As I live and teach in this new
digital society, I must adapt to the ever-changing technology. Not only do I need to learn about this new
technology, I must also be able to teach the students who are growing up with
it. Being able to integrate mobile technology
will give me the advantage on teaching today’s youth.
There are many mobile devices I
would love to integrate into my classroom for multiple reasons. However, two different devices would fit
perfectly into my class. The CRS (classroom
response system) clickers and the IPad caught my attention. Both of these items are readily available and
have multiple uses. Each has their own
unique qualities and various functions that would keep students engaged and
excited about learning.
When I first started looking at the
mobile devices I thought the CRS clickers were just for multiple choice recall
questions. However an article by Derek
Bruff (2013) (http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/technology/clickers/)
showed me that I could create questions of higher order thinking skills as
well. Application questions would have students make decisions based on
real-world situations. Critical Thinking questions are great
discussion starters. These questions
have the students choose the “best-answer “.
What a great way to start a discussion!
Have the students talk about why they think that is the best
option. Monitoring questions can give me immediate feedback on the students
understanding of a concept. For my ELL
and special needs students the Confidence
Level questions allow them to answer a question and then follow with a
confidence rating of their chosen answer.
The clickers would be an awesome addition to my class. I found the cost of these would range from
$30 to around $60 a clicker.
I could only imagine the excitement
and enthusiasm my students would show if they knew they were able to use an
IPad for a lesson. Having the
availability of new mobile devices such as an IPad would surely keep my
students engaged and excited about he daily lessons. I realize there is an APP’s for about
everything, but did not know about having easy access to a multitude of things
at my fingertips. Once I read the
article posted on August 6, 2013, about using the IPad for math (http://ipad4schools.org/category/ipad/ipad-classroom/)
my imagination ran wild with ideas. One
APP that caught my eye was the measurement APP’s. My students, and district in general,
struggle with measurement. It has been a
difficult concept for them to grasp.
Using the everyday ruler and tape measure is just not getting the job
done. Many of my students can recall the
conversions, but struggle with the estimation and real world concepts. This APP would be perfect and the students
would be so engaged and eager to learn.
The costs of an IPad can vary and depends on the amount you purchase at
a time and the discount your district receives. A basic IPad will start at about $300 and can
go as high as $1,000.
The more I read about these mobile devices the more I wanted to integrate them into my classroom. I focus on active participation in my classes and the CRS clickers would definitely be of use. These could be used for a quick check of understanding as well as great ways to start discussions. The IPad could be used as an easy way to differentiate my instruction. My higher-level students could be working on an extension of the lesson while my lower level students could be working on basic concepts. All the while keeping everyone engaged and achieving the daily objectives.
The more I read about these mobile devices the more I wanted to integrate them into my classroom. I focus on active participation in my classes and the CRS clickers would definitely be of use. These could be used for a quick check of understanding as well as great ways to start discussions. The IPad could be used as an easy way to differentiate my instruction. My higher-level students could be working on an extension of the lesson while my lower level students could be working on basic concepts. All the while keeping everyone engaged and achieving the daily objectives.
Domenic,
ReplyDeleteI chose the same two mobile devices to use in my first grade classroom. I already use the iPad but do not have a device for every student. I am limited to only two student iPads. This only allows me to use them at times like reading and math stations and even then, they still have to share with a partner. I can really see benefits in using them in a whole class math lesson, with each student having one in their hand. One thing I have been really cautious of is the apps. You are correct, they do have an app for just about anything. I am finding many of the free apps are coming with advertisements, and sometimes inappropriate. Also, I have downloaded apps thinking wow this app is going to be great for graphing, and then opened the app and find the poor quality or limited access until a purchase. I would rather spend money on quality apps, reaching those higher levels of thinking.
I was like you when thinking about students using clickers in the classroom. I didn't see how giving students multiple choice questions would be beneficial. However, after reading the article some great ideas came to mind. The best part about using this type of mobile device in the classroom, every child is engaged in their learning and doesn't feel embarrassed to share their answer since all responses are anonymous.
I have used the CRS systems and they are great. Like you, at first I just thought about them as multiple choice answer machines. As I began to experiment with them, I found what you did. They kept students engaged, and allowed me to quickly analyze how well they were learning. It is more private and you don't have the problem of students looking around to find the correct answer you have when you use "thumbs up" or whiteboards for formative assessment.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post and I hope you get to use one of these technologies in your classroom!
I am truly interested in the clicker concept but am really held back by the cost. $30 to $60 dollars is extremely reasonable but for 30 students, I am looking at around $1800. I understand there is is a way for students to integrate the clicker into their smartphone using teacher generated software but am not sure on how this works. More research from my end should give me a greater understanding of how this works. As I have mentioned in some of my previous blogs, my students have the MacBook Airs but I am still a strong believer in the uses of the iPad and think this would be more useful. The cost is about the same and the iPad appears to be a more interactive tool. You definitely have some good ideas to keep the students engaged with active participation.
ReplyDelete