Classroom iPods

So, my dad rocks and decided to purchase 2 iPod touches for me to use in my classroom! They arrived in the mail on Wednesday, so I spent the majority of that night getting everything ready so I could start using them first thing on Thursday. I didn't waste any time haha.

I am using these touches as a tool to improve students' reading fluency. I wish I could take credit for this idea (because it's pretty much the best idea ever) but my dad told me about a teacher who had done it and the results they had seen. The students get to use the voice memos app to record themselves reading fluency passages. They get to record 3 times, listen to each, choose their best, then they load it onto the computer and it automatically copies into a folder with their name on it, thus creating a reading portfolio for each student. Super easy, very straightforward data, and the kids LOVE it!

So, Thursday morning I am about to introduce these to my class when my principal walks in for one of my informal walkthroughs. I'm thinking to myself that this is PERFECT because she's about to see something really awesome I'm doing with my class that no one else is. So I start the lesson and it pretty much goes wonderfully. The kids are talking about fluency, why it's important, what it means, and relating it to the author study we have been working on (which was an added bonus because I hadn't even thought to relate it to that). They were SO excited about the whole thing! My principal seemed pretty impressed (never hurts haha).

I got the kids going on their Daily 5 choices and I called the first 2 kids to me to use the iPods. I showed them one time what to do, they understood immediately (because it really is incredibly easy) and they went to town. They each took about 10 minutes to sit in the hallway and record and listen to themselves 3 times. After the kids had recorded 3 times they came in to me, I showed them how to hook it up to the computer and change the title to have their name, and that's it. It's that easy!

The best part was that even in the very first day, I was able to see how it can really help them. I had 8 kids use them and multiple kids were shocked to hear how choppy their reading was. They had no idea because it is very hard for a kid to focus on decoding the words, understanding the story, and reading fluently. Once they realized what they sounded like, they worked really hard to make it better. In just 3 recordings you could tell a world of difference from the first to the last.

The great thing about this is that once I have shown each student how to do it once, they can do it all on their own. I'll set up a schedule for the iPods, and when it is their turn they will do everything. I don't have to do any extra work (other than listen to the recordings later on) and I have this great data to show their progress with reading fluency. I am SO excited to see where this leads in my classroom. Plus, I've already found a BUNCH of great educational apps that I can add on once the kids get the hang of the recording part.