I was looking on Popplet's website and noticed a link to someone in my PLN (professional leaning network on Twitter) that had posted a number of great ways to use Popplet on the iPad. (Thanks @Matt_Gomez) I have used this app once before. If you are not familiar with Popplet, it is a Mind Mapping type app. I used it with my students to create a story map as a graphic organizer prior to writing a story.
I decided to build on one of Matt's suggestions and get the students to represent a number between 11-20 a number of different ways. I challenged them to come up with as many as possible. This was the first time my students had used this app. I started by projecting the iPad on my large screen using Air Server. I showed them how to begin and give their Popplet a title. Then I showed them briefly how to create new bubbles, to draw, type, and take photos. Students began to explore and discover for themselves how to use the app. One student figured out how to make the bubbles larger so I stopped the class and he mirrored his iPad on the overhead to demonstrate how to do it.
At the end of class, we mirrored all the iPads on the overhead and compared the different ways students had represented their numbers. Students loved sharing their work and seeing what others had done.
