We played around with the iPod Touches in class! I never used one before, so it was great to see all the stuff you can do on it. The apps were overwhelming at first. Not being used to apps and how they work, was daunting; however, I quickly figured it out and wished I owned one! :)
As I was looking through the apps, I came across a few apps that assist ESL students. I have a couple exchange students, one who is very capable with English and one who needs a lot of support. The apps I found that help translate would be very helpful for her! She is very shy, so an app that she can work herself to help with her school work would be a great tool for her.
I have a few students that need more support with mental math than the 5 to 10 minutes we do as a class each day. The "Tic Tac Math" app was awesome and one of my favourites! It is a fun and competitive way for students to do math mentally, or just work on basic skills of math.
I have a few students who are SLD. The dragon app would be very beneficial for them. It is often hard for them to get started. It is also difficult to write when they are worried about sounding out words. This causes them to get stuck with ideas because they can't make them "flow" onto their papers. The dragon app would allow them to speak their ideas, stories, etc and it would type it for them.
The great thing about an iPod is being able to listen to the text you need to read. For struggling readers, this is perfect and would allow them to move much faster than if they had to read something themselves. It is also great for people who do not have time to read all the text they need to read. The app that allows you to scan the text and reads it, is amazing! I forget what the app is called, but I wanted to mention it because, as teachers, we have a lot of materials that are not on our computers. This app would allow us to scan text for our students and it can read it to them.
Pictello was easy to use and if I had it in my classroom, many students would enjoy working with it to create stories, videos, presentations, etc. The five unique ideas of why Pictello would be great to use in the classroom are:
1) To create storyboards before writing or filming. I usually have my students film a commercial or create a power point commercial. Pictello would assist with the ideas or storyboard, or students could complete their entire project on it without having to film, import, and edit separately.
2) For students with higher needs that need reminders of the process of activities (i.e. brushing teeth). Pictello can be used to show the process of the student or someone else performing the task.
3) For students who have anxiety about presenting in front of people, they can create their presentation and record their voice to go with their presentation, instead of getting up in front of the class.
4) As a parent, it would be a great tool to have as my son learns to read and write. I can record him reading, we can create stories together to read, we can create photo albums and record the story of each picture so we don't forget the memories. It would a wonderful "keep sake" for families.
5) For students who are non-verbal, Pictello is a powerful tool for communication. Students can put pictures together to communication, tell stories, share experiences, and ultimately become more independent.
