Apple TV in the Elementary Classroom

Thinking of trying Apple TV in your classroom? I have heard about this tool for quite some time, but had not actually seen it in action until a recent conference. The keynote speaker did her entire presentation from her iPhone through Apple TV. I immediately emailed my tech coach and asked for one.

I have always loved and used my IWB in my classroom. I am a certified Promethean trainer so I support the boards wherever I go, however, I do like the possibilities that Apple TV brings. It is very easy to stream whatever is on your device through the TV. The first thing that occurred to me was that I could finally stream my ipad wirelessly and without my document camera. We have a set of 30 iPods in our school that we share. I would love to have the students create projects on the ipods (perhaps with Animoto or something else) and then let them stream their creations through the TV.

I'm very excited to explore the capabilities of this device. I read this post this morning that really gives a good argument for using the TV in place of an IWB. I'm not quite there, yet. I don't think I'll want to replace my board, but I think it will certainly be an exciting addition to my classroom.

Apps for Early Elementary

As promised, here is a list of some of the apps that my PreK teacher uses on her iPod Touches in her classroom:

ABC Tracer Lite-Free
Bathtub Letters
Build-a-Word$1.99
Cute Math-$1.99
Doodle Buddy-$.99
First Words-$1.99
Fruits and Veggies-$1.99
Giraffe's Matching Zoo-Free
Giraffe's Preschool Playground-$.99
Grover's Preschool
Meet the Vowels-Free
Meet the Uppercase Letters-$.99
Meet the Lowercase Letters-$.99
Meet the Shapes-$.99
Monkey Preschool Lunchbox-$.99
iPlay 'n Learn-Free
Phonics Free-ABC & Words-Free
Shape Builder-$.99
Toddler Pad-$.99
Wood Puzzle-$.99
Write My Name-$.99
123 Animals Counting Lite-Free
Preschool Pattern Recognition-$.99

I also found the ikids Blog which has fantastic lists and reviews on early elementary apps.