A huge thank you to Caroline Doughty for launching our first 2014-2015 session of TLP-C this week. We had a lively crowd that was enthused about trying out app smashing in their classrooms. If you missed our live session, check out the recording:
Recording of TLP-C App Smashing September 25, 2014
If you are tuning in for the 
first time, the first 20 minutes or so cover what TLP-C is, our goals and protocols and a brief overview of Blackboard Collaborate. Caroline’s section will start about 22 minutes in.
Caroline began by defining App Smashing. Basically, app smashing is any time you are using more than one app together! Caroline then explored why she thinks it is an effective strategy in the classroom. She emphasized the critical thinking involved as well as the creativity that was unleashed in her students. What was also really interesting was that she also found it to be a great way to increase oral fluency and to track the progress of her English Language Learners. Apps that were used early in the school year could be smashed with those used later on and the progress in students pronunciation, word usage and sentence structure was marked. What a powerful form of assessment!
Caroline shared some of her favorite ways to app smash. Those included using PicCollage to take a photo of a blank clock and to add the time. Students then opened Tellagami and imported the PicCollaged clock to explain how they knew the time. We loved how Caroline structured these activities so that they were differentiated (different clocks) and provided time for students to see each other’s examples. She found students learned so much about the mathematical skill of time telling as well as about app smashing when they had time to see their classmate’s smashed apps.
Some other apps that Caroline has smashed, or that you might want to try smashing, include:
- Garage Band
- My Story
- Skitch
- Doceri
- Explain Everything
- Base 10 apps
- Aurasma
- Comic Touch Lite
- iMovie
- Word Cloud
- Glow Draw!
The possibilities are endless. And the more students are exposed to using different apps, the more they will want to use them together. Kids love smashing – why not let them app smash!!
We hope you get a chance to watch/listen to the recording. Leave us a comment below if you’ve app smashed or if you have more questions about how to smash!
Our next live session will be Thursday, October 30th from 4-5pm EST (click here to find out when it will be in your time zone)
