Read and Reserch

This week we continued our study on heat transfer using the tablets in the classroom.  We have moved on to natural insulators and how living things adapt because they respond to stimuli.  We started class using the discussion feature on the amplify tablets.  The question that I posted was what features do animals have to help them survive in the wilderness.  There were many great answers posted on the discussion board.  I was looking for students to connect the previous lessons to this topic by naming how natural insulation like blubber, fat, and fur can help animals survive.

Next, I sent out a document as an assignment on their tablets using the amplify software.  The students downloaded the article on polar bear insulation and read it on their tablets.  They could use the highlight, underline, and note taking feature in the kingsoft office app to aide their reading.  After the read, they wrote a paragraph talking about what features a polar bear has to protect it from the harsh conditions of the Arctic.  They did this by editing the article and typing it in at the bottom.  When they were done, they sent the edited article back to me using the same software.  I am able to sign on to my tablet and view all of the students' sent work and assess it from my tablet.

In another lesson, I used the tablets to assess where the students are on each individual standard.  There is an app called Math Map.  It is a series of hexagons where each hexagon has a different standard in it. the standards run from fourth grade all the way up to early high school standards.  They are organized in clusters that show how the correlate and build off of one another.  Students can click on one, learn about it by watching a Khan Academy video, and take a mini assessment on that standard.  The app automatically grades it and assess if the student has mastered, understands, or needs more work with each standard.  It will color the hexagon green, yellow, or red according to how the score.  This is helpful for teachers to see concretely how the students are doing on each individual standard.