Perhaps the fact that I am not too broken up about giving back my ipod touch tells the story. Quite frankly, it has not lived up the potential that I anticipated this quarter. I know that part of the issue is that I have been busy and rushed and I have not devoted as much time to trying to find ways to incorporate this tool into the school day as I would have liked. Another issue is that the wireless in my classroom was not always fast or reliable (when I finally figured out how to use it). A related issue is that the classroom computer usually could be used to check out google and with greater ease and visibility. However, for most of the quarter I have been hard pressed to incorporate using one ipod touch.
I have liked the audio recording device and wish I had a smart phone that could do that for me. There are so many opportunities to use this feature that I might have to consider some alternatives. The dictation and dictionary.com and google translate saw only "testing" in my hands. I did use the Merriam Webster dictionary (no internet required) last week and it worked well. I used it to look up the Latin roots of equilateral, isosceles and scalene triangles. It helped me give my students a way to help them remember what these mean and augmented my lesson on triangles.
I am still very intrigued about the possibility of the touch just on sheer engagement alone. My daughter thought it was the coolest thing that I was using a touch to help my teaching. She is NEVER without it and as I have said before it is THE accessory of choice in her tween crowd. I have also found that even in lower socioeconomic circumstances, it is something that kids own. This device is powerful and I suspect as the price comes down and the availability goes up, access will not be an issue. I think it is a tool to continue to think about in the classroom if everyone had one. Only now, I will have to wrestle my kids to use theirs.
No comments:
Post a Comment