EdCampDSM is coming to Crestview Elementary on Sept 20th, 2014!

Saturday, Sept 20th, 2014  EdCamp is coming to Des Moines – and specifically to Crestview Elementary.

What is EdCamp? It’s a free event where educators gather to share and collaborate on topics of their choosing.  There are no official presenters/guest speakers.  Instead, the group creates a schedule of interested topics the morning of the event.  Read more at:  http://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-edcamp-kristen-swanson

Where can I register for EdCamp Des Moines?
Register at  http://www.eventbrite.com/e/edcampdsm-2014-tickets-11560205887

 

Why is this happening at Crestview? The organizers of EdCamp Des Moines used Crestview Elementary last year – and found that the location worked very well and they would like to use the facility again.  Several Crestview and district staff stepped up to offer Crestview as a potential site last year and they were on site to help manage the event last year and will do so again this year.

Where can I find more information on what happened last year?
Here’s a link to the recap of last years event…  https://wdmtech.wordpress.com/2013/09/29/photos-edcamp-desmoines/

If you think EdCamp is sit and get, then check out this time lapse video, as it shows participants getting up and moving around as they wish, depending on their needs.

Get BIG results from just a few iPads!

Adam Nidey, 3rd grade teacher at Crestview Elementary. Twitter: @mrnidey Email: nideya@wdmcs.org

Adam Nidey, 3rd grade teacher at Crestview Elementary recently presented “Get BIG results from just a few iPads” at the Nebraska Education Tech Conference (NETA).  The basic premise of the presentation is to address the challenge related to having only a few iPads, but yet a classroom full of students.

Download the complete presentation: (pdf format) Get BIG RESULTS results from just a few iPads!

The three main discussion points from the presentation…

1) Rotations

The key to getting results from just a few iPads is to create a classroom structure where the teacher can meet with each student in a small group setting every day. This is accomplished through rotations, which were demonstrated through the following video…

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The presentation also included his classrooms most used iPad apps, including…

Top apps for practice during literacy rotations…

* Bluster

* Word Monkey

* JibJab Books

Top Apps for creating during literacy rotations…

* ScreenChomp

* Tools4Students

* ToonTastic

* iMovie

* Twitter

* KaBaam!

* UPad

2) Communications

Mr Nidey discussed different ways to use the iPad as a communications tool, including:  specific examples of how to use a classroom twitter account to:

* allow students to share their writing with a larger audience

* allow the class to share information with parents (24 out of 26 parents follow their classroom twitter account)

* connect with other classrooms to share ideas and collaborate, including a recent blogging project where students reviewed writing from students in a classroom in Pennsylvania.

3) Assessments

He discussed many ways to use the iPad for collecting and recording student assessments, including:

* Fluency Checks

* Running Records

* EveryDayMath Assessments

* Word per minute

* Fast Facts

* Comprehension Checks