Google Docs / Survey

The availability of equipment in students' hands determines how well Web 2.0 technology can be incorporated in the classroom.  A Google Docs survey is one way to assess how technology is currently used.  The iPad is my focus of a survey targeting preschool teachers.  Its purpose is to survey the present comfort level of the iPad in instructional practices.  Teachers can complete the survey at their convenience in a location of their choice.  Results will drive professional development so that name recognition activities involving the iPad can be implemented.  Maximizing the benefits of using an iPad in the classroom correlates with a teacher's understanding of what it can do.

Click here to access the survey.  

Pinterest

One of the most useful ways to organize similar websites is by way of Pinterest.  By creating a Preschool Name Recognition board, I have been able to group all the sites I have found relating to activities for helping students learn their names.  Retrieval of the sites is easy by simply accessing my Pinterest account.  When I find additional sites I want to revisit, I can click the "Pin It" button on my toolbar and the site will be bookmarked on my board.  Pinterest is like having an online file cabinet.  When I need fresh ideas for name recognition activities, I can go to my Preschool Name Recognition board.  Others are able to view the sites on my boards as well; therefore, Pinterest becomes a tool for professional collaboration.

   

Kids Doodle / iPad App

Most children enjoy free doodling.  Kids Doodle is an easy-to-use painting/drawing app students can use to practice writing names.  It offers a variety of brushes and colors, including glow/neon, rainbow, crayon, oil, etc.  The variety of eye-catching strokes are appealing to the interests of young children.

Kids Doodle also supports a movie mode that plays back the drawing steps stroke by stroke just like a movie.  Students can watch how the letters in a name are formed.  Since there is a built-in album for movies, students can revisit a saved drawing to continue working or to review how the written name was created.

The app does not have a feature for emailing photos; however, by taking a screenshot of the photo, it can be emailed from the iPad.

ScreenChomp / iPad App

A video demonstrating how to form the letters of a name is a way to support students who are learning to recognize names.  Such a tool, ScreenChomp, an app for the iPad which resembles a whiteboard, allows the user to create simple demonstrations that can be replayed.  A replayable video can then become an independent teaching tool, a clear benefit for encouraging students to be active learners.  Students would have access to an auditory and visual model of how to identify and form letters of a name.  ScreenChomp keeps the written text visible, unlike VoiceThread, which fades the text after so many seconds.  With the choice of marker color and thickness, teaching points can be coordinated based on these options.  For example, letter colors could be alternated, or focus letters could have a thicker line.

Click here for a demonstration video for the name Javion.
Click here for a demonstration video for the name Larrah.
Click here for a demonstration video for the name Caydence.

Mosiac Maker

Making a mosaic from a set of pictures can be a means for helping students recognize their names and the names of others.  The preschool students have name tags that are used throughout the classroom and during daily activities.  Since the nametags are familiar to the students, a mosaic of all the nametags would serve as easy reference for the children when trying to write names.  Including the student in the picture with his nametag is also an option.  By using Mosiac Maker, creating a visual layout of all the names of the children in the class was easy.  With the addition of color, the image became more appealing.

Tagxedo

Tagxedo is a fun tool for exhibiting text in a haphazard, yet organized, chaos within random shapes.  This technology can easily create a graphic of all the students’ names in a classroom.  Since a variety of colors, shapes, and fonts are available, students will have seemingly unlimited options for exploring their own names and the names of classmates.  Students could circle, highlight, or cut out names and discuss letters they recognize.  In order to keep students interested, several designs should be created and introduced at different times.  To vary the more prominent names, the frequency of names in the text should be varied.  Font variety helps students form a more abstract understanding of letter recognition.

       

VoiceThread

VoiceThread was new technology introduced during our last class meeting.  As I continued to explore this site on my own, I found a way to involve students in instructing others on learning and writing names.  Students say the letters of their names while a nametag is in view.  The observer follows along and begins to learn unfamiliar letters.  Also, features of VoiceThread allow the creator to draw on the screen.  The drawings are saved and become a part of the playback for the slide.

I was able to use my iPad in the classroom to record the voices of the students.  I found that some parts of creating the voicethread on the iPad were easier than creating on the laptop and vice versa.  With more frequent use, the steps should become second nature on both.  Also, I received a warning that I may not be able to create more voicethreads in the future.  If VoiceThread becomes a frequent tool in a classroom, the expense of upgrading will need to be considered.

Click here for an example of a voicethread created by preschoolers about the letters in names.