S’More Tech Week 1: Tech in Learning Centers

Hi friends!

Thanks for stopping by S’More Tech Summer Camp! For our first day of camp, we’ll talk about how you can incorporate technology in your library learning centers.

Here’s how our summer camp sessions will work. I’ll share some ideas here. After you read the blog post, I’d like for you to go to our Padlet to share your thoughts, questions, comments, and ideas. Because the blog comments are often hard to see, I think this will be a better way for us to collaborate! Click here to go to our Padlet. You’ll double click the Padlet  background to add your post.

1. Technology Learning Centers in Research Projects

When we research in our elementary school library, I may not have enough computers for every student that is working on the project. We set up note-taking from an online database as one of the centers that students rotate through during their visit. Note-taking from books might be another station, and hands-on activities would be the other stations, like trying toys from colonial times or sorting recyclable materials.

Moving through centers helps students stay engaged in the research process!

2. Spruce Up Your Centers With Technology

I found this video at the Learning in Hand blog. Wow! So many great ideas here for learning centers with technology! I’d love for you to share on our Padlet which one YOU would like to try first.

I LOVE the idea of creating your own iPad recording studio with a box and styrofoam. We definitely have issues with background noise in our library!

3. Library Centers Tracking with QR Code Check-In

Collette J., at A Wrinkle in Tech, shared a great idea for using QR codes to create accountability for library centers. Click here to check out that idea!

4. Give them GUM!

What?!? Yes, GUM–the app, not the sticky stuff you find under your tables!

I just learned about this from The Library Voice who read about it from hijole! pues. The app looks like this in the iOS app store, and, of course, it’s free.

This app allows people to create conversations “stuck” to barcodes. The physical object (with the barcode) becomes the link to a board of social conversations.

When you scan your first barcode, you’ll create a name for that device. I would use the device name or number for accountability, and use the opportunity to talk to students about why elementary students don’t post their full name on social media and how our comments should be respectful to others.

So if you had 4 iPads, and 4 students reading the same book with the same barcode, they could have a conversation on iPads about that book!

This app is not monitored or filtered, so I wouldn’t wander too far from the table where GUM is happening. If you want your students to limit their conversation only to students at your school, you could have them scan your library barcode, instead of the ISBN. But then students who had different copies of the same book would not see each other’s comments.

I think it will be really fun for students to have these digital book conversations, and I look forward to trying this next school year!

Now, to the Padlet!

After you’ve checked out these ideas for including technology ideas in library centers, I’d love for you to stop by our Padlet for this week and share a thought. Together, we’re better!