The decision making process for integrating handheld technology into lessons begins with the availability of the technology. In order for me to choose a technology to integrate, I have to take into account whether or not the technology is available for my whole class to use. Most likely, I will choose technology that allows my entire class to participate. Also, when I’m planning a lesson, I have make sure that I plan ahead to reserve the technology if it’s not something that is in my classroom-like clickers for example. My grade level shares a bag of clickers so we have to work around each others plans. My instructional time is so valuable so I’d also want to make sure that we could use the technology effectively (with little tech support time) and efficiently. In most cases, before using a technology such as clickers in a lesson, I plan a different time during the day (or earlier on in the school year) where we learn how to use the technology in a non-educational lesson such as using clickers to tell me when your birthday is, etc. Like McMillan referenced on page 126, “a demonstration can familiarize students with an interface and reassure them that the procedure is not excessively difficult.”
One of the handheld technologies that I read about this week was the iPad. The article began by providing practical uses in the classroom such as replacing textbooks and fitting student lifestyles. The article at www.ipadsinschool.com notes the various extensions that digital textbooks can offer. I love the example that it stated, “See a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. as I read his “I Have a Dream” speech? I guess that’s fine, but with one tap of my finger, I’m watching it. The result is a more integrated learning experience, which is more engaging for students.” Currently, if I wanted to do this same activity with my social studies text, we’d read the text then we’d pull up the video on the computer and the students would watch from their seats or carpet. I can see how the iPad in this case would allow me to use my instructional time wisely! The article also mentions how the tablets can offer the same uses as a computer, but with much less space, which is appealing to me since I only have a limited amount of space in my classroom. My students would still benefit from the variety of uses of the iPad while I’m still saving space! iPads can be used at their desks or practically anywhere in the classroom! With a long battery life, I could charge at night and not have to worry about that during the day. The lightweight and small size would allow me to store in small spaces. The tablet comes to life nearly instantly so I wouldn’t have to worry about the wait time of starting a computer and waiting for it to be ready for use. I would absolutely use the iPad in my classroom if I had the opportunity! I believe that anyone who spends a little time researching the role of the iPad in education, they’d be easily persuaded that this is a must-have for their classroom! I love everything about it, but it does come at a costly price of $499 from Apple, but since the tablet market is becoming more and more competitive, you could choose another tablet such as the Verizon Galaxy Tablet for a cheaper price of $150-$300.
Another handheld technology that I could see as an enhancement to my classroom is the cell phone. I chose this technology because of the availability of cell phones. Even though I teach second grade, I see students coming to school with phones nearly every day. With cell phones, basic texting or calling could be used in a variety of ways. Like the article at www.edudemic.com stated, “From fun new apps to creative ways to communicate, there are plenty of new and exciting ways to harness the power of the smartphone in today’s classroom.” One way the article mentioned was by using the cell phone as a way to remind students of assignment due dates and other reminders. I know that communication has been a challenge the past year with my students’ families. Even though I send home notes that specifically outline certain dates or explain certain concepts, I still have parents unaware of what is going on at school. With the smartphone, I can send reminders to parents and students of these important news items in my classroom! Teaching at a title one school, I could easily question whether or not my families have Internet access, but I can almost guarantee that they have some kind of basic cell phone service that allows texting. Not only could the cell phone be used as an enhancement to communication, it could be used for activities in the classroom! Instead of using clickers, students could text me the responses to a question or use apps like Polleverywhere. One thing that I’m going to try this year with my students is a twitter account with my student families. Even without Internet access, students and parents can receive notifications from me. In all reality, I believe that my parents would be more willing to read a twitter posting versus reading a newsletter that comes home in their child’s backpack that may not even get looked at until late that evening or possibly not at all. I think it’s safe to assume that most or all of them have a cell phone and they use it regularly so it’d possibly offer me a way to increase effective communication with my parents as well as helping me save paper for necessary items.
A dilemma that I’m faced with mainly has to do with limited budgets. With limited classroom and school budgets, I have limitations for what technologies are available to my students. I have to spend my time and energy to research practical uses of the technology that I have so that my students are still getting the opportunity to become familiarized with 21st century skills. I also have to think of the limited experiences that my students have with using certain technologies outside of the classroom. I can’t assure that my students have exposure to Internet resources so if I want to use them in my classroom I have to also plan to teach my students how to properly use them. This is going to require some dedication of instructional time. The need to use instructional time wisely versus exposing my students to technology sometime becomes a battle that I have to be willing to fight and defend!
It really is amazing what can be done in the classroom with iPads. It would be great for the ELL students in your room as well. I saw a video about teaching students handwriting. You would be able to use this app when you teach curvsive towards the end of the year. I think the students would much rather use an iPad than write on the whiteboards or on their neighbor's back.
ReplyDeleteI think cell phones would be interesting to use in a primary classroom. In my six years of teaching, I have only had one student bring a cell phone to school. When I called the parent about it, they said it was her "play" phone. I like the idea of sending parent notes via text messaging. What would you do if a student did not have a Smart phone or have a plan with text messaging included? Because of these two things, I would think you would still need to send paper copies home. I'm curious to know your thoughts about that. I am also interested in hearing how the twitter account goes with your class. Good luck as you implment this concept in your classroom.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on handheld devices.