Thursday, January 9, 2014

WELCOME BACK IN 2014!!! Students Wish Everyone A Happy New Year With The LabelBox And PicCollage Apps!!!




We had a longer than expected winter break due to some sub-subzero temperatures here in Minnesota!  So when the bell rang yesterday morning, there were lots shouts of 'Happy New Years!!'  in our halls.  Students seemed so excited to be back to school, no doubt recovering from a serious bout with cabin fever!


I took the time over break to prepare for our students return and investigate a few new apps that I am so excited to have them try. I decided to start with a little New Year's fun!  We read one of my favorite New Year's books, Squirrel's New Year's Resolutions by Pat Miller.




We read the book and discussed our New Year's resolutions!  It was fun hearing the students brainstorm their resolutions!  They were sincere and inspirational!

Our second and third grade students created resolution posters using the Pic Collage App.  We have used Pic Collage before, but with recent updates, there were a few changes we discovered.

A real highlight during this activity was watching students learn how to take "selfies"!!!   

  







First graders used the iPod app LabelBox to say Happy New Year's!  They loved trying Labelbox.  I learned that our 1st graders are still needing a little work on their 'selfies'.  They tended to keep the iPad in their lap to take their photos.  As a teacher, it is funny what you discover when you assume that your students know something!!  Our next lesson will be discussing the best angle to take a self image.  In spite of the angle, they still turned out beautifully!!