A Washington elementary school is having students blog about math via iPod Touches! Click on the headline to read the whole story.
Do you think this is a good idea, or do you think this is a little too much for young elementary school kids? Post your thoughts below!
-Dr. Wright
SUNNYSIDE, Wash. -- Jennifer Garcia and Jalisa Lopez need help with math. So, the fifth-grade girls get out their iPods and start texting.
OMG!
Teacher Jessica Schenck does not take the gadgets away or send the girls to the principal's office. In fact, nearly every kid in Schenck's Chief Kamiakin Elementary School class punches diligently on the screens.
"I need 2 read the question twice and check my work twice," Garcia types into the virtual keypad of the iPod Touch.
Sounds good in theory as long as every student has an i-phone. Teacher could monitor students by walking around and doing a visual check of the screens. I would use with 5th graders during math time because it would turn a tedious lesson into an unusual and fun lesson.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! We cannot escape that technology is going to continue to evolve and affect the way we do many things. I think using them in the math class is conditional. The teacher pointed out some good pluses, which I agree with. As along as the teacher and students do not become dependent on them, using them to supplement learning is fine. With the grammar errors she noticed, is she coodinating with the English teacher, for language features needing needing improvement???
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ReplyDeleteThe significance of applying Math problems solving through using iPod is that Schenck is smart to dig into her students’ interests. She put in her consideration, first, how to achieve the objectives of the target knowledge efficiently, innovate interesting teaching instrument and conduct classroom management.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the students posts, they did like the idea of using iPods and felt that it was a fun way to learn such abstract subject. I absolutely agree with them specially if the teacher masters activating this tech. aid. We have to make our classes more interactive and interesting and if those students didn’t use their iPods for learning, they would have used them for undesirable purposes.
No matter if there are some spelling or grammatical mistakes since students are dealing with mathematical exercises and communicating positively. I strongly believe that language features should not be exclusively practiced during English/language classes; however, -in the same time- “students like the freedom to share their thoughts without fear of being wrong” Schenck says. Every certain skill/aspect could be evaluated and enhanced in other proper situations of study fields.
To conclude, as facilitator and teachers we have to admit that “No for more obstacles” and “Yes for learning progress”
I think it is a fun, innovative way for kids to talk about what they are doing in math class. As the article says, the teacher is able to see what the students are thinking, and sometimes she is suprised by certain students getting problems wrong. It is a new form of communication, and I think it is a good thing!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds interesting, especially for fifth-grade students and in math discourse. I think it's a good way to mix high technology with regular teaching content, students can "put there thought into words", and also "extent the learning environment outside the classroom", but the concern is teachers need to give appropriate instruction and make sure students are using it in good way.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just a "goog" or "bad" question. ipod touches is definitly a high technology product, however, applying it in elementry shcool sounds unrealistic. Elementry students are alway curious about everything they don't know, who can ensure that they will not use the ipod for fun during class, their sef-control ability are still premature. Besides, children are tend to be fickle in affection, they may love studying through ipod, what about a time later? No one can tell.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds great. I support more technology in schools. It is time to catch up with the modern world. We can't continue to conduct schools in the same fashion that they did in the 19th century. Let the kids have their technology already!!!
ReplyDeleteFifth grade is the perfect age to integrate the use of blogs and i-pods. Get students to buy into this stuff early and learn the basics of it during their final year of elementary school. Save them before it is too late. It will keep up their motivation and interest in school, if not we risk continuing the problems with drop-outs, and underachievment that America's secondary schools are becoming known for. Face(book)it, the kids are bored to death, technology can help....Bored to death
I know some teachers commit quiz as poll in class. The students feel interested and send answer information actively. The teacher can know how many students grasp what they should learn.
ReplyDeleteThe article doesn’t describe how they use iPod in math class. In my opinion, combining technology and math are more motivating, but the teacher should be careful when they use iPod in class. First, students should avoid depending on iPod as a calculator. In their age, they need practice calculating by heart. Second, teacher need manage the classroom effectively in case some students dwell in games, music, or chat of iPod.
This all sounds very interesting. But I would like to observe the class for a few days and see if the ipod touches are facilitating or acting as an obstacle. If they are used as a supplement to the typical face-to-face class, I suppose their presence is favorable since it gives students an opportunity to reflect on the lessons of the day.
ReplyDeleteMy department purchased about 100 ipod touches; most of them are unused but many are in use by Las Palmas Elementary for the La Clase Magica project. I know that students in that research cohort--most of whom would be labeled underprivileged--have grown familiar with the inutitive interface of the ipod touch (sorry to sound like a salesman). I think they have used the technoogy to interact with mentors, not just as a way of communicating with eachother.
I do agree with the last bit about students having a sense of freedom about sharing thoughts and a reduction in the fear of being wrong... Maybe this is a bad thing. Maybe it makes students more detached.