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 Supra Manohar on
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Susan - we are working on a program with a K-12 district in Texas & we will be at VSS. Nevertheless, our app site is due to go live in a week and I will post. I'll send you more info on the program at ACU as the implementaion and app went live about two weeks ago.
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Susan - I had a chance to check both the apps and they are pretty cool. BTW, as promised here is the link to our iPhone/iPod Touch platform http://iphone.emantras.com. Our initial launch at ACU is well underway with several professors already creating Flash Cards and Q&A's for their classes. One thing that came-up, the content distribution now is both on the iPhone/iPod Touch and regular online - this was done to make sure the content was available to students with or without a device. Give me your thoughts on the challenges for K-12 as this first implementation is for higher ed.
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Permalink Reply by Matthew Pearson on
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Please check out USD306 third grade.
This is the link to some of the apps they use.
http://www.usd306.k12.ks.us/classroom/3rdgrade/NEW%203rd%20Grade%20... -
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Permalink Reply by Katherine Burdick on
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LearningA-Z has put 121 reading apps in the app store meant to provide reading practice for elementary school students. They are designed to support lots of reading after small group instruction. An upgrade is due to the apps soon where certain vocabulary words will be supported with photos and context clue sentences. These are not edutainment games where cause and effect experiences detract from reading. At the end of each book there are discussion questions. Kids can take the iPod touch and go to a beanbag, read the books, then those who read the same books can meet in a literature group and discuss the the discussion questions at the end. The discussion questions use higher order thinking skills. Right now kindergarten and grade 1 books are available. Soon grades 2 - 5 will be available.
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Permalink Reply by Barry Bakin on
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Hello Supra,
Your comment "we built educational apps for the device" caught my eye. What is involved in creating applications for these types of devices? What level of programming ability is required? Are teachers going to be dependent on programmers or companies such as yours to create custom or new applications suitable for their own subjects or teaching contexts or will there come a time when non-programmers will be able to create content just as one doesn't have to know html to create a webpage any more. I'll check out the emantras site nextt!
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Permalink Reply by Cory Sheldahl on
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This is actually for H Nelson....that sounds cool....and to the rest who have ipods/touches...very interested....I have colleagues in a tech funding class right now who would be very interested in knowing how you acquired them, like through a grant and if so would you be willing to share ideas?
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Permalink Reply by John Blake on
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Great points. Now that the iPad has launched, our high school is debating Netbook, iPad, or Laptop. What do you think? Would you trade the Touch in for the iPad?
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Permalink Reply by Roland O'Daniel on
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Too early for me not to like it. I am a huge fan of tablets for their writing capabilities. I want to see if there is a pen option with the iPad, and I bet the virtual keyboard is pretty functional.
I really like the tablet functionality for classroom work and wish there was something that we could use with the touch like that. drawing with your finger is fine, but for capturing any kind of math/number notes it's too hard to do.
I will be getting one though to test!
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Permalink Reply by Chelsea Monahan on
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I just came across this comment (I know it's old!), but I commiserate with your concerns over students having to use their fingers to draw and write on I pods and tablets. We debuted a writing app last fall that Apple has really gotten behind called Little Sky Writers, and many of our reviews were similar: how does it help students learn how to write if they are using only their finger?
To make a long story short, we are about to release a stylus for kids called the AppCrayon. It works great, is easy to hold, ergonomically designed so that it is held correctly, and the price point is fantastic. We are looking for some classrooms for beta testing. If you or any colleagues are interested, let me know and I'll send a sample 6-pack out. Thanks!
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I might get one or two iPads for demonstration, small group, or special needs kids in my classroom but I think most students would actually prefer the personalness of the touch. The cheaper price, durability and intimacy/portability of the touch makes it more appealing to me for general classroom use. I actually think the size of the iPad will make it easier to drop but not having one in my hands this is all conjecture.
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Permalink Reply by Sandy on
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I'd say "in a heart beat" if text books go to ebooks. Have to see what the publishers will do about this. Image what pictures in textbooks could look like on the iPad compared to the Kindle - and why not have a device that is both ebook reader and internet device? We'll have to wait to see what Texas does. As the largest purchaser of textbooks, Texas has been the biggest driver of textbook creation i.e. they insisted on their state standards being identified in any textbook adoption - now all textbooks are published that way per each state's standards. If Texas insists on ebook options from Holt....could have a big impact.
Unfortunately, most school budgets are under severe strain, facing huge deficits and that does not bode well for technology. It's still the first area that feels the knife of the budget cuts.
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Permalink Reply by Susan Wells on
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So way early to tell. They're different tools. One in your pocket, one replacing other tools. Can't way to get one!
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