Goal for 2009-2010: Integrate iPods into the Subject Areas

A few years ago another teacher and I received a grant from Best Buy for the Online Science Fair. After purchasing the materials, we had quite a bit of money left over and decided to buy three iPods. Unfortunately, because of other priorities, the iPods were put in a box and set aside for the past three years, wasting away.

NO MORE! This year I have decided to put these tools to use. One of my goals for 2009-2010 is to find the best ways to use these three iPods in my classroom. At this point, my goal is to have my students consume information from the iPods rather than produce information for them. In other words, I have no plans to have my students create podcasts, videos, slideshows, or any other content. Instead, I'm looking to use the iPods in the following ways:

• Math Intervention: Students will view video podcasts and Unitedstreaming videos on topics that they are struggling with in math. For instance, say my students take a quiz on prime factorization and a few don't do so well. During a specified time they will be invited to my classroom to watch a video on an iPod that teaches prime factorization. After viewing the video and completing some more practice, they will be allowed to retake the quiz for a better score.
• Math Enrichment: It's unfortunate, but we math teachers often are so busy teaching our students the required concepts that we often don't get a chance to show them how cool math can be outside of the classroom. I'd like to have several videos/podcasts on the iPods that show situations in the real world where math is involved (like the Fibonacci sequence in nature, Game Theory, etc.). There are a few on the Math Guy Podcast.
• Science Enrichment: If a student shows an interest in a topic we are studying, I'd like to be able to find a podcast or video for him/her and have it ready for them to watch on an iPod. HowStuffWorks has a content channel on the Apple Learning Interchange with some interesting videos.
• Social Studies Enrichment: Current event videos come to mind here.

After doing a simple Google search (ipods classroom) I found some sites that will be helpful to any teacher looking to integrate iPods:

• Learning in Hand - Here I found out how to download a video from UnitedStreaming, add it to iTunes, and then convert it to a format that the iPod will understand.
• Education World has a nice page of links to some sites on iPods in the Classroom.
• Apple Learning Interchange

I Need Your Help

I don't get a ton of comments on this blog, but I'd like to ask if any readers have other ideas for using iPods with your students and/or if you know of other resources where I could find some. Thanks!

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iPods in the Classroom: Learning science vocabulary with video podcasts

The following is taken from a grant request that I wrote with another teacher in my building (the grant request was rejected). If you are reading from aggregator, click through to see an example video from TeacherTube.

Here's another idea for iPods in the classroom. Have your students create and view video podcasts of essential mathematics and science vocabulary from current units of study (see above example). The words will be selected from vocabulary found in your state standards, study materials, prepared lists, and lists of verbs used in test questions and curriculum standards. Have them use a planning guide to discuss how to communicate the concept and draft a script. This may include downloading of images from the Internet, student drawings, or photos from classroom digital cameras. Then have them use multiple recording and software tools to record audio, edit, and share their video podcasts with their peers.

Traditionally, vocabulary is often taught by presenting kids with a list of words and having them memorize it and then regurgitate it for a test. When students create a product such as a video podcast, they are creating meaning by actively researching examples and images to illustrate the word.

The project would enable students to apply vocabulary knowledge to the math and science areas as well increase reading comprehension and writing skills. Students would be able to hear themselves read their scripts out loud, this will influence reading fluency.

Assess the project in two ways: (1) Grades: by unit on tests in math science, reading and writing; quarterly through short quizzes on the vocabulary words; and ultimately through students’ performance on the state test. (2) Observations and student interviews.


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Books That Should Be on the Banned List

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2006 was a strange year for me. I read more books than I have ever read, but had by far the busiest schedule in my life. Between raising 2 year-old triplets and adjusting to teaching all four subjects in a new school system, I sometimes wonder how I managed to even open a book. So how did I devour so much good reading?

For starters, I have a 35 minute commute to work, perfect for listening to audiobooks. This past year I read five books on my drive to and from work. I also had about 15 minutes to myself after the kids went to bed every night, and, amazingly enough, I was able to read three or four more books in that period.

I'm sorry to say that I can't recommend any of these books to you though. In fact, I'm going to write to somebody (???) and ask them to place them all on a banned book list. My fear is that if you read them, you might begin the slide towards total geekdom (I've already finished it and am enjoying what's at the end). And, God forbid, you may begin to think like me or some of the authors who wrote the books.

Or maybe you might learn something incredibly useful that could enhance the experience of your students this school year. So I think what I'll do is list my favorites among these books and say that these are my recommended reads from 2006.

• The World is Flat - (Thomas Friedman) - Should be the Bible for educators across this country.
  
• Everything Bad is Good for You - (Steven Johnson) - Video games and reality television really are good for you.
• Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for Your Classroom - (Will Richardson) - I'm in this one!
• The Tipping Point - (Malcolm Gladwell) - I had no idea Paul Revere was so revered!
• Freakonomics - (Steven Levitt, Stephen Dubner) - Weird questions, interesting answers.
  
• A Whole New Mind - (Daniel Pink) - I didn't realize I was so right-brained until I read this one!

I've already started spending those Christmas gift cards on more books. Soon I'll be learning about The Long Tail, how I think without thinking (Blink), and much more.


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60-Second Naturalist Podcasts: Finally Finished!

60-Second Naturalist Podcasts are now finished! I've uploaded a few of them to my classroom blog and they are now available for your listening pleasure. However, I don't think you'll get much pleasure out of listening to them. There's a lot of background noise: other students were in the classroom at the time of recording and failed to lower their voices to a level that wouldn't be recorded. Other kids recorded their podcasts in the hall to get away from classroom noise and ended up with echoes.

I can't say that I'll ever have my students doing these again. I just can't see the value through all the work it took to create them. There are so many other technologies that pack the same punch with a lot less work.

I will say though that it was neat to see how excited some of my kids were when they put the mp3 files of their podcasts on their iPods.


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Podcasts: Worth the Trouble?

My students are currently finishing up a project on ecosystems that required them to work with a partner on a podcast. Starting Monday, we'll be entering our third week of work. It's taking way too long and has been way too much trouble for me; I'm wondering if it's worth doing again.

I got the idea to do this project after listening to a show on NPR called the 90-Second Naturalist by Thayne Maynard (who happens to live in Wyoming, where I teach). Since we were getting ready to start a unit on ecosystems in science, I thought I'd have my students complete a show called the 60-Second Naturalist that required them to choose an ecosystem and describe some of its abiotic factors and how they affected the organisms that lived in the ecosystem. So about two weeks ago my students researched these factors and began writing the scripts for their shows.

The problems began as the first students started to actually record their podcasts. We have no audio software at my school, so I decided to download Audacity and put it on four computers in my classroom. The software is easy enough to use--it took only a few minutes to teach my tech-savvy students how to use it--but having it on so few computers meant that I could only have four pairs of students working at a time. Furthermore, if other students are in the classroom, then they must be completely silent while others are recording or else all the background sound will be picked up. This meant that it couldn't be done during class time, but had to be done at lunch when there were no other students in the room. Lastly, in addition to downloading Audacity, I also had to download LameLib so that I could export the files as mp3's for eventual uploading to the classroom blog. The uploading, of course, will be another step that I have to do.

With all the work and time my students and I have put into these podcasts (and we're only half-way finished), I have to ask, are the final products worth the trouble? The effectiveness of any technology must be measured by the value it adds to a lesson or project. I do believe that podcasts have a lot of value, but right now I think the trouble outweighs that value.