iPod Touch Schoolwide Implementation
There are a number of posts from individuals interested in using iPod Touches for teaching and Learning. At Culbreth Middle in Chapel Hill, NC we began a pilot this past August to place the iPod Touch in the hands of staff and students.
Our staff development for faculty to roll out the new technology centered on teacher coaches leading their groups in exploration through professional learning communities.
Our AVID students use the iPod Touch in the AVID classroom and in all other courses. They have piloted this program, using the iPod Touches daily for note taking, keeping individual agendas, translation for world languages, and accessing research through the Internet. In addition, our AVID students use many of the apps that teachers sync with these mobile devices. As student leaders, they’ve understood their responsibility to work and share this learning tool in collaborative groups.
This winter we were able to add iPod Touch labs for each of our seven interdisciplinary teams and two labs for our exploratory and resource teams. The interdisciplinary grade level iPod Touch labs are housed with each team and shared among the four content teachers (math, language arts, science, and social studies). These teachers plan together so that their students have access throughout each day. They access the internet as needed and use many apps as well.
Teacher current app favorites include: WordBook, Thesaurus, USA, Countries, Brain Tuner, Blanks, Whiteboard, CoinToss, Lose It!, Word Warp, FlipBook Lite. Of course they are using the included apps: Calendar, Calculator, Notes, Clock, YouTube throughout each day.
We held an iPod Touch Day last week with visitors from all over the state and from across the country. We even had a group from the UK come see our students and teachers in action with the iPod Touch. With almost 400 iPod Touches now in use at Culbreth, we’re happy to share what we’ve learned and what we’re learning.
Our staff development for faculty to roll out the new technology centered on teacher coaches leading their groups in exploration through professional learning communities.
Our AVID students use the iPod Touch in the AVID classroom and in all other courses. They have piloted this program, using the iPod Touches daily for note taking, keeping individual agendas, translation for world languages, and accessing research through the Internet. In addition, our AVID students use many of the apps that teachers sync with these mobile devices. As student leaders, they’ve understood their responsibility to work and share this learning tool in collaborative groups.
This winter we were able to add iPod Touch labs for each of our seven interdisciplinary teams and two labs for our exploratory and resource teams. The interdisciplinary grade level iPod Touch labs are housed with each team and shared among the four content teachers (math, language arts, science, and social studies). These teachers plan together so that their students have access throughout each day. They access the internet as needed and use many apps as well.
Teacher current app favorites include: WordBook, Thesaurus, USA, Countries, Brain Tuner, Blanks, Whiteboard, CoinToss, Lose It!, Word Warp, FlipBook Lite. Of course they are using the included apps: Calendar, Calculator, Notes, Clock, YouTube throughout each day.
We held an iPod Touch Day last week with visitors from all over the state and from across the country. We even had a group from the UK come see our students and teachers in action with the iPod Touch. With almost 400 iPod Touches now in use at Culbreth, we’re happy to share what we’ve learned and what we’re learning.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Susan Wells on
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I'll bet you'll find yourself handing it to your students! See if your admin will buy just a set of 5 for your class. Tell her/him to call me. I'm happy to explain the success of this past year and why we're moving to a full one on one with the iPod Touches at our middle school. As we keep saying, certainly not an original thought but important, its all in the mobility of the device...
Enjoy!
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Take a look at Apple's mobile learning site for a helpful intro to the iPod touch in education. http://www.apple.com/education/teachers-professors/mobile-learning....
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Permalink Reply by Kim Kerian on
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Wow! This is wonderful! What apps have you found that your elementary teachers prefer to use or find most beneficial? I would like to convince my district and apply for grants to get iTouch for in the classrooms. They need a little convincing.
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Kim,
Welcome!
Take a look at these YouTube videos- for Sentence Spin, a language arts app for elementary/middle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGnmy4VMpmM
for CountBy, a math hundreds board for elementary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hdz7jxE2UA&feature=related
and for TimesBy, a multiplication board for elementary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJRpZrO0_yk&feature=related
CountBy and TimesBy will soon be re-released as "smart apps" with problems and timers for students to track and check their own progress.
The apps that our students enjoy the most use the touch features of the mobile device to make the learning active and engaging.
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A developer to look at for very helpful math explanations and diagrams: Walter Kissach. He develops a series beginning with basic elementary math concepts all the way into complicated high school math. He presents step by step with colorful diagrams. You can do a search on the store through his name.
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Thanks for the info! I will check out the sites you gave me and go from there! Let me know if there are any other suggestions or "apps" we could use. I am very into using my own iTouch so I know it could be useful in the classroom! Thanks again!
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We'll have much more info up soon on apps sorted by level. There are some really terrific tools out but sometimes its felt like finding the needle in the haystack...
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Permalink Reply by Christopher Taylor on
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Agreed. Looking forward to your comprehensive review of all educational apps. That's a lot of apps!
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It's been an adventure, and a continuing one as we update each morning. We should have it up and available by month's end. We hope it will be quite useful.
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I strongly urge everyone to read Pockets of Potential, Using Mobile Technologies to Promote Children's Learning http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/pdf/pockets_of_potential.pdf
This comprehensive study looks at the opportunities and challenges of mobile learning and includes mobile learning examples. Katrina, it might give you additional ideas on incorporating the technology you have now into other content areas.
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From the report, p. 9,
Mobile devices are an integral part of children's lives and they are here to stay. The social and cultural phenomena, market opportunity, and most importantly, the "pockets of educational potential" documented in this report must not be dismissed. Our national debate must shift from whether to use these devices to support learning, to understanding how and when they might best be used. Just as Sesame Street introduced generations of children and their families to the potential of television as an educational medium two generations ago, today's children will benefit if mobile becomes a force for learning and discovery in the next decade.
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Permalink Reply by Deon Scanlon on
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Get the kids to create the content!
Digital storytelling is a powerful tool. You could have children put images to the audio have given them, or select music to go with an image or images on a topic, then share to the iPods so everyone can view them.
That's just one use - requires access to computers to do the creating part, but it can make the sharing more personal and flexible. It could be shared with other classes, too.
When you say iPods, do you mean iPod touch or iPod classic? There's a world of difference between the two...
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