11 Tools #9- Incorporating Devices as Learning Tools

I thought the video about schools changing to meet students needs was very interesting. The statement about ADD/ADHD being "fictitious" was eye opening to me. It was also interesting to see that as the amount of testing has risen so has the amount of kids diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. So why are we still insisting on more and more testing each year if this is not helping our students?  In my years of teaching I have had many students come through my classroom that had been tested by doctors that were "diagnosed" with this and some were medicated, some were not, some where on strict diets to help, etc. However all the children in my class they were more engaged when there were different elements to the lesson besides sitting and listening to a "lecture". Luckily I am not a lecture type person in the way I teach. Now when I go to classes for myself I prefer a lecture format with time to explore on my own. This however was the way I was taught and it is most comfortable for myself. I liked how he illustrated the way our outside environment has evolved but our schools have not necessarily evolved to fit our outside environment. I'm so glad that I already use--small groups, individual assignments, large group and many other forms of teaching all in one lesson. I feel like I'm on the right track. Collaborative learning is something these kids will need to know how to do when they get out of school. As teachers we have to collaborate with each other, it is only common sense for  us to model this for the students now so they know how to collaborate effectively when they graduate and are working.

I have been very fortunate to have 2 iTouches for my classroom the last 2 years. These have been great devices to use during my Literacy Daily 5 Sessions and during our Math Tub time. I am excited about having additional devices because this opens up more options for my students. During Literacy time they use the iTouch to practice sight words, vocabulary, and for listening to audio books. At this time I used the 2 iTouches for apps and then had 3 personal CD players that played books on CD. This next year I will use some of the iTouches as the listening station to replace one of the personal CD players that is at the end of its life. Since my listening sessions are so popular, using the iTouches in this manner is very useful because it allows more children to participate during each session.
I like that I will be syncing all of my devices. This allows me more flexibility to set up the devices to benefit my students better. I also used a recording journal to track the apps and time each student used the device so I had a record of their work. I would like to do more menu activities to have a greater accountability for the students. These simple menus were used during the math time however they focused on the apps that were applicable to math instead of language arts. I also had a few students that had these devices at home and were very good at trouble shooting, remember passwords, etc. I called them my Tech Gurus and they were the go to person if there was a problem if a student needed help.

I can't wait to have the netbooks in my classroom. So many of my students this year enjoyed taking their books to a full publication by typing and formatting their work into books that they could then illustrate and and place in our classroom library. This will give them the option to do research for their nonfiction books, access their Google Docs, and also be able to produce their work through some of the tools I learned about in lesson #5--like Storybird or Storyjumper.

This summer I plan to work on Menus for my class for our various units in LA, SS, Sci, and Math. These menus will incorporate technology and other non technology assignments. This will give the student freedom to choose activities he/she is interested in but give me the tools I need to see how far this child's knowledge reaches. Since these menus are still in the beginning stages of being created I unfortunately don't have any examples to share. When I do I will update.
I liked the matrix--Luckily I feel that my classroom fell mostly in the Infusion columns. There is still so much for me to improve on though.
I can't wait to get the devices to get them set up and ready for student use! They have proven to be great resources for my students the last 2 years and I look forward to the additional devices to take my classroom and my teaching from Infusion to Transformation!