Multimedia Use in the Elementary Classroom

All About Scarcity video link

Today in Social Studies, I got my third graders ready to think about the Fur Trade in Michigan between the indigenous people and the French. The provided lesson from our curriculum was not the most exciting one- it would have consisted of me simply reading a chapter from the digital textbook while they sat and listened. 

This is what I did instead:

When they walked back in the room from their special, the word/image above was left up on my tv for them to look at and analyze. 

We discussed the image, the word, what they thought it might mean, and followed up with the meaning of the word. 

I was able to post the digital file of the chapter to our class Seesaw account, so after introducing it, I sent them off with a partner of their choice to read it on their iPads for about 15 minutes with a note taking page we had prepared in advance. While 15 minutes was not enough time for them to read the chapter in its' entirety and the level of the text was a bit higher than some of my readers (which is way they went with a partner), I knew that it would be a more effective use of their time and we would discuss key points and individual thoughts/connections at the end.

We ended by watching a short video about scarcity.

By integrating multimedia (studying a picture, talking, digital reading, and a video) into this lesson, I hope it become more engaging and effective to begin the study of the fur trade for my students. We built background on our current topic of study through numerous styles and will continue to build on it all week long to prepare for the culminating event... Trade Day!

My main concern with students using multimedia is the appropriate use of it and the amount of time it would take. With my younger students, though they are digital natives, they are easily distracted by the flashy, fun, and creative aspects of technology. I worry that they would be more distracted with figuring out how to use all the "cool" features and that would be the focus over the presentation of content. I also struggle with group work down digitally in the elementary classroom- sharing one device to work on versus a tangible paper/poster is much more challenging. Though like with all things we learn at school/in life, some things are hard at first and the more we do them, the better it gets (or we learn from the failures!). 

Apps to Support the Writing Process

 

In my third grade classroom all students are one-to-one with iPads, which is very helpful when we write. One of the persistent questions that I have had over the last few years of my teaching is how to integrate  not necessarily more frequent, but more quality and beneficial use of these devices. I have a few common apps that I use most and have not added many new ones over the years. 

With my young students I NEED apps that are easy to navigate, create with, and save on. 

Surprisingly, this is hard to come by.

My use of apps has been primarily focused around with publishing part of the writing process. The top apps used for publishing with my students include: BookCreator, Toontastic, Notes (a classic!), SeeSaw, and PicCollage.

For typing essays and short responses we typically use the classic iPad app, Notes. With this we practice basic typing skills, paragraphing, and punctuation. Without any extra features, the focus is truly on the writing, though my students do find it extra exciting to add emojis and images to their writing. Today for the celebration of the Solar Eclipse and also tying in MSTEP prep, we typed up a short response in Notes and some students also added in images that they drew in a separate app, something I had not taught them but brings their excitement level up tremendously.

Other apps such as BookCreator, PicCollage, and Toontastic are wonderful creative outlets to publish a written piece. After completing a written draft, we then transition to publishing in these apps throughout the year. Each one adds a different element that brings their ideas to life outside of just being the written word.

I will continue to be on the look out for how to integrate technology in the earlier parts of the writing process and am hopeful that it will beneficial to myself and my students as they develop their writing lives!

Header Image: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffunderstanding.com%2Feducational-quotes%2F&psig=AOvVaw2JAw2fmHlN4uQKqGJ4-tBz&ust=1712250609679000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBIQjRxqFwoTCPiZ297EpoUDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ