Funny thing. The first thing I learned today at the Apple Academy was simple, yet POWERFUL.
On your iPhone, iTouch, iPad…
Force quitting an app is really easy,
Funny. Simple. HUGE.
I saw a two-year old kid (in diapers, in a stroller), using an iPod Touch today. Not just looking at it, but browsing menus and interacting. This is a revolution, guys.
It is a revolution. What itouchs are doing for education, PRE K – 12 is staggering. I’d love to have you watch my 4 1/2 year old playing (learning) on her itouch. Podcasts by Sesame Street (and 30 other great creators), Games about letters, colors, words, counting for a buck. The vocabulary is amazing when amazing is what you put in front of them.
The same extraordinary learning happens with high school kids. If you can, get your student an itouch, load it up with apps – the educational kind – along with a couple “fun apps.” If you don’t have a student in your house, buy it for the kid you mentor.
This is a game changer.
So, I am part of the MTV Generation. I was raised on Sesame Street, then watched Video killed the Radio Star launch the music revolution. My childhood started with 4 channels, had my teenage years impacted by what cable brought to our house, CNN changed the way news was experienced, and used a phone to connect to the main frame (that printed on paper, no screen) to play Oregon Trail.
My kids play Oregon Trail on their iTouch, they time shift everything, and watch Sesame Street Podcasts when ever, where ever. Where I was the Sesame Street / MTV generation, they are the iTouch generation. The learning that goes on in their hand, is what Sesame Street promised for the TV. This is personalized, individualized, mobile education, it is what Sesame Street promised for the masses drilled down for when ever, where ever learning.
The apps combined with the podcasts make for great learning. Gaming for letters, colors, sequencing, sight words etc. Everything a preK teacher would boast about in the classroom, minus the social / physical interaction. Those can’t and shouldn’t be replaced with technology. (a whole other blog post)…
Encourage learning using the iTouch, I can’t wait to see what the kids write about in 30 years.
So, the other night, a neighbor (with brand new iPhone) came over to sit on the patio and learn a little about her new phone. We started downloading apps, and before too long her kids had the iPhone. The app that actually kept the 6 year olds attention the longest was Teach Me Kindergarten. I’ve used Teach Me Toddler with my 4 year olds, and in a preschool setting at work, so I was interested to see if the next level was as engaging to kids.
At work, we’ve measured some powerful growth using Teach Me Toddler with students. In the backyard it kept a young learner engaged while the other kids were running around, jumping on the trampoline and swinging. He’s an active kid, so I was surprised to see him so engaged.
It speaks volumes to the educational benefit of having the tool in their hands, sized small, go anywhere (even camping). I’m not advocating any replacement of the outside run around, play with friends, learn from physical interactions. Just adding the iTouch as a tool to practice skills, during the downtime kids naturally need. If you fill your device with educational “games” and PBS podcasts, that is what they watch/play. If you fill the device with mindless games…it becomes another game boy – mind sucking device.
So, purchase wisely, this is the Sesame Street of their childhood.
We’ve been creating short instructional videos for our students to view for remediation, review, learning (when they miss class) and to help gain a better handle on the academic English. It does have incredible impact on student achievement.
Adding the iPad to the mix, or an iTouch in every student’s hand is going to revolutionize the way class is taught. Here’s what is on my test iPad, we’ll be messing with this next fall, measuring academic impact the best we can, asking students for feedback, and seeing if it changes spending habits. 
Here are the “apps” as of now.
Any others?
More and more often we (the royal we) are looking for a person to do the web publishing stage of a project. If every part of an organization had a way to put information online, share content the place would be a much richer place to work.
I’m beginning to believe that if all people had some background experience with publishing to the web, maybe at a basic level using something like google sites, or publishing articles in a cms, them maybe the other part of communicating to a larger group would become easier.
So, is that the new standard instead of office??
When I meet someone new, go to a seminar, read a book, interact with the world, I often google “them.” The “them” could be the car seat I’m looking to purchase, the person who is presenting (in the room), the new employee, the company who is going to be coming to the house to give me a quote on a new air conditioner.
Do you think college recruiters are any different? Employers? It feels like part of our job as educators is to create opportunities for students to share their greatness in a way that helps them get the next job / college acceptance / fellowship.
High Tech High is one portfolio I’ve run across this morning.
Won’t it be great to send the students to the next “great place” with a portfolio in thier pockets?
Learning to Read –> Reading to Learn
At about 3rd grade, students make the shift from Learning to Read –> Reading to Learn. I’m wondering when students make the shift from Learning Academic Technology –> Technology Skills supporting Academic Learning.
Kids (and some parents) speak to how technological the students are today, how the digital natives set the time on the dvd player, set up the computer, are online and understand computers so well. The kids are the ones who set the ring tones on parents phones. Most parents / educators will agree… Kids are good with technology.
AND many of our students struggle with our ACADEMIC technology demands.
I’m going to offer that we define Educational Technology as a bit different than Facebook, Gaming, and what happens in the homes of our students.
Educational technology is sometimes converting documents between the Office version that the students have at home, with the other version that exists at school. Educational technology is about how to create together in a group, with everyone on different versions/brands of software, with different levels of access. Educational technology is about how to evaluate information, and validity of sources. (The frightening reality is MOST of our students think that GOOGLE is a valid source.) Educational Technology is about using Technology to Learn, a bit like the shift from Learning to Read –> Reading to Learn that happens in about 3rd grade.
Students who are comfortable online at home, come to school and act as if they can (without help) use Technology to Learn…I’m going to suggest that they aren’t always ready and still need a little energy spent on Learning to Use Technology….This doesn’t mean they need the same help as adults, actually quite the contrary, they need a very different type of experience.
Pete shared this me a while ago…Text to Audio Track using Automator…guess I wasn’t ready for the classroom application…yet.
Here is a really great tutorial that shows you how to copy text and use Automate to process it into an MP3 file. WOW, it is fast. The voice is really pretty good, Alex (the automated man) even breathes.
Right now we are using it to create audio files of things that students read in class (without the expensive software), putting the files on an iTouch for the student to use, and soon we should have some measurement metrics of success. Our first target set of students are those transitioning out of the ELL program and into regular coursework. Thinking social studies, science and English…areas with lots of reading and academic English for the students to learn will be job(s) one. I suspect the hardest part is going to be scaling it to match the needs of the whole building.
Take a look at the Automator, really great idea!
Really excited about the event we’ve been planning for May 14!
Direct Link to sign up on Apple’s Website.
We are planning on sharing our Mathematics / Science data, Early Childhood successes and the latest work with ELL students!
What I’m Surfing
