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| Reading an eBook on the iPod Touch as part of classroom instruction |
Usually used as a device to play Angry Birds or listen to music, the iPod Touch is a highly sought after tool for classroom instruction. Today’s guest post from MomswithApps is about the use of iPod Touch devices in an elementary school. Learn how 4th and 5th graders are using iPods and interactive books from PicPocket Books in the classroom!
Mrs. Torres’s 4/5 grade class at Zuni Elementary Magnet School for Communication and Technology in Albuquerque, New Mexico is one of the growing number of elementary schools across the county that has access to a set of Apple iPod Touch devices for the classroom.
Michele Torres recently contacted PicPocket Books to let us know that her students have been working with a number of our apps for reading. Mrs. Torres uses the book apps to get her students excited about new titles and subjects and they write book reviews in their writing journals, record reviews in Photo Booth and also present book recommendations to their classmates and “Reading Buddies” from younger grades. Mrs. Torres noticed that the recommendations from the more advanced readers and the inherent appeal of the iPod touch device are successful ways to get reluctant readers more motivated and interested in reading.
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| Engaged student motivated to learn with the iPod Touch. |
In addition to book apps for reading, the class uses several apps for math. The students do math drills, complete story problems, and listen to math lessons. Torres uses lessons from iTunes U to supplement some of the concepts they are learning in class. “If a student isn’t “getting it,” I look for a lesson to download and have them complete it on their own,” she says. Some of Torres’ favorite apps are the iLive Math series. “I like that the apps provide different levels for the students to work on. For example, I have several special education students in my room, and they are able to use the same apps (but at a level appropriate for them) as everyone else, and no one notices and it seems as if no one cares. They love to work cooperatively on these apps as well.” Torres adds, “I also LOVE the Stack the States app. The kids spread out all over the room with their iPods and atlases; looking up facts about their states and answering the questions on the screen. They have learned a lot about the states using this app.”
Mrs. Torres continues, “I love that the kids are so excited about using these amazing little pieces of equipment. Using the iPod Touches engages my students in learning and increases their motivation. I am able to accommodate the many learning styles of my students by finding different apps for the students to use.”
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| iPod allows for differentiation in instruction to individualize learning and target discrete skills through use of apps. |
The flip side of having a huge variety of specialized apps in the App Store is that finding appropriate educational apps in Apple’s vast collection takes some research. “I didn’t want apps that the kids would just play a game on, I wanted to use the apps to supplement what the kids were already doing in the classroom,” explains Torres. For age-appropriate and subject appropriate recommendations, she turned to MomsWithApps. Through their popular website and catalogue of apps, MomsWithApps brings developers of family friendly and educational apps and app users like educators and parents together to share best practices and feedback.
A recent day found students from Mrs. Torres’ class reading and discussing PicPocket Books’ Human Body Detectives: The Lucky Escape, written by Dr. Heather Manly, N.D. Because the contact information for the publisher and the author is included in the app, Mrs. Torres was easily able to contact PicPocket Books and the author to provide feedback and ask questions – most importantly, “When is the next book in the Human Body Detectives series coming out?” PicPocket Books directed Mrs. Torres to online resources on the author’s website to supplement science lessons and also let the class know that the next adventures will be published as apps in the early summer of 2011.
Torres’ students have an “iTouch Notebook” to record their notes and feedback on apps and iTouch activities. Torres added, “I love when the kids come to school and tell me, ‘Mrs. Torres, I did some research last night, and I found a couple of apps you should check out for us.’ Most of the time, the apps are very appropriate for what my goal for them is, and that is to learn.”
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| Students even conducted research using certain PicPocket Book apps. |
Michele Torres has been teaching 4th and 5th grade for the last 18 years. She is a National Board Certified Teacher. She says, “I absolutely love what I do, and am always looking for new ways to challenge myself and my students. I feel like I learn as much from my students as I hope they are learning from me. I look forward to experimenting with and implementing all of the new technologies that are headed our way – starting with the iPod Touches!”
This post is part of a content sharing partnership with Moms with Apps and no compensation was received from this post. I’m excited to share content from MomswithApps here on a monthly basis because of our similar vision to promote sound educational tools for learning. Moms With Apps is a collaborative group of family-friendly developers seeking to promote quality apps for kids and families. They seek to facilitate multi-way conversations between app developers, educators, and parents to develop quality apps for kids and have different categories of apps on their site ranging from apps for learning, fun & creativity, family fun, special needs, reading, and apps for parents. Their app catalog is available on iTunes.Thanks for reading Tech Savvy Mama through your feed!
Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
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It would be so cool if more classrooms had this available- but so many don’t. :/
The only school to use IPads in our district at this point is a semi-private school and they charge a $200 fee per student that parents have to pay (activity type fee) I havent seen any classes use IPods for teaching yet.
Tannawings- I’d have to agree! With school budget cuts being part of the educational landscape yet again this year as in many previous years, the money for iPods/iPads/eReaders, etc is slim to none. But there is huge potential for them as educational tools for the students in schools that are able to get them into classrooms!