iPod Uses in the Classroom

I was told in my future special education classroom that I will have an iPod to use with my students. It got me thinking about all of the different things I can do with the iPod.

Most important, I think having students record their reading and listen back is a very powerful tool. Students can reflect on their own reading, monitor their reading, and make goals for themselves. After doing the podcasting yesterday, I have learned how easy it is to record your voice on an iPod and then create a podcast using GarageBand. I think this is a very cool assignment and it displays a lot of different skills (reading, speaking, finding pictures online, creating a presentation). iPods can also be used as a tool for me to record students reading for running records or DIBELS assessments so I can go back and listen to it on the iPod. Another way I can use the iPod would be to record stories on the iPod or download them to the iPod so students can listen to them and follow along with the book. I also really liked the idea we talked about in class about the teacher recording feedback to students after they have completed an assignment or finished a rough draft so they can get feedback verbally instead of just written on paper.

I am still brainstorming many different ways I can use the iPod in my future room. I am so excited to get some technology to use with my students and now I have practice using the iPod from this class, so I will be able to apply my knowledge and skills into my own class!

Interactive Whiteboards

During one of my student teaching experiences in Des Moines, I was able to observe a special education classroom using interactive whiteboards. I got to see a group of five students with both behavioral and academic goals using the whiteboard. Previously, these students had trouble keeping their attention on the material and staying engaged. When the special education teacher pulled them into her room, she tried to incorporate as much hands-on activities as possible.

When I was in observing, she was using the interactive whiteboard. It was amazing to see these students interact and participate with their peers. They were so engaged. If I am able to have an interactive whiteboard in my special education classroom I will be able to do some neat things. I couldn't believe how many resources there are for teachers to use. This will definitely be something that I would be looking forward to having in my future special education classroom. I have seen benefits from it and all of the resources I could use and I think it would be a great asset to any classroom.

Web 2.0 Tools

I really enjoyed class today discussing and exploring the Web 2.0 tools. After going through and look through a lot of them, I realize how valuable these tools can be as a future teacher. I never knew these were out there and I think it takes a lot less stress not having to "re-make" certain things when they are already done for you. (Example: graphic organizers) I wish we would have known about these Web 2.0 tools during classes at Iowa State because I think I could have used a lot of the ideas within my student teaching placements.

One of my favorite Web 2.0 tools that we looked at was the Online Graphic Organizers. During student teaching, I used graphic organizers many times during literacy instruction. It helped students see their material visually and understand what they were writing. I think this is one Web 2.0 tool that I will use in my future.

The MadLibs was also a fun activity. This would be great for students who are learning their grammar (adverbs, verbs, adjectives, etc.) As the teacher, you could assess students in these areas from their MadLibs. Plus, it's a fun and interactive!

iMovie

This past weekend I worked on my iMovie. I had a hard time trying to come up with a topic that I could make a movie out of. After seeing the videos we saw in class, I realized I didn't have a very unique story to tell. After deciding on my topic, I began finding pictures and wrote my script. I feel like that portion of the digital storytelling assignment took the longest. Once I had my pictures and my script ready to go all I did was record my voice into the iMovie and put my pictures in. This process went smoothly. I decided to finish my digital storytelling this weekend because I have a very busy schedule this week and I wanted to make sure I got it finished.

After making an iMovie, I feel like I would be able to help my students and guide them on how to use iMovie. I still feel like I could have more exposure and explore more features of the iMovie, but I think my movie turned out good. The topic I chose gave me a lot of pictures to use, so I think that helps and adds more to the movie.

I was very nervous having to create an iMovie since I have only made one once in 201. I had to "re-learn" and explore the features before. I was talking to my neighbor who is a teacher in Ames and I was telling her about my iMovie and the iPads we had been exploring in class. I think it is sad because I hear from teachers that have the access to technology have no interest in implementing it into their classroom. She was telling me she has two iPads but knows nothing about how to use them and has no interest in working with technology. I think as college students we are lucky to have been taught at least some technology and the benefits of it so we are prepared to implement it into our classrooms.

Blogging in the Classroom

I am very interested in blogging in my future classroom. One idea I had was to do a question or questions of the day and then have the students write back via the blog their answer. One example could be: I am looking for a good book to read. Tell me your favorite book and author and why it is your favorite book. Why should I read this book? This gives students a chance to write a short "book talk". I also think doing a question of the day allows for all students to participate in hands on learning and to show their creativity.

I would also use the class blog to communicate with parents. Instead of sending home weekly newsletter, I could just write on the blog to keep parents informed. I would need to make sure all parents had access, or I would make some hard copies to send home to those that didn't have internet access. This would be a great opportunity for students to write on the blog and explain what we did as a class.

I really like the ideas of using the blog for literature circles. Instead of having students write down on a role sheet their reflections on the book, they could use the blog. Using the blog would allow all students in the group to reflect and share their ideas on other students posts. This also may make students feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts on a blog.

Overall, I think blogging can be used a lot of different ways in the classroom. It may be more difficult for me starting out as a special education teacher because I will not see all of my students for very long each day and not at the same time. I will have to think of something creative I could do. The question of the day might work and students could each answer one question a day on my blog. Any other suggestions for a special education resource room would be appreciated. :)

Book Talks

I really enjoyed the activity on the book talks. It was fun and interactive. I also really liked the idea of giving students their choice of book to read and do a book talk over. It would be fun for a literature group to do a book talk over a chapter book their fellow classmates may be interested in reading. I can see how students would love this activity. As a classroom teacher, you could dedicate more time to editing and adding sound effects, etc. so the students could make it their own. I think the book talks also demonstrate comprehension. Students have to know the pieces of the book in order to do a book talk, so that could be a great evaluation tool for the teacher to use. Overall, the book talks are a great idea and I really enjoyed the class activity today!

iWriteWords

As I was playing around on the iPad I found the app iWriteWords. This app allows the user to use their finger to trace around letters to make words. It repeats each sound of the letter after you traced it and then at the end of the word it sounds out each letter and then says the word out loud. After the word is said there is a picture that comes up that matches the word written. I am curious to know if there is a pen for iPad where a student could hold and trace letters using that instead of their finger. This would provide better practice with holding a pen or pencil correctly instead of just using your finger to trace the words.

I liked this app very much because I thought about how I could have used it with a student I taught during student teaching who had down syndrome. She needed a lot of help on writing her letters, but was also working on sounding out words and writing words (site words). I think this app would help her with all of those things at one time.

RubiStar

I saw on our class Wiki Dr. Crawford posted a link to RubiStar. I have used RubiStar throughout my class time at Iowa State and also in my practicum and student teaching experiences. RubiStar is an online rubric maker that is FREE! I have found it to be very beneficial. It has a lot of topics you can choose from to create your rubrics (I have found something for everything I needed a rubric for so far). Some examples are: reading, math, art, and oral projects. I used the oral projects rubric during one of my student teaching experiences for a unit on biographies. Students presented as the person they researched and were graded based on an oral project rubric. Also, you can add to and edit the words in the rubric to better meet what you are looking for from your students. This is an easy and time efficient way of creating a rubric. I would highly recommend looking around on this site if you have not been on it before. It is definitely a great tool to use as a teacher.

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

Research Article: iPads in the Classroom

I read the research article Reading with iPads – the difference makes a difference by Dale Sheppard. This article looked at the amount of comprehension skills in young students after reading certain material. The students task was to read, and then be tested by a post-test comprehension exam. The exam let the researchers know the difference in the amount of comprehension between students who read material on iPads to students who read material the traditional way. Sheppard stated in this article that reading with technology usually results in better comprehension. I was supposed at this statement, because I sometimes find it easier to print out material so I can highlight and add my own notes. After reading this article, I found on that on an iPad students can add annotations while reading. This is a great feature to the iPad reading application.

In this research, forty three 6 year old students were tested. Half of the students read a book the traditional way, and half read the book on the iPad. The results found no significant difference in comprehension between both sets of students. This information was accumulated based on a 15 question post-test after reading the material. In the research article, Sheppard talks about how the level of engagement with the students that were reading on iPads was very high. I can see how this engagement would be high because whenever I work with students with technology they are immediately engaged.

There were a few things that may have affected the results of this study. This was one of the teachers first time using the iPad with instruction, so she may not have known all of the information to tell students about the iPad. Also, only a few of the students using the iPad had previously or currently owned an iPad, so they were familiar with the technology. Also, Sheppard noted that sometimes during instruction the iPad was a distraction to the learning and teaching process.

I really enjoyed reading this article and I found that a lot of different things can affect the results of a study like this. What I did like from this study was when Sheppard talked about how much the students were engaged in the iPad and some of the features the iPad has. The author also talked about the difficulty in finding appropriate reading material for the students. I would like to learn more about what types of reading material are out there that is educational on the iPad.

Sheppard, D. (2011). Reading with ipads – the difference. Minnis Journals, 12-15. Retrieved from http://www.minnisjournals.com.au/articles/ipads et t3 11.pdf

First Day

Today was the first day of the 556 graduate course. Just in a small amount of class time, I feel like I learned a lot of new information about technology. I really enjoyed class today and I am excited to learn more about integrating technology into my instruction. I really enjoyed using my favorite literature book Where the Wild Things Are and creating lesson plan ideas based on one book. The Comic Life application provides many opportunities for both the teacher and the student to be creative.

I have accepted a job, and I have been told they are in the process of being a 1 to 1 technology school in the next couple of years. I would like to gain as much technology knowledge going into this school year so I can engage and motivate the students I will have in special education. From my previous experiences working with children in special education, I know that some of the students who have certain goal areas are not very motivated to learn in the specific area. I think integrating technology into this instruction for them will be very beneficial and motivating. i also feel that technology will provide students to have success with their learning. I feel that I have a small advantage as a newer teacher because throughout my time at ISU I did use technology and was more aware of what is out there. This was also my first time using an iPad, so I hope we get to do more with those and learn about new apps that would be beneficial towards reading and language arts.