The use of Apple Technologies in the classroom has become prevalent in schools throughout Cattaraugus and Allegany counties, and one such district that continues to extend its usage of such devices in the school setting is Cuba-Rushford Central School. The Rebels have been iUsers for several years, providing the technology to all classrooms PK-12. Most recently, students in kindergarten and first grade had the opportunity to work with the devices to extend their learning and explore practical uses of iPads in the elementary setting.

In Kindergarten, students worked to create their own All About Me books using the Story Creator application. Aside from working on their illustrative abilities, students also worked on their personal handwriting and typing skills, formulating their books overtime. Part of having such resources available is giving students the opportunity to create a product of some kind. Applications such as Story Creator give students the unique experience of building their own book, channeling opportunities to be creative, write, and share with others. 

As technology makes its way into classrooms, teachers have come to learn and explore all the practical ways in which it can be used to promote student learning, opportunities for creation, and ultimately, student engagement and a positive learning environment of the 21st century. Just as the CRCS Rebels have modeled, iPads are a gateway to giving students another modality to learn with, and learn from.

By: Lauren Stuff, CA BOCES

Students and teachers (of COSER 501 member districts) can access hundreds of thousands of digital resources using CABOCES Digital Kids.  

www.cabocesdigitalkids.org

Users may login to CABOCES DIGITAL KIDS to search clips and images or pass through to:
Brain Pop (Jr., ESL, Espanol),Discovery, Learn 360, Sylvan Dell eBooks, Teaching Books, Tumblebooks, Soundszabound, Gale Cengage, Regents Review

In September, I was given the opportunity to utilize an iPad cart for my classes until February.  I used this opportunity to investigate how well high school students would be able to use them in a limited setting, for a limited amount of time.  My primary goal was to try to establish a web source in which I could continue to interact with them online after the iPads were gone.  I found two sites very useful for that purpose:  Google Drive and MyBigCampus.  When I created a document for the students, I uploaded it to Google Drive.  The students then used their iPads to access and open the document in an iPad app, Notability.  Having accessed the document, they could then edit and take notes directly using the Notability App.  Another useful app that the students used was MyBigCampus.  I would create entrance or exit tickets that the students would need to access on the application and answer.  This app was also helpful to share links, images, audio and video files, and to create message board type activities for the class.  MyBigCampus and Google Drive are both programs that function independently of the iPads, and I can continue to utilize them for the rest of the school year.