Every Tuesday at my school, we have Tech Tuesday. Every teacher has to go to a tech session where the tech department talks to us about a new app that we should be familiar with. So far this year, we've learned about Explain Everything, Socrative, iMovie, and Book Creator, just to name a few.
This last week, we were supposed to investigate an app that we were interested in and show how we could use it in class. I seriously had NO ideas until I happened to come across this Post It Plus app [FREE!]. (Post It Plus App Info) A lightbulb went off! I can use this app in class! As a bonus, I can even design things for my girls using this app :)
The general idea is to be able to take a picture of post it notes and be able to transport them and organize them. So, if you are in a meeting or just have a big bunch of post it notes on your wall, you can take a picture of them in the app and THEN…. wait for it… move them around in the app!
How am I envisioning using this in class? …for matching or ordering activities. For example, I was thinking of using it in my geometry class for students to match area formulas to shapes. In calculus, I was thinking of using it for students to match trig functions to their derivatives. For my girls, I was thinking of having them put the numbers from 1 - 10 in order.
So, the first step is to write some things on post it notes - who doesn't have a million of those laying around? Different colors? Yes!
I decided to try this using geometry formulas. So, I wrote some of the different formulas and their corresponding shapes on different color post-it notes that I had laying around. Here is a picture of the post it notes on the floor of my kitchen.
Here is a picture after I imported them into the Post It Notes App.
I think that the app recognizes the post its very well! Note that you can only use square post its - according to the directions in the app, the app will not recognize other post it shapes - they will be made into square post its. I used black marker to write on the post its…I wonder how regular pen or pencil would work? I will have to try that.
The next step is to see if I can export this post it board to another iPad. I successfully shared this "board" to a student's iPad by Air Drop. Their iPad opened it automatically, right into their app. (Students had to have the app too so that they can move the post its around - no problem - did I mention the app is FREE :)
Finally, I want to see how I can grade this. I want to see how the students can send it back to me.
My students matched up the formulas…
My only problem was, how do I know whose is whose? I wanted them to somehow put their name on it, so everyone could get credit for their own work. I believe that the students could submit this through a classroom management system such as Showbie also. But, we didn't try that yet. I don't know about you, but I hate having the students submit things through email…I hate having all of those emails to sift through. Still working on that one, but I call use the Post It Plus app a success!
Have a great weekend.
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