One of the most fun things to do is to teach young children to care for school technology.
I say fun, because we can make it fun!
A guaranteed way to make me squirm is to drop an iPad. The amount of carelessness or inattention that has to occur in order for an iPad to fall is pretty grand. Trust me, I’ve done it.
As an adult it is pretty inexcusable for me to drop a device; even though I am a well known klutz! Our kiddos, who continuously experience growth spurts, have developing fine and gross motor, and who are egocentric just don’t know any better.
That is…until we teach them!
What we pay attention to grows, and if we want our students to handle technology with care and use it purposefully, then we have to give it attention. I love using Interactive Modeling to teach students how to do those things that:
I use Interactive Modeling to teach my students, even my PreK students, how to walk into the media center, get and return technology, sit on the rug, move from rug to table, scan QR codes and more. If there is one thing that teaching for a long time has taught me is that Interactive Modeling is powerful. It has also taught me that visuals and corny songs are just as important.
This was really brought home for me when I recorded one of our awesome Kindergarten teachers for her Teacher of the Year submission (Sidebar: Why does the nominee have to do all of this work when someone else nominated them?). She used song for almost everything and her kids were incredibly independent.
This brought me back to my classroom days and how I used to do the same thing, along with posters and interactive modeling! I immediately began using more songs with my PreK students and started making more supportive visuals for all of my classes! PreK started sitting in circle quicker and calmer and remembering key vocabulary (I’m still trying to work out a good song to teach them Augmented Reality).
But I digress. iPads. I have a great system in place to keep iPads organized class to class and know who is doing what on each iPad. They are all numbered, have numbered wallpaper, and each student is assigned an iPad to use when they enter the Media Center. They are expected to use the same iPad every time. I keep it simple, and have them use the same number they use in the classroom.
This is true for grades 1 – 5. PK and K not so much. As a former upper elementary teacher I am pretty unclear about what they are capable of and am still learning when it comes to independence. When I can, I ask the PreK teachers for insight.
But oh, the dropsies. Those little guys definitely get the dropsies! Those iPads are almost bigger than they are! Instead of focusing on assigning a numbered iPad, I really want them to know how to take care of them like the expensive machinery they are. For me, there are really just a handful of things that I would like them to do.
At some point in the year, I always take my little guys outside with iPads. We do great stuff outside with 3DBear and Plum’s Creaturizer out there. It is also then that I knew very clear guidelines had to be outlined. Knowing exactly what we want kiddos to do helps them know exactly what is expected and more able to follow through.
Last spring when we started to head outside, it became crystal clear to me that a song and posters were needed to help them! One of my favorite songs to use with them is ‘Hug Your Book‘ and I wanted to use similar language with iPads. That is where my iPad Care Song came to be! And…my super cute and simple iPad Care Posters!
Can I tell you how much I love using the individual posters to teach them each discrete procedure? It is super helpful and another way to illustrate and remind them what it looks like as I teach them and sing the song with them. I love breaking things down for kiddos (even if I sometimes forget to) and this is just another developmentally appropriate way to do it for my little guys.
The combination of Interactive Modeling, posters, and songs has made a huge difference in how my youngest students care for the iPads. So much so, that I started the year with the triple threat of Interactive Modeling, Posters, and Song.
The hardest and most important part? Reinforcing those guidelines when kiddos don’t follow them. Critical, though because it helps them learn! If they make a mistake and run, and I tell them to sit for a moment because we walk with iPads, they take it with stride because they know the expectation.
