My Top Ten Tech Tips!

Since qualifying as a primary school teacher in 2009, I have taught across KS1 and KS2 at three schools in the Manchester area.  In 2014, I was very fortunate to join Russell Scott Primary School where I continue to work as a Year 2 teacher and IT Lead. Russell Scott is ahead of the game in terms of technology, with 1:1 iPads in Years 5 and 6, and 1:2 across the rest of the school. During my time at Russell Scott, I have organised and delivered edtech-themed events, presented at other schools and events and written articles on my use of technology in the classroom. In 2017, I was thrilled to be selected as an Apple Distinguished Educator and I have since supported my colleagues to become ‘Apple Teachers’ and continue to develop the computing curriculum at Russell Scott.

You can follow me on Twitter @MissKingsley85 and my class @ClassMissK. Follow Russell Scott on Facebook, or Twitter, @RScottPrimary.

Children are growing up in an increasingly digital age. By providing them with a technologically-rich curriculum, we are giving them the tools to thrive and become responsible digital citizens in whatever path they choose to take.

Whether you have 30 or 300 iPads at your school, here are my top 10 apps/technologies for embedding technology across the primary curriculum, whilst ensuring delivery of the relevant primary IT curriculum skills.

1: Chatterpix/Chatterkid

Available on Apple and Android, Chatterpix is a simple and engaging app for young children. Pupils can use it to bring anything to life! My pupils have created a variety of clips from talking clay sea turtles to African animals! It can also be used by teachers as a lesson hook to create ‘messages’ from mysterious visitors or book characters!

https://foldr.russell-scott.co.uk/public/J9PKY

2: Clips

Clips is an Apple movie-making app designed to allow its users to tell a story with engaging labels, posters, photos, videos and music. My pupils have used it to share their learning on a variety of topics, and it is also perfect for teachers to document school trips or events and share with parents on school web/blog sites.

https://foldr.russell-scott.co.uk/public/JY3GK

3: Book Creator

This is one of the simplest and most versatile educational apps available for creating cross-curricular ebooks. It is available for Apple and Android and is a paid app, but definitely worth the investment. It is appropriate for all age groups and allows budding authors to self-publish online!

http://2018year2.russellscottblogs.net/2019/07/18/turtle-sale/ 

5. iMovie

Another Apple-exclusive, iMovie is a high quality movie-making app available on iPad, iPhone and Mac. It is suitable for pupils to showcase their knowledge and creativity across the curriculum from KS2 onwards, and provides the opportunity for pupils to develop IT skills such as trimming, ordering and editing clips, adding sound effects and voiceovers, experimenting with slow and fast motion, adding transitions between clips and much more.

I have enjoyed exploring my theatrical side by using iMovie to bring a little magic into my English lessons!

https://foldr.russell-scott.co.uk/flinks/18-Jan-2021-43

7: Camera and Photos

The camera and photos apps on any device can be simple but incredibly beneficial tools for delivering the primary IT curriculum. Using Apple’s free ‘Everyone Can Create’ teacher resources, last year I planned an engaging photography unit which covered many key curriculum skills. After editing their final photos, the pupil outcomes were stunning!

http://2020year2.russellscottblogs.net/2021/05/12/connecting-with-nature-photography/

8: Voice Notes

Another simple to use but multi-faceted app is Voice Notes by Apple (alternative voice-recording apps are also readily available). Teachers can use this to record sound bytes of learning in a multitude of settings and subjects. We have used it at Russell Scott to record and publish our award-winning ‘Bedtime Stories’, and it proved integral during lockdown, to record virtual story times for pupils. We even invited families to record stories!

http://reading.russellscottblogs.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/53/2018/11/Bedtime-story-poster_new-2018-1.pdf

In its simplest form, it can replace talking tin lids to support early writing by allowing pupils to build sentences, and has proven very useful when collecting evidence of pupil progress in reading.

9: iMotion

Children love creating stop motion animation in class! iMotion is one of many free animation apps suitable for teaching basic animation knowledge and skills to even the youngest of children. I have used it with my pupils to bring their toys or artistic creations to life!

https://foldr.russell-scott.co.uk/public/JEML1

10: Sketches School

The perfect app for any budding artist, Sketches School hosts a number of tools, enabling pupils to experiment with a variety of artistic techniques including colour, pens and brushes, shading and strokes. Suitable for EYFS and upwards, pupils can create amazing artwork using their iPad.

If you have Apple technology at your school, and you’re interested in CPD for your colleagues, Apple provides the following support:

The Apple Teacher Program is a free, online professional development course designed for teachers to learn about the features of key Apple apps, and how they could be used with pupils in the classroom.

https://www.apple.com/uk/education/k12/apple-teacher/

‘Everyone Can Create’ is a series of teacher guides designed to support pupils to develop their music, drawing, photography and video skills using Apple technology. Available for free on Apple Books, the guides are packed with creative and cross-curricular lesson ideas and activities. They have recently released the ‘Everyone Can Create Early Learners’ guide, which is perfect for EYFS and KS1 pupils.

https://www.apple.com/uk/education/k12/everyone-can-create/

The IT Team at Russell Scott have worked hard to develop the computing curriculum in recent years. In order to ensure appropriate pitch, content and coverage of our IT curriculum, I created an ‘App Progression Document’ which enables teachers to ensure that the necessary IT curriculum skills are taught thorough the use of Apple tech, rather than the iPad being used simply as a tool.

https://foldr.russell-scott.co.uk/public/J77O5