Standard+1

Home Page - Standard I - Standard II - Standard III - Standard IV - Standard V - Standard VI - Standard VII - Standard VIII - Standard IX - Standard X **__Standard 1 __**
 * Teachers know the subjects they are teaching. **

//The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines she or he teaches and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter meaningful for pupils. // Evidence: http://jfinnjr.wikispaces.com/iPad+Apps

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;">I chose to use a list of apps that I compiled during EDT 704, a class which focused on the educational uses of the iPad. As an elementary school teacher, I teach a variety of subjects and I am responsible for knowing where each of my students is at in each of those subjects at all times. With a variety of curriculum to cover, I brought in a variety of apps that were age appropriate, content appropriate, and fit the needs of my classroom. More and more of my students are exposed to these types of devices before they even arrive in my classroom. It’s important to show them that they can be used for much more than just playing Angry Birds. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> This list was developed as part of EDT 704 to show that I had used a variety of apps and could describe them to my classmates. In truth, the list of apps that I used is actually much, much longer. I still have my iPad and my students still use many of these apps and even more. Some are using the iPad to read, others to catch up in Spanish class, and some are using it to learn more about Rome. The kids love using the iPad, but until we have the funds for a class set, it will only be used as an enrichment device within my classroom. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> Since I only have one device, there wasn’t a great impact on my teaching. Lessons still needed to be taught, but I had one more tool that I could use to help those kids who were struggling or pulling ahead in any subject that I teach. From that standpoint, it’s worked great. The kids don’t mind doing extra math problems on the iPad because they’re on an iPad. It’s the “cool” thing to do. I do know that it has made a difference with at least three of my students. One student spent about two weeks doing math drills on it and caught up with her basic facts. Another student transferred to our district and was behind in Spanish. Her confidence has grown considerably in that class after about 2 months of practicing Spanish on the iPad during resource. The third child was having trouble finding books that suited him in our library, but we were able to take care of that very quickly with the iPad as well. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> As I mentioned earlier, until there is a classroom set of iPads to use, it won’t have a measurable difference, especially in terms of curriculum. Nothing in our curriculum was changed; this was only added as a tool to help some kids out. **<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">KSD **

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">1.K.1: The teacher understands the major concepts, assumptions, debates, processes of inquiry, and ways of knowing that are central to the discipline(s) s/he teaches. **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;">Knowing the subjects in which I teach is essential before handing over the kids an iPad filled with apps. The apps need to be content appropriate and age appropriate. Knowing that this is a device that the kids gravitate to makes it that much more important since I know they are looking at every detail.

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">1.S.3: The teacher can evaluate teaching resources and curriculum materials for their comprehensiveness, accuracy, and usefulness in representing particular ideas and concept. **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;">Just because an app says that it will help students on their fractions doesn’t mean that it is right for my students. Perhaps the app doesn’t go into multiplication or division of fractions, or omits mixed numbers or improper fractions. These all have to be considered and looked at when evaluating teaching resources. They must line up with the curriculum and they must be accurate and useful to the students as well.

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">1.D.1: The teacher realizes that subject matter knowledge is not a fixed body of facts but is complex and ever evolving. S/he seeks to keep abreast of new ideas and understandings in the field. **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;">While textbooks do have updates, they can be costly, since you have to buy a whole new textbook. Apps work differently. Once you purchase them, they can be updated free of charge. This allows developers to keep their app updated on the latest research that applies to their apps field and it gives my students the most updated information possible.