a project, or allow us to completely close an app out. We learned about the "home button". 

After these basics we moved to photo booth, where we explored the many camera styles of photos and we learned how the camera worked. Some pretty silly alien heads, twirly faces, and block heads were spotted on different iPads.  We also opened the actual camera app and learned how that worked differently. We saved our pictures (selfies) and then we opened an app called "Skitch" and we found we could write on our photo. 

We used one of these photos to create a new background and lock screen for our iPads, and now our faces are the first and last things we see! 

The last thing we learned today an app called "Popplet". This is a presentation/creation app that allows kids to create something to display or show. We spent some time learning the ins and outs of the app, including how to "app smash" and head out to google and gather some pictures for our Popplets.  

On a whim, I decided to challenge the students to use what they had learned with Popplet to create a study guide for our American History EO test which is scheduled for Friday. I think this is a great way to assimilate the information they have learned about the causes and effects of the start of the American Revolution!  AND IT WAS A HIT!!! Everyone was engaged and active. They were helping each other, and showing off! I cannot wait to display them tomorrow on apple tv!

Overall, a very successful day, and we all ended the day on a high...almost like we ate birthday cake all day long. The only difference? Well we get to do it again tomorrow! And no calories!