Living in the 4th Screen

Exploring the use of mobile technology in education and life

iPod Touch taking Minnesota classrooms by storm

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According to this article on TwinCities.com the iPod Touch is taking some Minnesota classrooms by storm. Below are some quotes from the article:

Jean Stai, a teacher at Somerset Elementary School in Mendota Heights, had to impose little discipline as her kids lost themselves in Word Salad, a vocabulary program, TanZen, a geometry app, and States and Capitols, among others.

Her biggest challenge appeared to be prying the kids from one app so they'd switch to another. The students were handed sheets with short, personalized lists of apps each had to try.

"They're so engaged," Stai said. "Suddenly, it's not so horrifying to study your facts tables. It is like a game. What would be tedious with paper and pencil is no longer so with bright colors and things moving around."

Ms. Stai's school purchased a storage and charging cart on wheels for the classroom set of iPod Touches. The cart charges the iPods and can be used to load apps onto each iPod. In he school teachers take turns signing out the cart.

The article states that more and more Educational experts are embracing the iPod Touches and in some cases using them as replacements for laptops.

The article also mentions Jon Smith, a fifth- and sixth-grade special-education teacher at Gibbs Elementary School in Canton, Ohio. He uses the iPod Touch with his students who have learning disabilities. Since using the devices he has asked his superiors to purchase more of the devices. 

This is just one of many articles that I come across on a weekly basis of schools using the iPod Touch as a learning device in the classroom. I do not consider the Touch as a replacement for a laptop or netbook, but when one considers the cost factor, the amount of apps, and the ease of use, the iPod Touch becomes a very compelling device. As I have mentioned before students do not seem to have a problem with screen size as some of us adults do. They have grown up with small screens on their electronic games and are used to it. 

If I were making decisions on whether to purchase netbooks or iPod Touches I would be asking what exactly the students will be doing on a day to day basis with the devices. I find that in many schools students go to a computer lab or use a laptop cart  just to search Google for information. Searching Google can easily be done on an iPod Touch. 

 

The picture above is from TwinCities.com.