For the past year I have been experimenting with all of the weird and wonderful ways Ipads can be used in a classroom. We use Ipads everyday in someway or another in Grade 1 Harris. Recently I have been trying to use them as an instructional tool. I have started recording instructions before lessons and having the students simply watch the video during class. This allows me to teach multiple lessons at one time. I can differentiate activities without making the class listen to instructions that do not apply to them. It also creates more of an Inquiry based lesson. The students have much more ownership over their learning. They play the instructions and do the activity with complete independence. The lessons are very time efficient; I am free to assess and observe while the students work independently.
An example of this is a lesson I did on measurement. This was an introduction lesson on four different types of measurement (length, area, mass, capacity). The students were simply told to watch the video provided for their center and complete the task. Without wasting time explaining the four centers I was able to have the class doing four different activities simultaneously. We rotated the centers each day and I modified the materials to differentiate the activity.
This style off lesson requires a lot preparation, but is worth the extra effort. But once you see the lesson in action the advantages speak for themselves. The students only need to listen to information that is pertinent to them, and I am 100% free to assess. I only need to explain the lesson once, compared to explaining the same activity everyday for a week.
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