For many schools across the country, a one to one (or 1:1) classroom technology environment is the gold standard. Districts are spending large sums of money to ensure that each child has their own iPad, laptop or a chromebook. In my classroom, we currently have 11 Kindle Fires or a 2:1 environment. I thought that once I got these devices in, I would inevitably want more. But, I quickly learned that perhaps this 2:1 environment is what is best for my students. A lot of good things that occurred as a result of not having device for each individual kid. Here are the real benefits to having a 2:1 environment:
Cost: I'd be foolish to ignore this. Simply put, a 1:1 program costs twice as much as a 2:1 program. This may be reason enough to implement this program for classrooms or schools with limited funding. Social Skills: Of the times I've had each of my students with their own device, I notice that they can get very quiet and secluded. I can't help but think that for many of them, this is a common posture at home. Sharing a device, talking through problems, navigating who does what when...these are all important skills that are fostered in close proximity and when working with others towards a shared goal. With 2:1, students are forced to work together, solve problems and hopefully encourage each other along the way. Collaboration: Many times, students will make a mistake or need help maneuvering within or between apps. There is so much value in having a partner right there to help answer questions. Students know that if they come and ask me for help, I'll ask them what they and their partner have tried. I'm to the point in the year where students very rarely come to ask questions of me, as they are beginning to work through these things together. "Analog" Skills - While typing skills and tech integration are important, apps cant take the place of "analog" skills like writing with paper and pencil, drawing, working with manipulatives, etc. Having only enough for some of the group allows room in the schedule and classroom for graphomotor work and important "hands on" activities that encourage gross, fine and graphomotor skills.
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Of all the posts I've shared about Kindle Fires in the classroom, this may be the one I am most excited about. One of the greatest annoyances I've had with my Kindle Fires is with their complete lack of apps. The Amazon app store just doesn't have many of the important educational apps I'd like. For example, when looking for a free coin counting app, on the the Apple App store and Google Play store, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of choices to pursue. On the Amazon App Store, there was only one or two and neither of them was great. What I could find, I was NOT happy with. This was true for many of the apps I pursued.
I desperately wanted access to another app ecosystem and was delighted to stumble across this video which shows you how you can, in about 5 minutes, download the Google Play app store onto your 7" Kindle Fire.
With the app options I now have available to me, I figure I have quadrupled the usefulness of these devices and am thrilled to have choices in what web browser, word processor, maps, weather, calculator, and educational apps I can now utilize. Here a few of the highly recommended apps I have already downloaded to my Kindle Fires:
Google Apps - As someone who loves Google Docs, Photos, Calendar, Maps...these were a must. Kahoot - This app is a direct connect to the Kahoot ecosystem. The Dolphin Browser - This browser allows you to use flash based programs like Spelling City games. Do you have apps you would suggest I should download? Let me know by commenting below. Being at a school with limited tech resources, the cost of starting a program like this was a key factor. Through a "wish list" program at my school, paried with money from a generous tech coordinator, I was approved to purchase 6 devices for classroom. Here is what the cost breakdown looked like:
$250 - 6 Kindle Fires (Purchased in a "Buy 5, Get 1 Free" Bundle) $74 - 2 Kindle Fires (Bought the day after Thanksgiving) $0 - 1 Kindle Fire (Given as a Christmas gift to me from my class) $0 - 2 Kindle Fires (Given as a generous gift to the class from a parent of a student) $66 - 11 16GB Micro SD Cards Total: $390 out of my pocket, $515 for the total spent by me, parents and my school. As a matter of comparison, for $515, you could only by 2 devices, and this doesn't include cases that you would need as well. It's also worth noting that some of the costs are not just financial. While I've compared these devices to ipads, they are NOT iPads. iPads are beautiful, robust and powerful machines that are, in my mind, the cream of the crop. Nevertheless, they are really expensive. The Kindle fire is also much smaller, not as fast, or bright, and it doesn't have as nice of a camera or speaker. Nevertheless, I don't think anyt of things make it a deal breaker or a poor investment. At this point, just as chromebooks have slowly but surely chipped away at the education market for apple, I see budget tablet options like the Kindle Fire chipping away at the once "only option" of the iPad as well. Do you agree? Let me know below. Bringing 6 Kindle Fires into my classroom required some work on my part. Within the first month I quickly realized that there would be hurdles to overcome. But, despite some early challenges, I found many opportunities to easily integrate the Kindle Fires into instruction and developed a sense of the next steps to take with these inexpensive devices. Challenges
Successes
Dreams
Know about any great apps? Got ideas for this blog? Wondering how you too can remove apps from your kindle? Let me know below.
It took over a month for these bad boys to show up at my door. When I opened the box, there were 6 of these cardboard "pouches" inside. So, with the help of my 4 year old, we pulled them out...
...ripped them open...
...sorted the components....
...unwrapped them and powered them on.
While I've always appreciated the fit and finish of an iPad, the overall feel and weight of the 7" Kindle Fire is good. While I would not want it as my primary device, I can't help but think this little device will be the perfect fit for the 7 and 8 years olds in my classroom.
For the sake of comparison, here are a few images of the Kindle Fire next to a ipad mini. Note that it is quite a bit smaller and not as bright. However, the five of these kindles cost the same as one ipad in a case. Over the next month we'll determine if they are worth it.
Let me start by stating that I am a tried and true Apple enthusiast. I'm using my Macbook Air to type this and all of my entries. In my opinion, Apple makes fantastic hardware with a fit and finish that I really appreciate having in my everyday devices. I love my iPad and still think it is the best device for education. However, it is outrageously expensive and often way more machine then my students need.
I am blessed to be in a district with an iPad cart for teachers to use in the classroom. However, as many of you may have experienced yourselves, often sharing devices with whole school can mean that the devices aren't always available, or aren't charged, or are just way on the other side of the school. More than anything, I just want to have more devices in my classroom to be used exclusively in my room whenever I want. My school doesn't have the funding for a 1:1 program, so I needed to find a low cost option. Enter the 5th Generation Kindle Fire. This fall, Amazon released the Kindle Fire Generation 5 7" Device at a $50. At first it seemed too good to be true. How could I trust a $50 device? Would it be a complete piece of junk? My father had a Kindle Fire a year or two ago and I found the operating system to be clunky, obtrusive and distracting. I was apprehensive so, like with many other things, I did my research. From what I saw, it seemed as though the operating system had received a major overhaul in the last year. The specs of this newest generations were not amazing, but at $50, who would expect them to be? The device did have a front and rear facing camera, a 6 hour battery life, and a relatively intuitive operating system. To make this device even more enticing, I stumbled across the promotion that Amazon ran this past October. The deal allowed someone to buy 5 devices and get the 6th one free. That's right, for just $249, I could get 6 devices. That was about $42 each! It was about this time that my school's parents club ask teachers to submit "wish list" requests for items we'd like in the classroom. After talking with the Tech Coordinator from our school, he encouraged me to pilot a Kindle Fire program in my classroom. I discussed this with my 2nd grade colleagues and was delighted to see that they were also interested in getting a set for their classrooms.
So, it was set. Within weeks, my request was approved, the order was made, and I had a box with 6 Kindle Fires delivered to my house. Like a kid a Christmas, I dove in and opened them up.
It's also worth noting that, upon purchasing these devices, I also purchased six 16GB MicroSD cards. I realized that the 8GB of storage that comes with the device was not going to be sufficient. With 24 GB of memory, I would have more than enough room to do download all the apps I would need in my classroom. So circling back, why did I choose Kindle Fires? The short and sweet answer is price. They simply the best value for the money. For the price of one iPad and case, I purchased 6 tablets. Over the next few months, we'll be able to see if these devices really can stand up to the abuse of my classrooms and the expectations of this techy teacher. |
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