iPods and Reading

Several weeks ago, I posted about the listening to reading option that my students have during Daily Five reading instruction times.  I stated that a goal of mine was to sync these stories to the iPod Touch so that the children would have more options.  For the first time this week, my students were able to listen to reading using their own, personal iPod and it went really well.  Before using them, students were given a mini lesson on how to access the books, adjust the volume, and clean the space when they were finished. Next, students were sent to practice what they had learned and they did so with little difficulty and a lot of excitement.  When I felt that they were comfortable and able to access the stories independently, we broke into independent work time, with some students listening to reading on iPods, others writing, Guided Reading, and independent reading.  The noise level in the classroom was drastically reduced (we have been using the computer, and though the volume was low, the stories were still audible in all parts of the classroom).  A student, Y.P., commented during reflection time, "I could concentrate better at my center because I didn't hear the computer!"

Students were given the opportunity to reflect at the end of the experience.  There were many celebrations as well as a few challenges.

What did you think about using the iPod during Daily Five?
A.K.- "You can pick your own book!"
A.D.-"You don't have to share!  You use your own."
K.C.- "You could push all the buttons by yourself!" (She was not trained on how to access books on the computer and therefore was not allowed to push the buttons)
K.G.-"You can read the books you want to read."
S.C.-"Because you get to have it all for yourself and you get to like, put headphones on and slide buttons."
T.A.-"No books were hard to read!"

Was there anything difficult?
Y.P.-"The sound was moving where I didn't want it to be."
T.D.-"Like, you didn't know when to turn the page.  On the computer, it has that ding."

We are working to fix these two challenges to make the experience of using the iPod Touch easy and beneficial to the education of the students in the class.  However, the experience today was positive and effective overall.  I believe that the use of this technology during independent work times will increase students' literacy skills because it allows for children to choose literature that is high-quality, high-interest, and highly accessible at the touch of an icon.

Math Lesson: Sorting

Math is suddenly more fun for students when they can use their iPod Touch but you may be wondering just how teachers are using these tools to enhance learning in the classroom.  Below is a sample lesson that was taught to my classroom of kindergarteners during our sorting unit.

iPod Touch Math Lesson

Background:  We are at the culminating point in our first math unit where the students have been learning to sort by color, shape, size, and kind.  This lesson will review the concept of sorting using an engaging, developmentally appropriate app on the iPod Touch.  *(The app is called Toddler Treasures but the name is deceiving.  It was developed for children 4+ and fits in perfectly with the SOLs that are being addressed).

Enduring understanding:  Sorting is a life skill that must be used to organize and implement numerous daily activities.  

Math SOLs

K.13 The student will compare the size (larger, smaller) and shape of plane geometric figures (circle, triangle, square, and rectangle).

K.17 The student will sort and classify objects according to similar attributes (size, shape, and color).

Language Arts SOLs

K.7 The student will develop an understanding of basic phonetic principles.

1. Identify and name the uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

NOTE:  At the time of this lesson, the students will have encountered the iPods only twice.  They have been trained on how to turn the iPod on, navigate the pages, and treat the iPod carefully.  This is their first of many true experiences working with an iPod in a learning situation.

Process:  

1. Review sorting using the SmartBoard lesson that has been created.  The students will answer the following questions.  What is sorting? (putting things that are alike together, separating things that are different)  What are the ways we can sort?  (shape, color, size, and kind).  Students will view each of these ways they can sort on the SmartBoard lesson.  
2. The teacher will introduce the sorting app (Treasures Sorting) using the SmartBoard lesson.  There are two examples of sorting the students may see during their independent practice and a screen shot of the actual practice that they will be doing on their iPods.  
3. Students will sort themselves by kind to go get their iPods.  Girls will go to a designated area, boys will go to a designated area.  Students will then be dismissed to pick up their iPods and bring them back to the rug to get further directions.  
4. Students will have an opportunity to turn on their iPods and find the assigned app.  They will be reminded that some days they can choose an app to play but today  they should ONLY be using the requested app for today’s lesson.  
5. Students will practice sorting on their iPods for 10 minutes and the teacher will set a timer.  When the timer goes off, the students will be asked to turn off their iPods and put them back in their cases.

CLOSURE:  

After clean-up of iPods, students will sort themselves based on whether they thought the app was hard or easy.  They will put their iPods back in their cubbies and come back to the rug.  

Assessment:  

While the children are using their iPods, the teacher will circulate the classroom and observe children’s interactions with the sorting app on the iPod.  If the teacher notices that a child is having difficulty, she will help the child.   After school, the teacher will collect more formal data about the independent sorting practice using the tool on the iPod that records how many a player sorted correctly.  

SmartBoard Lesson Visuals from Process Step 1:

                    

                                                           Slide to demonstrate how to complete the upcoming task. 

                         

                                                                          Slide 2 to demonstrate upcoming task.

Slide to show what the actual app looks like.  

App Folders

Screen Capture of Folders

With so many apps and limited reading ability, it is often times difficult for my students to find a specific app when given an assignment on the iPod Touch.  Luckily, iTunes has a feature that allows for creation of app folders and it is so simple to do!  With this new organization, my students have been more successful and independent iPod users.  Another major benefit of the app folders is that the apps are organized by the skill they facilitate.  For example, during independent word study, my students can click on the "Word Study" folder and choose from any of the six apps that are displayed in this folder.  They enjoy this because it gives them the freedom of choice, yet each of the choices are appropriate for the task.  If you would like to set up folders on your iPod Touch, see the short instructional video below.  Also below are photographs of each folder so you can view the apps that are in each folder.  Grouping them, though procedurally easy, was the most challenging part of this process due to the fact that I wanted great choices in each folder. 

Since we are a community of learners, if you have any app suggestions to add to different folders, please share them.  I would love to build my app choices with high quality, instructional apps. 

TO CREATE FOLDERS:

Folder Examples: