Module 5

Multimodal literacy is more than just a catch phrase used by educators at the moment. It really encapsulates the way young readers and writers learn to develop their literacy skills and the iPad is perfect for this. In Kindersgarten at my school we use the iPads constantly especially for those children who require a little help to develop these skills. They record their voice in a variety of ways, including apps such as Story Kit, and it is played quite clearly back to them. There can be a problem with background noise but I have yet to find a Kindergarten classroom that does not have background noise!!!!! An external microphone may be an option although background noise my still be a problem....it is defintiely worth looking into.

Storytelling Activity
Within our Kindergarten classrooms we use StoryKit and that has been fantastic for the children to create their own story. We have used it within reading groups and for RE contract work with the bible stories we have looked at. The app I explored was Doodlecast. The microphone was great and I was able to hear my voice very clearly. Background noise could be heard but it wasn't too bad and did not distract from the voice. This app would be fantastic for Kindergarten as they can draw and talk at the same time or take photos. I am excited to use this in the classroom! I looked at the poetry apps but I think that would be too hard for my Kindies.

Creating an eBook Activity
We use Story Kit a lot in our classrooms for creating books. As I said above we have used it across a few KLA's and the children are able to use it independently. I also explored eBook Creator and thought that was fantastic too. My own children also loved having a go. Book Creators could be used across most KLA's. Besides documenting childrens artwork, they could use it to retell excursions, incursions, bible stories or just write a description of a photo or series of photos! It could be used to explain a science experiment, where the children have to document what happened & complete an explanation or retell a fairy tale or the life cycle of an animal! I think with a bit of imagination, Book Creators could be use for many different things.

This module has been very interesting. I have picked up a few things that I am eager to try in the classroom. Doodlecast will be great for encouraging the children to talk through what they are doing, hopefully getting an insight into their thought processes at the same time. I was also impresed by eBook Creator and Doodlecast which I am eager to implement.