Bumped in to the creative and delightful Laura Wright yesterday. Here third grade class is the author of “The Life of an Eanes Pioneer”. I have to tell you that there are so many wonderful and exciting things happening in our iClassrooms every day – I am hard pressed to keep up with documenting all of them. Laura took some time out of her afternoon to share a project-based mixed media iLesson that involved students researching a breed of spider, creating an anatomical spider based on that research, and then designing a comic using the Strip Designer app to accompany their spider that would concisely showcase 3-5 facts about their spider. All of the final products were displayed on a bulletin board in the classroom.
Wright's Class Spider iLesson using the PhotoGrid Pro app
What I truly love about this project it was not solely achieved on the iPad. Truly not everything has and should be achieved on the device. We have to ask ourselves, “does the device enhance learning for this project?” Kudos to Laura and her holistic approach to designing her iLessons and truly infusing elements of project-based learning, choice, and collaboration. What I also app-reciate is the idea that not every product has to be digital. While I am a proponent of paperless classrooms and mobile integration, I think there is a time and place to print and retain tactile projects. (Clearly case in point.) In addition to the spider wall (which is truly amazing to see in person), Laura can assemble all of the one-page PDF’s in to one book and make the spider discovery book available to parents and students to download in iBooks as one complete PDF.
Wright's Class: Spider Project Sample using Strip Designer app
Her class is currently working on a follow-up book to the Eanes Pioneer History and has begun their study on bat conservation. I cannot wait to see what her group of students turns out next. Thank you again Laura for inspiring us all! If you are interested in seeing Laura’s iClassroom in action, consider a site visit to Eanes Elementary. If you would like to hear Laura share the 411 on 1:1 and publishing student-created iBooks, check out her sessions at iPad Palooza this summer.
Wright's Class: Spider Project Sample using Strip Designer app
Check out some other blog entries featuring Laura’s class:
- Students are Stars with iBooks Author
- The Life of an Eanes Pioneer Child
- Science and Social Studies Stripped Down
Check out the “Stripped Down” blog series featuring Strip Designer app:
- English Stripped Down Continued which showcases student-created graphic novels supporting the theme of a “Hero’s Journey”.
- Science and Social Studies Stripped Down which showcased Laura Wright’s Class Bat research and Lisa Carnazzo’s class study of landforms.
- History Stripped Down which featured Fiske’s class analysis of the key figures in the Enlightenment and included a student app review of Strip Designer.
- English Stripped Down kicked the series off with a student-created rendition of a Hero’s Tale and a Beowulf retelling.
- Digital Artifacts (while not part of the original series) shared a primary example of how Strip Designer could be used to showcase learning in the form of a pattern scavenger hunt.
Atlanta Area: If you are in the Atlanta area, I will be presenting at Tech Forum Atlanta tomorrow Friday March 1st, 2013. Check out the program!
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780+ iPad Lessons Pinned HERE!
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Ted X Youth Austin 3/30/2012!
“Student-Created Books in the iClassroom” iTunes U course is now available!!!