Simple iPad Apps and writing

Yesterday some of the teachers at school presented ideas that they learned at uLearn 2014.  Being in the junior school I decided to attend the workshop that focused on creative thinking and the use of iPads in the junior school.
One idea I tried today following our workshop was using QuickVoice App (or any other voice recording app) to record children's ideas. I decided to try this idea on some of my students who have trouble with writing. Some have trouble with verbalising their ideas and others have trouble concentrating or just forget what they were writing about.
These children used the QuickVoice app to record their story after the initial planning stage. All the children went away to a quiet space (cloak room, library corner and our outdoor area) to record their story from beginning to end. Once the children recorded their story, they started to write. The benefit that I found from doing it this way was that the children could replay their story as many times as they wanted. Some of the children who frequently forget what they were writing about finished their stories in a logical sequence because their mind didn't wander. For others it was good practice verbalising their ideas prior to writing and listening to what they sound like when they talk. They saw the gaps in their ideas without my input. The best thing for me was that these kids achieved success and they were really proud of their efforts. They were proud that they stayed on task for such a long time, they were proud that they completed their work all by themselves and they were proud that they got to be creative without having to worry too much about the recording process.
A successful day I think :)

 Planning our

Student teacher

Over the past 5 weeks I have had the pleasure of having a student teacher in my class. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, as I was able to watch this passionate young woman grow and develop before my eyes. I found her company refreshing and that her presence made me think about my own teaching. She was receptive, intuitive and I found her a great support in my classroom.
What I found interesting though was how unprepared she was for how technology is being is used in the classroom. It wasn't even mentioned so far in her university studies. I introduced her to Google Drive and how I use it in the classroom. She was blown away and was quick to utilise this tool in her own learning. We created a shared folder in which we created all our collaborative files. Our next learning curb was the Interactive White Board. She had seen one used before but had never had a chance to use one herself. We used pixlr.com/editor to edit images, iPods to write, cameras, educreations, wikispaces, GoogleSites, youtube ...
I didn't really think I was doing anything out of the ordinary in my room but apparently I am. I'm surprised that some of these things aren't shared at uni. With the use of social media (facebook/twitter) why not give students access to hat is happening in classrooms on a daily basis. Let them see the kind of teaching that is happening in our schools. I think it's a huge shock for students when they come into a school which heavily bases its practice on the eLearning model. eLearning is SOOO far from the way these young people are being taught, how are they expected to cope in the current education environment? It will change again by the time they're in the work force! It's scary enough as it is when you are left in your classroom for the very first time, in charge of your very own children.
I think I was lucky to start teaching when I did, as classrooms were not too far from what I remember as a child. Technology in classrooms was something that was being developed but it was in the beginning stages. I had time to work out what kind of teacher I wanted to be before I started to venture into this weird and wonderful world of eLearning.
So I guess what I wanted to say in this post is... university needs to prepare these students for the reality of what happens in the classroom (as interesting as history and politics are). I'm not saying that theory is not important but there should be emphasis on eLearning as well.
And if uni isn't prepared to do something, then my fellow educators, it's up to us!