The more and more I think about it, the more and more I realize that as helpful as technology is, sometimes it is not relevant to our students. For example, how many situations are our students going to run into a Smartboard or an eClicker. Probably not many when they go into the real world. Depending on their profession, they may never use this equipment again.
But I think that the students need to learn the technology that is relevant to them and learn to use it in such a way that they can learn with it. An example of this would be iPods. Students are comfortable with iPods, but they aren't really used much in the classroom. Well, that should change.
I think that iPods have a tremendous ability to be used in the classroom in a significant way. The students can use them to communicate with the teacher, submit assignments, research, etc. The possibilities are endless.
I found a teacher who is using iPods in the classroom. Just from watching this video, I can already visualize an idea for a educational grant. Maybe you will envision the same!
ipods in the classroom from william seng on Vimeo.
Seng, W. (2009). Ipods in the Classroom. [Web Based] Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/7904069.
2 comments:
iPods are a very powerful tool in the right hands. I am not a huge fan of them due to the fact that the screen size drives me a little crazy. I am more of a fan of the 10" and 7" tablet size screens and I think it is the only way to go when using apps. I do think iPods do have a good place in education when you are recording or playing back podcast. Here are some creative ways that some elementary teachers are using iPods in their classroom.
Podcasting isn't the only way to integrate the tiny handheld into the classroom. At South Gate Middle School, in South Gate, California, students use the iPod and a small detachable voice recorder, like the Belkin or the Griffin iTalk, to interview family members about what it means to be an American. On Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts, third graders at West Tisbury School use the gadget to learn phonics. Beginning and English as a Second Language readers record letter sounds onto the iPod with a voice recorder, then import these audio files back to iTunes on the computer. The teacher records instructions for a lesson onto the iPod, creates a "playlist" of letter sound files on iTunes, and exports the lesson back onto the device. In an activity with consonant and vowel cards, students then listen to the lesson and, after hearing the prerecorded letter sounds, create words like cat or pad using the cards (Lucas, 2005).
References
Lucas, C. (2005, June 01). Pod people: Innovative ways to use handhelds in the classroom. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pod-people
This past week was my first experience using the clickers for a quiz. The school where I teach is big on encouraging technology in the classroom (even though there is only one computer in each room). Is it just me or does it seem like when you incorporate "fun" technology like clickers and iPods, it takes up so much more time than the old fashioned pencil and paper way? After assigning, registering, making sure everyone was ready and waiting for everyone to answer each question took most of the class time for a simple 10 question quiz. I do work at a Title I school, so data is everything and technology (like clickers and iPods) generate the data quickly and effortlessly, but in some cases does it waste time? I do think students absorb more information if it's coming through a tiny iPod screen, however. Their brains are wired for that sort of technology. It's their learning style.
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