We are 1:1

I am SUPER excited to say that my classroom is now 1:1 with ipads! Eek! I still cannot hardly believe it. We are beyond excited and I am excited to share my findings with you!

Our district began the 1:1 push a few years ago. You could apply for a grant and share how you would use these in your classroom and 1 classroom would get the devices (whatever device you preferred). Well...I didn't even apply. Now, I am fairly tech savvy. The longer I teach the more I realize I'm not NEAR as tech savvy as these young teachers right out of college, but at my school...I'm considered pretty tech savvy. Now...having said that...the thought of going 1:1 scared me to death. I just really couldn't wrap my head around it!! And to be honest...I wasn't sure I thought it was developmentally appropriate for Kindergarten. But then....my principal asked me what I thought about going 1:1 with ipads. Uh....I wasn't sure what to say! I know. You think I'm crazy, but I was skeerd! I couldn't say no, so I said sure! Her response..."Good. They've been ordered. They will be here after Christmas break." Eek! I about died!

I have been teaching for 14 years and feel like I do a good job of changing my teaching to best meet my kids needs. I don't ever what to feel like I am "stuck" and not moving forward. The more I thought about this opportunity, I knew it was what was best for my kids and to be honest, best for me. It has made me excited about the cool things we can be doing in our rooms. And then...I found this quote and knew it was true.

(And let's be honest...that dress needs to be replaced.)

I spent Christmas break doing LOTS of research and reading lots of blogs. I LOVED Hip Hooray in K's post on the best free and paid apps you should use. (Click on images to go to those posts on her blog.)

Mary from Sharing Kindergarten has been SUPER helpful too! This post helped and a nice chat with her helped me decide on what to get to store and charge my ipads.

I went with the Belkin charging device that she recommended and I LOVE it! (I got 2!)

 I also love her Ipad 101 from her TPT store. It was very helpful as well to get me started!

I cannot wait to come back and share more! I've only had them for a month and the kiddos for a few days but I've already learned TONS! Check back soon!