Tag Archives: Second

iPod Touch

iPod Touch – Victoria Primary School

Background
We borrowed 20 Ipod touches to assist in the teaching and learning of all curricular areas. We also shared these with our P5 and P7 classes who were timetabled to use the ipods for 2 hours per week each. The remainder of the time was dedicated to P6.
How ICT supported learning and teaching
Maths – Used in conjunction with active maths sessions to reinforce more formalised maths lessons. Children especially enjoyed the apps on multiplication and were engaged longer than more conventional teaching tasks such as board games, textbooks or even laptops.
Language- Children used Safari to research Victorian Laws such as the mines and factory acts. From here they constructed posters to advertise the advent of these new laws and the impact that they would have on Victorian living. Children also researched crime and punishment and devised ‘apprenhension’ sheets of criminals from pictures and real life Victorian stories from the web.
Interdisciplinary learning – Children used the ipods to research Victorian transport and shops. From here we developed a Victorian Street in which we placed means of transport. The children also independently research a whole range of Victorian facts, which were then presented onto a fact card that they shared with other children in the class.
Impact / conclusion
The ipods proved to be a very value teaching tool and all children were very confident in using the ipods to conduct individual research on our Victorians topic. The fact that these could be instantly turned on and children had access to their own piece of hardware made organizing lessons much easier and increased the amount of time that they were learning.
I would thoroughly recommend the integration of ipods into classroom as children were immediately engaged on tasks and enthused about the prospect of using them to further their learning.
Similar views were held by the teachers from P5 and P7 who felt they were an excellent teaching tool.

Colin Thomson

Flip Camera

Flip Video Cameras – Saint Patrick’s Coatbridge

Background
Working with a group of children from p.5-7 on id topic the very important bear as part of the school’s senior area theme, “film, theartre and media studies”. Children had to: decide on group name for film company, create a character, plan and script a short movie for their bear to star in, record their movie and edit adding music and sound effects.
How Ict Supported Learning and Teaching
Children were motivated and worked together to solve problems. The children developed new skills as they used various technological equipment to create movies. they have now been able to transfer the new skills to different activities and demonstrate for others.
Impact / Conclusion
The one problem I found with the flip cameras was that the recordings could be played on all computers within the school but we could only use the images and create movies on one computer. It was suggested to me that the computers have been updated and that the flips could be an older version. I am not very sure if this is the case but it certainly caused a problem for me especially since I had to ensure that all groups completed their movie in time for oscar night.
Flip cameras are fantastic, easy to use and help bring out side experiences into the class.

Kate Campbell

Nintendo DS

Nintendo DSI- Overtown Primary

P5 Overtown Primary Five, Six and Seven used the DSi to beat their recorded time on Brain training.  The DSi encouraged and motivated the children as well as sharpen their mental maths agility. They loved the challenge of beating their own score and that of others in the class.  The children did get frustrated when the DSi didn’t recognise their figures but they enjoyed the novelty of using it in school.  The DSi is a useful maths resource and a great incentive for the children to complete work too.

p7 Overtown

Wii

Nintendo Wii

Here we are using the Nintendo Wii at our Gadgets and Gizmos Golden Time Club.

This club was set up at the request of the children and we borrowed some items to use as a trial. This has proven so popular that the Pupil Council have now used some money they had raised to buy one for the school.

Here are some of the children’s comments. “Great because you could play against each other.” “Felt more like playing than work.” “Liked playing with all the fun games.” “Made Golden Time more fun.”

iPod Touch

iPod Touch – Glencairn Primary

My Primary 6 class have been using the iPod touches to assist with their learning since January.  I have found them to be both a worthwhile and motivating resource to support learning and teaching.

Using iPod touches within the classroom has helped to promote independent and responsible learning.  The children have been given unlimited access to their own iPod touch and make decisions and choices about when to use it.  They take responsibility for the care and ownership of this and must ensure it is fully charged overnight.

In the beginning the children were introduced to the different apps available to them and they were given time to explore these before using them within lessons.  This was beneficial as it prevented valuable teaching and learning time being wasted .

The apps available on the iPod touch are very varied and have helped to develop literacy, numeracy, ICT skills and the children’s general knowledge.  I have found the maths games to be very useful and the children find them challenging and enjoyable.  Other apps which have been worthwhile are: Flags, The Human Body, Slideshow, Comic Twist, Wikipanion,  Google Earth and Safari.

With every child having their own iPod touch it has meant that internet research can be carried out at any point in the day, therefore not limited to when the class has laptop access.

I have planned lessons to incorporate the use of the iPod touches.  Google Earth has been used as a focus for maths lessons,  Safari has been used almost daily for a range of activities,  Notes has been used for writing lessons, Wikipanion for research projects and many purposes.

The children are also given the choice to use the ipod as a follow up to lessons.  They are provided with a choice of tasks and enjoy this.  They are eager to finish their other work to get onto the iPod tasks.

The children have learned to post comments onto the Glencairn iPod Blog.  Many children can access this independently to upload photos, podcasts or write text.  Parents and the wider community can access this blog to keep up to date with progress and comment.  Parents have reacted very positively to this project and the comments reflect their enthusiasm, many identifying the benefits associated with this initiative.  The children are highly motivated by the outside interest in their work and regularly check this.

To summarise, the benefits of using iPod touches have been:

  • Increased motivation
  • Apps enhance learning and teaching
  • Promotes independence and responsibility
  • Unlimited access to the internet
  • The children’s ICT skills have improved

Many opportunities for revision or consolidation, ie maths/ language games

There have been some challenges to overcome during this initiative.  Firstly, navigating around the ipod touch was difficult for some children due to poor motor skills, especially when typing.  Another problem we encountered was when sharing resources.  We had set up First Class as a way of sharing work, however this did not work well.  It would be helpful if there was a way of resolving this.

We also experienced some problems with the airport signal within our school and we were unable to use the ipod touches all at once.  This problem was resolved by updating the system.

The benefits certainly outweigh the challenges and I have found the iPod touches to be a very worthwhile resource within the classroom. So much so that the school are planning to invest in their own for all the children to use.  The primary 6 class will act as mentors for the rest of the school.

Thank you very much for the opportunity, it has been a  great experience.

Robyn Moonie