Daily 5 + iPads = Serious Engagement and Motivation

It's no surprise that I L.O.V.E technology especially my classroom set of iPads!! {Thank you Title 1!!!} This school year, I was asked to present at our districts Summer Institute about how I have integrated the use of iPads within the Daily 5 framework that I have come to adore!

I decided after such great feedback from my presentations that I would share with all of you the great ways to use iPads. {Note: This can be used in any literacy centers, not just Daily 5!} This week I'm going to share with you how I used iPads for each area of Daily 5.

Listen to Reading

Today I'm going to start with my favorite use of iPads for Listen to Reading. I think listening to reading is VITAL for students reading comprehension, fluency, and a great way for them to fall head over heels in LOVE with reading. In a perfect world I would do 3 or more read alouds a day...however I am lucky if I get one or two in! Get ready because I have found the best FREE way to have a classroom full of books for a listening center!

Video Tutorial
For those of you that are like me and need to see it in action, I created a video tutorial that goes through the steps of creating the recording and the QR Code.  I tried to talk super fast and not have my "teacher" voice but after 4 attempts to get it under 5 minutes..."ya get what ya get!' =)

Step by Step Directions

STEP 1: There is a free website called Record MP3 that allows you to record ANYTHING you want. This is where I record myself reading books from the my classroom library.

STEP 2: All you have to do is press RECORD. When you are done reading, press STOP. {Easy right!}

STEP 3: Then play it back and if you like it press SAVE RECORDING and if you don't press START OVER.  Once you press SAVE RECORDING, the next screen will show you the URL link where your recording is saved. It looks like this....

STEP 4: From here you can either copy the link or save it to your computer.  I usually do both just to be on the safe side! So from here is where it gets really fun!

STEP 5:  COPY the link, open a new table with a QR Code Generator. Copy and paste the link into the text box, make sure the you have chosen STATIC and then press generate STATIC.

VOILA...It has created a QR Code with your voice recording.

STEP 6: copy and paste it into a word document and PRINT.

STEP 7: Then cut out the QR Code and attach it to the book {clear packing tape works best and you can still scan through the tape} and you are done!

On the iPad {or any device} use a scan app to scan the QR Code. I use SCAN that can be found for free in the App Store. Your recording will "magically" appear and your babes can listen to you read their favorite book over and over.

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

One way I like to get parents involved {even if they can't come in to the classroom} is to send home the Record MP3 url. From home, parents can record themselves reading a book, copy the link from the Record MP3 website and e-mail it back to me. Then I can make the QR code and surprise their child! When this is a secret mission between me and the parents, the kids get so crazy excited to hear their mom or dad's voice! **

I hope this is useful for you! Like I said, this can be used in so many different ways in the classroom.  Comment below to share how you use this {or would like to use this} in your classroom!