Wow!  I can’t believe we are in a place in education where our students are using mobile apps to enrich, support, or enhance their learning.  It is unbelievable!  Being a first grade teacher the thought of this frightened me a little.  How am I going to get 20 first graders using an app at once, finding the app, knowing what to do with the app, etc?  I was really surprised the first time I tried.  Students are so much more experienced with this than I thought and really help the others who are not.  They have a way of explaining it so much better than I could in kid friendly terms.

I have used apps in the classroom for a variety of reasons and I am discovering more everyday!  I have used them to support an English language learner, to support our Everyday Math Curriculum, to differentiate instruction, as interventions in the classroom, and as a reward for students working towards a certain goal. 

Eventually, I could see all students having or bringing their own devices to school and learning on them quite a bit daily.  I think this will start at the older grade levels and I am sure have a trickling down effect.  In which case, I will probably need another course on how to utilize these apps and devices to the maximum effectiveness in the classroom.  Until then, I am creating interactive flip charts utilizing the promethean board and using apps where I see it appropriate to enhance my students learning.