New Tech Tools – Gotta Get it!

 

I have to admit that this week’s assignment terrified me! I was so worried that I would not be able to do it, and even if I was able to research a bit, I would have no idea what I was talking about. You see, I am one of the few who has not upgraded to a smart phone or other “smart” portable device. My husband and I are fairly knowledgeable about our laptops (a Macbook and a PC) and our desktop computer, but when it comes to the whole app thing, we only know what we see from our friends and on TV.

In my particular classroom, I use laptops. I have access to 30 laptops and 14 desktops in my classroom. But, since I am a fan of technology, I let the kids (with parent permission) bring in their portable devices. The only one I cannot allow is any type of phone. Tablets and laptops are fine. The kids cannot connect to our school wi-fi (or should I say aren’t supposed to; they can outsmart the tech guy sometimes) but many of them like to bring them in on specified workdays for writing or on days where were create presentations on Web 2.0 sites.

So, once again, I turned to my students for help with familiarizing me to some new technology! Sometimes they are the best resource when it comes to technology. Particularly the students I know who are tech savvy. They are the ones who have grown up in this “app generation", not me!

I actually made it a five point extra credit assignment for all of my yearbook classes! The (optional) assignment was to stay after school (since we cannot use phones during school hours) and show me one app on their phone that could be used for educational purposes. What fun this was, and I have to admit that I was delighted to see that my students actually had educational apps on their devices!

Some of the apps my students shared with me were so cool! Using both an Ipad or Iphone, my top 5 favorites for the classroom are listed below:

1.      Amazon Kindle – a free app where you can read and purchase books (much like owning a handheld Kindle). It also comes with a free dictionary and students claimed the prices of books are cheaper than other book apps. COOL! They are actually reading for fun! A student of mine got the book we were reading in class. This would be great to have our textbook available here so students wouldn’t have to lug around the huge book.

2.      Pages - $10 app much like other word processing programs, but with added email functions and pretty neat templates. Again, another great tool that would be beneficial in the classroom. Since I only have 14 computers and 29 students, this may work for students to use while sitting at their desk (lab along back wall).

3.      The Elements – $13.99 app which shows, in modern format, the periodic table of elements. You can zoom in and out to specific elements and see great photos of what that element actually creates so you can relate it to real life. Also, the vocab is very user friendly and easy to understand each definition of the elements. My friend who teaches chemistry says that she projected this app onto the wall to share with students, and some of them downloaded it to help them to study for an upcoming test, and to use as a reference for the rest of the class.  

4.      Stack the States- $0.99 app that helps kids memorize the shape and name of the 50 states. You get asked a question, pick the answer by visually locating the shape of the state, and if correct, the state falls into a box. The point of the game is to stack up to a certain point to win! Not many high school kids used this – but the one who showed it to me said their younger brother in elementary school used their phone to study!

5.      Face Time- This one is not actually an app, but available on Macs, Iphone 4, Ipod Touch 4, and Ipad 2. Basically this is a video Chat, where each member speaking can see the person they are talking to and also see themselves in the corner. This would be great for distance learning. I would love to use it where my class could talk to another class in our district to have a discussion.

As far as limitations of portable devices, of course there are some, as there is with anything.  Though it may seem that there isn’t much these devices can't do, there are limitations to all types of technology. The most obvious limitations of an Apple Ipad (I discussed this, too, with one of my students who found these things annoying at times) were that, compared to a PC, the Ipad:

1.      Would not multi task

2.      Did not have a USB port

3.      Did not have Flash – which many sites need to run

4.      Was awkward to type a long paper on (keyboard function)

It seems that if these limitations really bother you, there are other options to look into, such as buying another small computer like the Asus. Before this assignment, I had never used, or even heard of, an Asus Eee device.  After reviewing some of the info, I am definitely interested in checking it out! I found that the Asus is a type of notebook that is similar to an Ipad. Some of the pros of the Asus are:

1.      The light weight

2.      Good sound and picture quality

3.      Reasonable, low cost

4.      Comes with a keyboard

It seems to me, as with everything in life, that it comes down to personal preference. I know that when I am ready to buy at tablet or smart phone for myself I am going to have to think a bit about my choice before splurging. If I was given more money in my classroom budget (or got a grant from the photography company like I did last year) I would love to add and Ipad or two into the mix. This is a tool we could use for yearbook; working registration in the summer. It would be great to track sales with. However, I don’t know if I can commit since it doesn’t have Flash (something the yearbook site needs to function).  But it would be good to have vocabulary pratice apps! Ah, the choices!