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.
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.
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!
Seriously.
I don’t write about games, I don’t even play games often enough to acknowledge that I do it.
Until now. Angry Birds is a blast. Part physics, part geometry, part geeky fun. Different birds are better at destroying different material (glass, wood, concrete) that protect the pigs who have stolen eggs from the Angry Birds’ nests. The angle of elevation determines where your bird is going to land. So really, I am earning 2 credits.
A great study in reward learning. Go play it if you know you have self restraint (*note that you have been warned and I am therefore, in no uncertain terms, responsible for any addiction formed to this game*). Otherwise, go read the discussion boards dispensing advice regarding level advancement. All this for a buck. Nice programming!
I just had a fantastic thought about how to use Delicious and my iPad.
Create a shortcut on your screen of the link to your Delicious account. How to: In Safari, click on the “+” sign, choose “Add to Home Screen” option and name the button. It looks like every other application on your screen, but it is really a link to your bookmarks.
While reading something at Mashable, I ran into an article about Internet trends that had two different links. One to the PDF, the other to a link that loaded into Good Reader – the 99 cent document storage system application that I reviewed a couple days ago. I was able to click on the second link, it loaded the file into my Good Reader application, and now I can read the PDF whenever, where ever!!
Adding a number of things to Delicious has been great, now I can easily access these resources from my mobile devices. This is probably a thought that others have had, it was just my 2 minutes of rock star action today. If you want to see what I’m reading, go for it!
Today we downloaded and tested eClicker on our iTouchs. It is very easy to figure out right out of the box. It works great with and without the client software (which is free). As long as the student device was connected to our network they connected quickly. If the student device is using 3G or a cellular network it becomes a bit of a challenge getting past firewalls.
I can see using eClicker for quick and easy formative assessment. Keeping records of student responses was an area that we weren’t successful in testing. Maybe it is a limitation, maybe user error.
For the money it is a great resource for teachers. We look forward to further testing and application. This would be great in a Higher Ed tool, no need to purchase a device, just use the phone/laptop they bring to class.
Looking around at apps for me new iPad and thought I would share what I am doing with it and how it really isn’t a big touch.
Good reader opens files off line for you to read. I’ve connected my mobile me account, google apps, and ep apps, so that I can download and read things when I don’t have wifi. I have also downloaded my o’reilly books.
The files stay in a cloud, so i can get to them from multiple devices.
Access is off line, helping me when I travel, and with battery life.
This would be good for students as well, getting pdf’s from teachers…reading on the bus,
Written using the word press app for my iPad, with the internal keyboard.
Individuals as the content generators.
We don’t have to wait for the textbook companies figure it out, instead we can use the content that people generate and share.
I like what has been created on Khan’s web site, really appreciate the time and energy that has been put into publishing these helpful tools – for both students & teachers.
The WHAT. Teachers use an interactive whiteboard (Smart), microphone (generic) and screen capture software (JING) to record themselves teaching a concept (like, graphing a parabola, completing the square, factoring polynomials). Students can access these videos via our podcast server, or in class on an iTouch.
NOT rocket science. YET the results are out of this world.
Another teacher, another group of students. This time a little better statistical measure of the data. Students increased test scores by AT LEAST one standard deviation IF they watched instructional videos during the chapter of study.
Our biology teachers are recording labs with flip cams, sewing teacher recording steps of a project with the flip, math teachers do screen captures and flip (constructions), language teachers recording verb stuff on the screen, sign language with the flip.
It is amazing. It is simple, and I wish more students would use it. (AND more teachers would create material) The academic difference it makes is nothing short of remarkable.
What I’m Surfing
