Further Reflections on iPod in the Classroom

I am sad to say that the only real use I got out of the iPod this quarter was for my benefit in the classroom and out.  At the beginning I had such grand plans, percolating ideas of splash, creativity and color for the kids in my classroom; thinking of many possibilities for  differentiation and for helping less literate students express themselves.  I had apps downloaded and ready, but had little time to share them with my third graders, and felt that it would take too much time to get them up to speed with it.  Looking back now, I wish I had chosen one or two kids to work with over a period of weeks.  I am sorry that it didn't occur to me until now.  That might have worked.

I will say my students did enjoy being in charge of it, holding it gingerly as it were some sort of holy grail, when I needed to record them for literacy assignments. And the dictionary came in handy on more than one occasion.

There were novelty functions too: a stopwatch, a compass, a level, google world, word play games and math games.  The difficulty was the small key pad which makes typing time consuming, the small screen which limits collaboration; and the lack of video capabilities.  In my own classroom some day I can definitely see making daily use of that feature alone.

I should mention that my kids loved it.  Through their gaming I came to realize how big some of the games are - especially Angry Birds and Cut the Rope.  Their symbols are becoming part of our culture.  Personally I enjoyed Unblock Me and Peggle, not that I had much time for them this quarter!

Final Reflection for Math

Here I sit looking back at all of my math blogs this quarter and thinking about the lesson that I taught today to my third graders.  I had to teach them about equivalency in fractions, and how to make equivalency chains, something I had trouble making relevant for them other than the learning it will lead to.  I wish I had read my blogs last night before my lesson - I may have tried to figure out how to do it in groups.  I was trying to allow each student to have their own "Aha" moment, and somehow group work didn't seem to fit it.  Now looking back, and thinking about how I learn, those moments can happen anywhere, and probably faster when in kid speak for them.  Oh well, a missed opportunity.

Back to my learning this quarter - the thing that stands out for me to carry to my teaching of math (and other) lessons next week is reflection.  Taking this moment now to think about what I taught from the standpoint of what the students actually learned is illuminating.  It makes clear for me where I want to go next. There are a few cultural things I want to work in over the next little while: group work with roles that make everyone active and responsible in the group; asking questions - no "I can't" or "I don't know."  Having students explore their curiosity and savor their learning explicitly - this is the culture that I want to create.

My tool belt of online resources has grown exponentially from this course as well from the likes of discovering Kahn Academy, Geometer's Sketchpad, and Fathom to playing with online maniupulatives.  And the data sites are extraordinary playgrounds for interdisciplinary lessons - especially Gapminder and Tableau.  It was instructive and fun to see Robin's excitement about and use of apps to make class management easier, from attendance checking to RSS feeds of our blogs.

I also appreciate the readings, which I will keep: Creative Writing and Math; Creating Meaningful Work, Group Worthy Work, Orchestrating Discussions and Don't Say what a Kid can Say.  Each one easy to read with many doable and worthy ideas.  Thank you for those.