Our district just completed their first week of school! I have seen some wonderful things going on in some of our elementary buildings and classrooms! Administrators, teachers and students are interacting more than ever because of mobile apps! Not only can teachers visibly see how students come up with their answers, but they are also able to structure their activities in such a way that collaboration, communication, higher order thinking and authentic learning are all addressed. Some of the apps I observed being used were Goose Chase and Padlet. With Goose Chase, teachers can create a task list for their students, and have the option to start and stop the game so students have a visual reminder of their time constraints. Padlet is a wonderful tool that can be used to showcase student thinking, and activities at a glance. Teachers can quickly see what is or is not occurring during collaboration among their students. Moreover its services have recently expanded beyond its web-based application by adding the mobile app for Apple devices. If you want to get your students moving, thinking and showing what they know, these apps can help you in that endeavor!
