By Tracey
I apologize for my absence from the recent discussions, but I’ve been wholly and completely absorbed by two time-zapping projects. Both of which I plan to blog about, and one I’m excited to launch in my classroom tomorrow.
Over two years ago, I was one of many teachers across Washington lucky enough to receive a Peer Coaching grant from OSPI. The grant included lots of training about being a peer coach to help others (and myself) integrate technology into classroom instruction, plus money to buy equipment.
Most grant recipients knew exactly how to spend their money and purchased hardware immediately. I’m not much of a shopper. I never know what to buy. And since my school already had the big ticket items- a document camera, student response system, and an Airliner (a cheap alternative to the interactive white board)- we focused on learning how to use these. We bought some Flip video cameras and rechargeable batteries, but most of the money stayed put. Until, thanks to Mrs. Brown, the laptop cart-hogging sixth-grade teacher down the hall, I developed an expensive dream. I wanted a class set of iPod Touches.
Hand-held devices hold a lot of promise. They’re cheap, and they have more computer power than the computers NASA used to send spaceships to the moon. Ok, so does your phone. That’s not really all that impressive anymore. You probably won’t write a two-page essay on it, but you can browse the web and download tons and tons of educational apps on it. I have – one hundred seven to be exact. This took me hours upon hours to do. First, I had to find them. Then I had to play around with each one to see just how valuable they might be. I’m hoping that some of these will be immensely useful to my struggling students. Students who don’t know their math facts can practice in a fun and engaging way, and I can track their progress. I’m also hoping that students will explore curiosities and be independently motivated to learn more about topics that interest them. I loaded lots of apps with science and social studies content. There are even apps with classic literature, music lessons, and foreign languages. Students can learn to speak Korean if they want. You might be wondering, how can I make time to allow my students to learn Korean in my class? I can't. So I’m letting them take them home.
We’ll see how this all plays out. I sat with each student and their family in their living rooms showing parents the potential of this technology. (Home visits is the other time-zapping project I’ll blog about.) I’ve had countless students from other classes come to me to ask if it’s true I’m giving my students iPods. “Not, giving, but yes. We’re going to use iPods this year to help us learn.” The last one who stopped me to ask laughed, “Ha! Learning! iPods aren’t for learning!…” and continued laughing and spouting as he joined the throng of kids leaving school to start his Halloween weekend.
The network of teachers who have tried this is growing. When I made the decision to spend my grant funds on this, I could only find one teacher’s website with words of wisdom. Now, I’ve found four, plus a wiki site with more contacts and resources. I’ve admitted to my students’ parents that I don’t know exactly where this project will take us, and that I’m nervous about iPods getting damaged or stolen. But, in an age where we don't know exactly what the job market will hold for my students when they're ready to join it, we do know that they'll need to be motivated to teach themselves new knowledge. I hope these iPod Touches can give my kids a jump start in gaining 21st century skills, and I'll prove that kid and his crass words wrong. I think he's just jealous.