Kindergartners Make Music in the Library, Juan Fernandez-Saines, Librarian, Pickard Elementary School

One of my goals for the REVITAL project was to also include the kindergarten students in the learning of a special lesson.  I do not want any of my students to think that the library is only about reading and analyzing print media.  I want them to realize that the library is a place where they can learn about everything, including how to play music.  Our school does not have a music program or music teacher.  So all of our students don’t receive enough exposure to learn about this art form.

My help in realizing this goal was when I received a visit and support from Mrs. Colleen Herman.  She helped me download several free apps on two iPads including Garageband from  the iTunes store.  After learning how to do that I downloaded the apps to the rest of the iPads. So I began my first lesson by reading two digital books from MyOn.com.  The books were “Instruments and Music”  by Daniel Dunn and “The Bremen Town Musicians” as retold by Eric Blair.  After reading the books students also completed the handout “Which Are Musical Instruments?”

I taught the students how to open Garageband and I also played a few notes.  I also taught them how to swipe to select other instruments such as the drums and guitar.  They were very eager to  start learning. What I noticed when I grouped my students as they worked together was remarkable: they were discovering new functions on their own and teaching each other how to use them!  After allowing them to experiment for the first session, the next session was to make their learning more harmonious.

To do this, I taught them how to play the first eight notes on the piano.  I told them that when they combined different sounds they were creating a pattern that would produce rhythm and hence make music.  Now they were no longer just producing clanging sounds, their music went up another step and it became organized.

A few years ago it was unimaginable that we would have this capability of learning. Buying musical instruments can easily cost the school thousands of dollars.  And when funding is scarce and there is no music teacher, the iPad technology has made it possible for our students to enjoy producing music on their own.  It is my hope that next year our kindergarten students, who will be in first grade will be able to learn complete songs.  And who knows? Next year we may even have our first concert with an orchestra composed of iPads!

The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Stacie Bell, Librarian, Pirie Elementary School

One of the great parts about working in the Library is being able to collaborate with classroom teachers. My fifth graders recently read The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 with their homeroom teacher. After doing a character study with the their teacher, we brought that experience a step further in the Library. (See student work)

In the Library, we used a paid app called Faces iMake to create a representation of the characters from the book. Before the students began working with the iPads, we made a list of the characters and the students were assigned to pairs and a character. Students were then asked to write a list a adjectives and verbs to describe their character. This activity got student’s thinking about the things their character does and how they act, rather than just how they look.

Then, we were ready to work with the app. Faces iMake has several tutorial videos so we watched the first one as a class, which gave a much more concise introduction than I could and it also showed students where they could go if they forgot how to work a feature of the app.

Students were required to create the face of their character with the objects provided in the app. At least three of the objects had to represent a character trait or an important scene for the character. For example, a character who is smart might have a calculator for eyes.

After creating their faces, students exported the picture to the camera roll and then opened Pages. In Pages, students imported the picture and wrote about what they did. Students had to introduce the character and describe his or her role in the story. Students then wrote about why they chose their particular objects and how they represented their character. Students then converted their document to a PDF so it could be emailed and printed, and presented their Faces and explanations to the class.

The students really enjoyed this lesson because it gave them the opportunity to be creative (and a little silly). This lesson also allowed for a deep level of thinking because students must really dissect their character and make connections to physical objects and then back up these connections through their writing.

Reflection about QR Codes and Booktalks Unit, Viviane Krause, Franklin Fine Arts Center

I attempted to complete the QR Codes and Booktalks unit with 4th - 8th grade students, I have to say that I bit off more than I could chew.   In my mind I envisioned my library space where students walked around with the iPads and scanned the book’s QR code to watch the student generated book talk videos.  I was able to complete 5 books with QR codes.  The project was too big for me for my first time out with iPads, my learning curve was too large.  I also ran out of time.  I plan on picking and choosing additional booktalk videos to download this summer and create QR codes for those in the fall.  

Here is what I would change...

1.  Only do the unit with one or two classes, the videos take too long to download.

2.  The unit ended up lasting way too long because students were perfectionists with their videos, maybe give them a certain number of takes and that’s it.

3.  I would have had a different booktalk worksheet for fiction and non-fiction.

4.  I would choose the best videos to create the QR codes for, not all of the students.

Here is what worked well…

1.  The goal of having peers give booktalks to each other was met.

2.  The students loved creating their booktalk videos.

3.  The students learned about what QR codes where and how they work.

Sawyer Elementary Explores Illinois History, Rosalie Buenrostro, Librarian, Sawyer Elementary School

Sawyer Elementary Library continues to use the REVITAL Grant iPads at all grade levels.  This time I have been collaborating with the fourth grade teachers.  We have been instructing the students on the history of Illinois.  

First, I had the students browse the databases and e-books in order to familiarize themselves with Illinois history on their own.  They discovered the state of Illinois has a lot more to it than just Chicago.  Next, the students researched the state bird, tree, flag, motto and capital.  They were so excited about their discoveries they asked if they could continue researching our state.  I, of course, was happy to oblige. They researched the Cahokian Indians and their mysterious earth mounds.  They were very interested in this new found information and were eager to share it with each other. 

The iPad app, “Story Creator” was our next adventure.  Students were divided into groups of four and each group created a story using the keypad, pictures, drawings, and the voice recorder.This project was the perfect ending to an exciting school year using our new REVITAL Grant iPads.
The students and I are looking forward to the next school year and our new adventures with technology and the Chromebooks

Toontastic Fables by Peggy Rux, Pasteur Elementary

My third graders love stories! They love listening to stories, reading stories, writing stories and acting out stories. Toontastic is a wonderful storytelling tool that allows students stories to “come to life”.

The unit is titled “Toontastic Fables”. After spending several lessons listening to and discussing the genre of fables, students are asked to pick a favorite fable and put their own spin on it. We chose fables from the website storyit.com. I liked using this site because it provided a very brief version of some classic fables and included the moral at the end of each one. This allowed the students to be creative with the story. They were allowed to change characters, settings and even add some dialogue. The only rule was that the moral or lesson must remain the same. Once they had their fable they were ready to storyboard. Students were reminded that a storyboard is a written plan of how they want their publication to look.

With their storyboard in hand they are ready to create. That’s one of the best features about this app, it allows children the ability to create. They can draw their own scenes and characters, which I prefer them to do. A few scenes and characters come with the free version and for a small fee additional scenes and characters can be added. I however, prefer letting students create their own scenes and characters and so do they! Another great feature of this App is that it follows the story arc and explains each element of plot; the set-up, conflict, challenge, climax and resolution. The app also allows for music to be added to the scenes, which helps set the tone of their story.

All this hard work culminates in a film festival where students are given the opportunity to share their work. You can see the pride in their faces as we watch their cartoons. Of all the Apps that I have incorporated into my lessons, this is by far my favorite. I would recommend this app to anyone who woks with students in the primary grades.

Finding iPad Workarounds, Eric Currie, Librarian, Hitch Elementary School

I’d like to focus this post on how I’ve solved some of the problems I’ve come across with using the iPads in an attempt to transform how I teach and the mindset that I needed to have in order to come to those solutions.  Many of the problems I’ve come across with the iPad has been related to lack of desired functionality in certain apps.  Only being able to access Camera Roll Pictures in iMovie, not being able to create a presentation in Google Drive, limited outputs for products.  I’ve found workarounds for some of my issues by being knowledgeable about the system and being flexible.

Being knowledgeable about the system doesn’t mean you have to know the ins and outs of every app, or be able a guru with the device.  I think it’s helpful to have a general understanding of how an app or service works.  I wanted to be able to give a student an iPad, and have them work on a presentation.  I know that Google Drive does not offer Presentation in mobile/iOS.  I do have Keynote on the iPad, but everyone knows that Apple files tend to not work well with others.  In looking at my sharing options, I was able to find out that I could convert my Keynote Presentation into a Powerpoint.  Because I have a good understanding of Google Apps, I know that Google Drive can convert a Powerpoint into a Google Presentation file.  Now my student can work somewhat seamlessly between a laptop and an iPad.

Being flexible helps in finding iPad solutions because you may have to think outside your app to find a solution.  In my Astronomy Unit, students were creating an iMovie project about a planet.  I have a limited number of iPads, and I wanted to make sure every student was working toward a goal.  One student became the “director” while the other students sought out pictures and additional information.  The non-director students utilized Chromebooks.  My problem was that I wanted to make their work available to the director.  Our solution was to create a shared folder on the drive which all students had access.  Students who were finding pictures, uploaded them to the drive folder.  The director then logged into Google Drive on the iPad, then accessed the photo.  The director then saved the picture to the Camera Roll so that iMovie could access it.  A variation of this solution also worked for accessing the movies to present.  Once students uploaded their movie to Google Drive, we could download it elsewhere for the presentation.  

Overall, I’d like to think that the iPads have changed the way I teach.  I feel that though I’m guiding students we help each other out in finding solutions.  I was unaware that our Third Grade had their own gmail account that they knew the login for.  Working with the students, we were able to get everyone using the class email to upload pictures and download them onto the iPad.  

See the "iMovie Work-Around" presentation | See the "Presentation Work-Around" presentation

"Our America" Book Trailers, Lindsey Mangurten, Librarian, Lincoln Park High School

For the next three days I will be working with an English class. The students are creating book trailers for the book “Our America”. We will be using the iPads and the app iMovie book trailers to complete this assignment.

Day One

Today the students spent the day finding photos to use for their trailer. With the help of their teachers most of the students were able to find 15-20 images. I demonstrated to the students how to search and save an image to the camera roll. Both teachers helped guide the students with what images to look for based on the class book. The plan for tomorrow is to demonstrate iMovie trailers. We had one or two glitches today. Some of the photos from Google images would not allow the students to save image to the camera roll. I’m not sure why that was happening but I suspect the iPad didn’t like the format the picture was in. Other than that the students had an easy time finding relevant photos and saving them to the camera roll.

Day Two

Today I demonstrated how to start a new iMovie trailer and the timeline. Two of the students excelled in today's task and finished their movies completely. It was amazing to see the students pick up the technology so quickly. I felt like such a proud librarian watching our self-contained students thrive creating a book trailer using the iPads. Today was one of those days that I am so proud to be a school librarian.

Day Three

Today two of the students finished their projects and ran around the school to show off their finished product to all of their other teachers. The students and teacher enjoyed this project so much. The teacher told me she is going to work this into the curriculum for all of their class novels for next year as well as spread  the word to other teachers. Hopefully, we will have a high demand for similar projects.

The book trailer template on iMovie seems to be very intuitive and easy to use. Some of the students have asked about changing the music or editing the photos differently which seem to not be an option. Overall, I would say this was a success.