History to Go: Why iTeach with iPods

Article: History to Go: Why iTeach with iPods
Author: Deborah L. Vess
Published in the History Journal. Vol.39, No. 4
August 2006

In 2005 iPods were distributed to all incoming Duke University freshman. Stanford also started using podcasting, which were only a few months old at the time. A lot of controversy was started as to whether iPods were educational or not. As a result a teacher decided to incorporate iPods into her Graduate level course. The teacher had students use their iPods to create podcasts of their reports on history.
There were several learning outcomes that this article described. The students said they felt a lot more confident with their oral speaking skills after having done this project. This would be something great to incorporate into a speech class! The students also reported that more planning had to be done. They also had to repeatedly keep recording until the podcast was correct. They said they never would have spent enough time on this project otherwise. There were negative factors as well. Students, in a survey, mentioned that they would have liked to receive more training on the iPods. Often times things to longer to send as well, and errors occurred using the technology that couldn’t have been predicted.
I think that this would have been a great class to take! I think that this was a unique way of going about giving a presentation. I think that now students are more adapt to iPods, and would only need some simple tips and tutorials to have a better understanding.

Reflection from class November 28, 2007

First, I was VERY impressed with everyone's digital story. There were so many unique, and original ideas. I feel that everyone went about creating their story in a different way. I was not expecting that at all. It was great to see everyones, because you can never have too many ideas to help you incorporate this idea into the classroom.

I was also very glad that we got to learn how to create a podcast and use Garage Band. I have had Garage Band on my computer for about 2 years now, and I never knew how to use it. I opened it once and got freaked out, and assumed it was too complicated for me. This was not a good attitude to have. I have also noticed that Apple is VERY good about having tutorials available for its customers. There is a large variety for every program and every product they sell. I found it very helpful when creating my digital story.

Technology Lesson

I was really nervous when thinking about my technology lesson plan for some reason. I wanted to think of this really unique and cool way to use technology in the classroom. Finally I just realized that is doesn't need to be the most unique idea or "cool" idea, but rather a way to help students utilize what is available. So I just opened up a lesson that I had previosly created and thought of a practical way to use it in this classroom. This was the most beneficial thing for me. I didn't want to think of some elaborate, lesson that I know could never be used in the classroom. I wanted to create something that was definitely possible, and students could reasonably do.

Podcasts

I always knew that podcasts existed but never really knew to what extent. After class I went home and researched it and played around for awhile. Let me tell you there are SO MANY different podcasts out there. This would be a perfect place for someone with a busy life to catch up on the world. You can get the latest, news, updates and so much more. I downloaded a bunch (and I really liked that it didn't take as long as it would to download movies or episodes) and listened to them while I was jogging. It was definitely different than listening to music for me, but if I ever do become an extremely busy person, this would be a great tool to use! Just put in your head phones, or hook it up to your speakers in your car while you are driving and go. There are also so many things you can put on them for children! I downloaded something to do with Dora the Explorer! If I had children, I would definitely download these for them before a long car trip!

DIgital Storytelling

Well so far the most difficult part about creating a digital story is thinking of the idea! It has taken me a good week and a half to think of the topic for my story. Now I am trying to decide what created spin I can add to it that will get my students engaged! I know that once I have this all figured out, the actual technology aspect will be a breeze! I am actually looking forward to getting on the computer finally, and putting this all together!

I am also have difficulty deciding how I want to use this story inside the classroom. I can use my idea to discuss the scientific aspect of metamorphosis. I can also go about it from a manners inside the classroom aspect, and using respect. I think that both could be used, but I would really prefer to stress one of them.

This digital story will be able to be used inside my classroom every year from now on. I won't necessarily have to create a new one (although it would be fun). I have seen these digital stories inside classrooms before. My mom has had her students make DVDs for their mother's for Mother's Day. She has also made a story about my life as well as my brother. Many positive things have been taught and learned through these digital stories. I think they are a fun, create way to go about storytelling!

Research Article

Journal of Computing in Teacher Education: Case Studies of Future Teachers: Learning to Teach with Technology
(Winter 2004-2005)

This article discussed teachers using technology inside their classrooms. The participants in this study were all enrolled in the first course of a three-course educational technology series. The participants were interviewed a number of times during each course, in regards to their use and feelings towards technology in their classroom.

During the first course, the participants discussed using technolgy inside their classroom, based upon their own skills and experiences with technology. The more and varied the technology experience they had, the more and varied they imagined it could be used in the classroom. Most spoke of using word processing and e-mail. Other technology savvy participants discussed using scanners, digital camers and otehr advanced software features. A semester into the study the participants became more confident with their abilities and ways to use technology. Th reasearch shows that the teachers must be shown the technology, and see it modeled (by the faculty). The must be offered instruction and practice in integrating technology into their classrooms.

The participants were also asked about some of the challenges the might face when using technology in the classroom. The challenges mentioned in the first semester and different than those mentioned in the second semester. Early on students in the first interview showed concern with simply getting the technology to work. Later, in second interviews (once students became more familiar with ways to use the technology) having enough time was the lagest concern.

This article proves to me that the more I learn in this class, the more I will use in my own class. The projects and activities we do and participate in give me practice and experience, which will then make me more comfortable with them, so I can use them later in the future. :) This class is getting me more and more comfortable with technology and ways to use it, and the more comfortable I am, the more likely I am to use it.

ipods

I was shown a few ways to use ipods inside the classroom this summer. First off, I feel that ipods will be like computers here in a few short years. By that I mean, I think think everyone will have one....at least it would be nice to think so. Ipods are just one of the best technological devices out there. My 5 year old cousin has one as well as my 55 year old dad. They both use it for the same thing (although they have different taste in music). The main thing we used ipods for during class was listening to stories. Lets say a parent is not home to read to a child, well that is no excuse for the child to not be read aloud to. We were given multiple websites where you can download stories that children can listen to. As a teacher, you could do more with these activities :). A child could also record themselves reading or telling a story! I am sure, just like the palms, there are programs for the ipods but not all schools can afford such things. I know Apple is very generous in regards to educators (they give a good discount....and actually a few years ago I know they didn't give one for the ipod....but maybe now since so much evidence shows that these can be used in positives way, they will give an educational discount on them), it would be wonderful if schools could have at least a classroom set to use!

Lesson Plan

After blogging now for a few weeks, I decided that the best area (for me at least) to incorporate blogging into would be into reading. My idea for a lesson could be used in almost any grade. As long as students were comfortable with typing and they could spell and create sentences.

I would have each student in my class create their own blog website, just like we have done for this class. Then I would have the students blog about the books they are reading independently. The would have certain guidlines they would need to follow, but basically they would be writing different book reviews for the books they are reading. All of the other students in the classroom would be able to access everyone else's blog and be able to see what some great books might be to read. It would also be a way for a student to learn a little bit about the book. This blogging could also help improve communication between students. If a student has a question about a book they know another student read they could go up to them a discuss the book with them or ask them the question.

I would create guidlines for this assigment. Students would have to post a new book every week (or around there). They would also have to give a summary of the book and whether or not they liked it and would reccomend it.


I feel that this would not only improve students independent reading ability, but it would also help with their keyboarding skills. This could create a communication between the students and could maybe even eventually spark a book club :)

ABC Books

When we were told that we were going to create alphabet books I got really excited. Over my years here I have created many alphabet books, and shared them with differents students. At first I doubted that the old students would appreciate the books, but once I shared it with them I realized I was wrong. Alphabet books are great ways to incorporate technology. I have never used powerpoint to make a book, but now seeing how easy it is I would definitely want to implement this into my classroom. You could use it for a wide varitety of subjects, especially to help students review material.

Pen Pals/Postcards

I have been in a lot of different classrooms that have used pen pals and have absolutly LOVED it. I have known people to do it with other people of older grades and then the students eventually meet and become mentors. I have also seen it done with students of the same grade levels but from different places. Another thing that I have seen and even participated in is flat stanely. I haven't actually read the book, but I have had to take flat stanely with me plenty of places.

I also wanted to comment on the postcards that we have to create. I think that this is a great idea, if used in the right sence. If the postcards are used to share information that is educational, then it would be a wonderful idea. I think this boy is going to be so excited once he gets this box of postcards from us. I hope one day to use idea in my classroom!

Class 9/19/07

This past semester when I was student teaching, my 4th grade students were creating their own books about anything they wanted. I had a similar assignment when i was in 4th grade, so i asked my mom if she still had the book I created. My mom being a teacher too, saved basically everything that I had ever done as a child. It was so amazing to see everything I had done....and it even gave me some ideas as a teacher too. I think that a lot of the time we need to incorporate technology into out lessons but I also feel that it is ok to make things the old fashion way too. Sometimes it means a little more when objects are hand-written instead of word processed!

I really liked the program that we used in class, where we could share and edit with our peers. ( I of course can't rememeber the name of it) I think this would be something that you could do either as a whole class together or with another class somewhere around the world! It would create a peaceful and friendly environment and would also help with keyboarding skills too! Depending on the cost of this I think that it would definitely be something schools should look into!

I Spy

I had so much fun with creating the I Spy activity in class. I am really looking forward to the entire powerpoint that the whole class will be making this week. I think that this is a fun way to incorporate rhymes into the classroom. However, I know that my particular school that I student taught at, didnt let students check these books out because they were not considered educational. I have looked at these books numerous times and I never notices the rhyming (maybe something is wrong with me). I can understand both sides in this case. We did use this activity in a fun way that worked with different reading aspects such as rhyming. But that is basically it. Other than that I dont feel students are learning much. This is a great example of how the teacher needs to incorporate this activity into the classroom appropriately!

Handhelds

In a class I took last semester we got to work with the Palm OS’. On those Palms’ there was a program that would help a teacher when giving students DIBELS tests. This was a very neat program that I think would be so amazing to have and to use in school districts. At first I was a little skeptical because I didn’t know how to use the program and figured it would be confusing to learn. However, it was a very self-explanatory program and found it to be very useful and helpful. This is my overall feeling about handhelds. I think that if the program is self-explanatory and easy to use then it will be very beneficial to students and teachers. That is I feel one of the major uses of technology, ease of use. It is easier to type a paper than it would be to hand write one. So we should make sure that this applies to all parts of technology.

Keyboarding

I honestly believe that keyboarding should be apart of every elementary student’s curriculum. I to this day remember when I had keyboarding class. I feel that without that class, I would still be a slow at typing. I would also have to constantly be looking down at the keys. I can now freely type any notes that I need to take, while sticking focusing on my profession. When I was in the keyboarding class, I remember not liking it very much. It was always a competition between other students in the class to see who can get the most words per minute correctly. But, it is my own personal opinion that there is nothing wrong with a little competition. That healthy competition pushed me to try harder and to learn to type better. Sometimes guided practice is the best way to learn how to do a task.

Storyboards

When I was younger, the 6th graders always got to make actual books about anything they wanted. It was something that everyone looked forward to doing. When reading the article about storyboards, I realized that they are definitely getting expensive to make. Using PowerPoint to create these stories is a wonderful idea! I would love doing something like that, and I am sure the students would love doing something like that as well. The students would be able to easily create these stories and use this in the future. I have had to create many PowerPoints as a college student, so knowing how to use this program would be very beneficial to the student. I also believe that it would not take a lot of time to teach the students how to use this program. It is a very easy to use program and students can teach themselves how to use it.

Reflection over the first day

In order to receive your reading endorsement there are several classes you must take at Iowa State. A technology class isn’t required, yet it is given as an option. I chose to take this particular class for multiple reasons. I do enjoy technology and I hope to learn more. That is my main reason for signing up for this class. I realize that technology is a major part of the world; people can graduate from high school and college without ever having stepped into a classroom.
I do want to incorporate technology into my future classroom, whether it is a major program that I use with my students, or something as little as creating a lesson over power point. This is important to me and I know that in order for my students to succeed in the future, they need to learn how to use technology as well. This is something that I hope to gain through this class. There are several programs that I know how to use, several more that I hope to learn how to use. But I also want to learn how to teach my future students how to use a few programs.
I am really excited for this class. I know that everything we do will be hands on and interactive. I think that the projects we do will not only help us learn how to do something or use something. But they will also be things that we will be able to use in the future.