The Year End

Wow! I can't believe that the year is almost over. It has been a roller-coaster ride to say the least. All 64 of our students were issued an iPod Touch and we also had 16 ASUS mini-computers for the students to use. Having one-to-one mobile devices allowed each student the ability to access the Internet at any time (barring any Internet connection problems) to search for information. It allowed them the opportunity to listen to some Podcasts that were down-loaded and some of our students conducted some of the simple experiments for kids at home. I found several video-podcasts for them to watch that walked them through some of the experiments. I do think that the students learning was impacted in a number of ways. Students began to learn about many of the features in Google Apps, as well as appropriate ways to respond to blogs and share information. Our students created a number of projects using the technology, such as, Flipcharts, Slide shows, trading cards, advertisements, as well as taking on-line quizzes, Students were also able to hone skills learned in class as they practiced flashcards and a variety of Apps that help them better understand theory of continental drift, metric conversions, and even stay organized through posting reminders, assignments and agendas in Awesome Notes. It was also fun playing the on-line word game "Words with Friends" with my students (a great way to build vocabulary skills). This year was an exceptionally busy year for both the students and us. Some things we already knew and others we learned with the students as we progressed through the year.

I am already looking forward to next fall. Our experiences this year have taught me some of the things that worked and some that didn't. Now that I am more familiar with using the minis and many of the apps, I will be much better prepared. I felt behind much of the time, so I am starting early this summer and will begin creating some podcasts to go with each of the units. I am also going to work on developing additional project-based and problem-based learning activities for Science units. Janet and I are planning on working together this summer to develop some more integrated math and science units.

Our team feels blessed to have had this experience. It was a lot of work and frustrating at times, but having the opportunity to see how much technology can enhance student learning was truly a learning experience for me. Thanks, Spring Branch ISD for awarding us the funding to see our vision in actions!

Vocabulary

Just a quick note to say putting vocabulary words as flashcards on the itouch is wonderful. Today, while the students were entering their new vocabulary, there was a beautiful, quiet, rare hush in the room.

Apps

Of course, our students love using the itouches. They are definitely a motivating device. I have been disappointed with the number of quality apps that are available. We have found a few we really like, but not the selection we expected. Another disappointment is that the students cannot acces BrainPop on their touches. They love the videos available and we find them a valuable teaching tool.

Blocking Access

After syncing a couple of times and having some great difficulties, we decided to restrict access to iTunes and the App store. We decided the last time to give them access to itumes, but keep the App store restricted. This seems to have helped us with our syncing problems and yet gives the students the opportunity to download their favorite tunes.

Things I didn't anticipate, but should have

We are pushing forward with our use of the ipod touches. The students enjoy doing their agenda entries and homework assignments on their touches and we continue to add to their vocabulary flashcards. We are getting better at the syncing process, although it is still not as quick and easy as we had hoped for.

One of the issues, I hadn't really thought through, was what do when touches are lost or stolen. Since our students are each issued a touch, they are taking them home every day. We have had one that we believe was stolen from the sync cart (we have become more strict about cart access) and two students have now lost theirs. We have a couple of extra and so far we are just letting students borrow those for use in class, but not letting them take them home. One of the parents is willing to pay for a lost one. Do we allow this, even though everyone can't afford this solution? It is difficult to know how to be fair to all.

As a treat for our students, we put a couple of free Christmas games on their touches and they are thrilled with them!

Technology - Love it or Hate it!

Well, it is after 2:00 in the morning and I have spent the last 5 hours trying to get my slideshow of our Class Stations to work on our Blog. At first I created a PPT and then could not get that to work in the blog. So then I tried google docs and the Photos I wanted to use made the file too large to download. Then I went to Flickr and it was easy enough to upload the photos there. The problem has come up with the Blog. I follow the directions to add the Slideshow as a gadget and it appears everything is good, and I save it; however, the blog just has a white square where the photos should be streaming through. It is strange because it will allow me to use other people's slideshows from Flickr, but not mine.

Anyway, I am exhausted, so I am signing off for now. I will have to deal with this problem later.

Good night! (Or is it good morning?)

Stations

We have been working diligently to modify our teaching strategies to focus on small group instruction and more opportunities for students to collaborate and use the new technology to support their learning through a variety of learning stations. We strive to help them understand that computers and mobile devices are extremely useful tools and not toys. But...who says you can't have fun. The students have worked in a variety of stations to reinforce the learning in their core subjects. They have used the minis and the iPods to make comments on our classroom blog. They use them to research scientists and mathematicians as well as watch podcasts. They enjoy practicing their math skills using the computers and continue to build content area vocabulary. They use the iPod Touches to increase their organizational skills by keeping daily agendas, homework and important reminders, such as tests and projects. We are including a few photos to showcase some of the learning stations in our classroom.

I purchased a Flip video camera, so I hope to have time over the winter break to play with that as well as time to create a podcast or two.