Overview
First, a big thank you to all teachers involved in the creation and implementation of this iPOD Pilot. It would NEVER have happened without THEM!
*Also a big thank you to Information Technology. I know you guys wondered if I had moved into your department :-). Thanks for the collaboration!
Purpose
Implement the use of mp3 players with ELLs for the purpose of expanding their time practicing English through listening, speaking, and reading. The focus is to increase engagement in learning, reading fluency and vocabulary development. The goal is that the students would be more successful in the classroom and in achieving TEKS level objectives.
Some proposed activities:
To increase reading fluency the students can download reading passages taught in class to listen to for reading practice at home. They can record themselves reading the passage and then upload the file in the classroom for the teacher to assess. (In the existing sites, this activity has shown not only to help improve reading fluency but motivate students to read at home on their own.)
In working with students new to the country or lower socioeconomic students this will also increase their knowledge and use of technology, which is critical to present day learning in the classroom.
Students take speaking roles and record their “theater production” to play back for the entire class.
Students have assigned weekly vocabulary used in the classroom that they download onto the mp3 player and take home to listen, view corresponding pictures and verbalize. Also, they can then record themselves using the vocabulary in a sentence and even involve other family or friends . Again, a recorded assignment can be completed and returned to the classroom for the teacher to assess.
On top of achieving the goals above, the use of the iPODs will also create independent learners, connect learning to their everyday life, and integrate technology into their learning.
Plan
Implement the video iPODs in 4 classrooms (3 ESL middle school classrooms and 1 ESL high school classroom) with the focus being to evaluate the current curriculum and integrate the iPOD technology in the delivery of that curriculum to students. I didn’t want to create a lot of extra work for teachers in that they had to create a lot of new material for the iPOD.
Why re-create the wheel, right? Our goal was to find resources we were already using that could be downloaded into the iPOD.
The equipment needed for the total pilot was purchased summer of 2006 and training with Apple was set up for July 2006. Our team met and set up some administrative procedures which included a waiver that each student had to have parent signature on before they were able to check out an iPOD. Teachers at each school had a parent meeting explaining the pilot and how the parents and students would be involved.
August through November 2006 was spent (trial and error) setting up the classrooms (teacher station, student stations, and iPOD syncing station) and working with the teachers on using the iPODs in the classrooms. The pre test was administered in September and results collected. January 2007 to May 2007 teachers continued to implement 3-4 basic strategies with the iPODs but varying the content depending on where they were in the curriculum.
Another focus of the pilot was to check the iPODs out to students to take home and extend their time practicing English or even have their families participate in using the technology for language learning. So after taking the first semester to train the students how to use the new technology effectively, the teachers started checking out the iPODs to students to take home for 2-3 days starting in November. An assessment piece was built into this take home period so that when the student returned to class they had a file that the teacher downloaded from their iPOD and used for assessment.
