This is a guest post from Sarah Emerling.
With
all of the technology integration and the plethora of academic apps
flooding the market, the time is ripe for teachers to take advantage of
these teaching tools. More and more, classrooms are incorporating iPods
and iPads into everyday instruction. This is such a gift for today’s
students. There is no denying that iDevices, when used efficiently, are
some of our greatest teaching tools. However, using this technology
for effective instruction is a challenge that teachers need to face and
accept.
There
is a prolific amount of educational apps available for teachers and
schools. From simple flash card type math drills, to more elaborate
science instruction and quiz format games, there are just too many apps
to detail in any single blog post. Still, apps alone do not make an
efficient instructional tool. By all means, teach the students how to
use them, put them into practice, and utilize their brilliance, but
without instruction, the apps are just another support device, not a
teaching tool. iDevices can be used in so many other ways, and as a
student-driven instructional tool, they can’t be beat.
Change how you deliver information
With
the big push to increase the level of rigor in classrooms, note-making
is an easy and engaging way to have students create their own notes,
instead of simply copying down information given to them. Utilize
podcasts (either create your own using Keynote or Powerpoint or download
free podcasts from iTunesU) and have students generate their own notes.
Give students a short podcast as an introduction to a topic and a time
limit. Students watch the podcast and create their own notes showing
ownership of the knowledge instead of simply being given the
information. Additionally, students love the change from a teacher
lecturing to holding the instruction in their hands.
Expand the definition of “text”
Text
comes in so many formats; authors don’t necessarily write books. Show
students that the world is full of text by connecting with them on a
musical level. Use songs and music videos to teach literary concepts
like author’s purpose, figurative language, and story elements (all
while being careful of copyright law). Students respond to the
connection of language arts concepts to popular music. By putting the
music or the video on an iPod students are fully immersed in the
experience, and therefore in the text. Using this type of instruction
is particularly helpful for non-readers or low-level readers. For a
student who struggles to read, upper level literacy skills can be
difficult. By giving the student text that is auditory, it takes away
the struggle to read and puts the focus on the comprehension skills.
Make movies . . . and much much more
The
newest generations of the iPod and iPad come with cameras and internal
microphones. Using these tools, students can create any number of
projects, again addressing the synthesis level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Using the microphone, younger students can record weekly fluency reads
for the purpose of teacher conferencing or running records. Teachers
can also have students record exit slips telling what they learned,
additional questions, or summarizing the lesson. Utilize the camera to
have students vodcast. Video-casting is a fun way for students to
express opinions. Vodcasting impressions of a book, or the details from
an historical event is an engaging way to make predictions or analyze
thoughts. Have students create their own movies for any number of
reasons – propaganda lessons in social studies, animated book reviews,
or student led lessons on math topics. Putting the devices in the hands
of the students ultimately leads to creation-based learning at a level
that can’t be delivered solely by a teacher.
Ultimately,
putting an iDevice in the hands of students without proper guidance or
instruction can lead to play and fun, but not always learning. Using
apps, and apps alone, with solid teaching can absolutely be beneficial
to students. But with the wealth of other resources that iPods and
iPads offer, to only use them for apps is underutilizing this valuable
tool. The assortment of student-created products that can be conceived
by using the other features of the iDevices is limitless. It puts the
ownership of knowledge into the students hands and makes for better
instruction and ultimately better thinkers.
putting an iDevice in the hands of students without proper guidance or
instruction can lead to play and fun, but not always learning. Using
apps, and apps alone, with solid teaching can absolutely be beneficial
to students. But with the wealth of other resources that iPods and
iPads offer, to only use them for apps is underutilizing this valuable
tool. The assortment of student-created products that can be conceived
by using the other features of the iDevices is limitless. It puts the
ownership of knowledge into the students hands and makes for better
instruction and ultimately better thinkers.
Sarah
Emerling is a special education teacher and a technology coach in Aiken
County, South Carolina. You can follow her technology integration as
she chronicles her iLessons in a new blog: http://ilessonlady.wordpress.com/. She also writes app reviews for http://www.funeducationalapps.com/. You can contact her at sbemerling@gmail.com or follow her school tech and apps boards on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/butler5/.
Emerling is a special education teacher and a technology coach in Aiken
County, South Carolina. You can follow her technology integration as
she chronicles her iLessons in a new blog: http://ilessonlady.wordpress.com/. She also writes app reviews for http://www.funeducationalapps.com/. You can contact her at sbemerling@gmail.com or follow her school tech and apps boards on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/butler5/.
