This blog will discuss the Word Wizard; an apple application which helps children with their spelling. This is a much simpler program than those mentioned in my previous blogs. It has bright colours and easy to see letters, a very useful primary ages application. As the description on the Word Wizard website states, it turns your iPad or iPhone ‘into a talking typewriter’ (BUCKLEITNER, 2011). There is a cost in purchasing this application of $3.99 and it is only accessible on Mac software but if neither of these are a problem for you, it is a great resources (BUCKLEITNER, 2011).
Children simply drag each letter up to the middle of screen and once in place the iPad or iPhone will pronounce the letter for you (BUCKLEITNER, 2011). Once a word is in place the device will also pronounce the word (BUCKLEITNER, 2011). This software is great for young children learning to read and pronounce words. Although some students may know how copy words, they may not be able to pronounce the word properly themselves. Although, this may be a problem if the application speaks in an American accent and Australian children use it and vice versa.
The other features of this application, besides collating words include: spelling quiz, and a talking spelling test (BUCKLEITNER, 2011). There are great features in developing both young and slightly older children’s spelling abilities. Overall this would be a great application for any class to have on their mobile device in developing students’ literacy skills through basic word construction through to challenging quiz’s and tests.
Today’s education is constantly being bombarded with media based tools to help improve student learning, to join education to the student social network and to simply ‘keep up with the times.’ It is hard to determine which ones are right to use and which ones are just going to take up more space. The School Technology Action Report discusses ‘mobile learning best practices’ in their September 1, 2011 issue. There are a couple of main points discussed which we will be looking into below.
The first technological advancement this article discusses is the smart phone use of K-nect; a program used for helping students with understanding maths and developing their skills (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). A study was undertaken in one particular school which found that after students started using K-nect they not only improved in their maths but across all subject areas (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). Originally, they had brought in this technology for remedial students but the whole class ended up taking it on board (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011).
In accordance with using applications available in smart phones and iPads, the article goes on to look at the advantages of these devices for different students within the class:
-Intervention: Maths Drills can be used to help students struggling in maths with comprehending the content (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). This application would work for a range of age groups as you can change what you want the student to focus on in completing the maths drills (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011).
-Enrichment: Miss Spell’s Class is the application used to give gifted students a challenge (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). It tests whether or not they can correctly tell if a word is spelt correctly or incorrectly (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). This will also help them with their everyday spelling as well as help them when it comes to proof-reading their assessment tasks as they will be able to pick up their mistakes easier and faster.
-Assistive Technology: iPads can be used as a tool for children on the autistic spectrum in order to break down communication barriers as well as help them to focus on one task for a prolonged length of time (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011).
-Digital Literacy: Although students use mobile technologies in their everyday social lives, it is a worthwhile endeavour to help educate students in using these technologies in a ‘productive manner’ (eSchool Media, Sept 1, 2011). Students will be using technology but if we just teach them how to use other aspects of it without teaching them some of the basics such as safe use, ways of using it to benefit their lives as opposed to just their social status then we have not accomplished anything in bringing in these new technologies.
As teachers, the best practice we can do, involving mobile media is to educate our students on the best uses for these tools, what is available to them in order to help them with life skills and what to watch out for. We need to be doing the research behind the applications available to choose the most appropriate ones for our students.
‘Just Keep Swimming, just keep swimming;’ how true are the words from Finding Nemo’s beloved Dory (Finding Nemo, 2003). We too find ourselves in a sea of uncertainty, obstacles and misunderstandings and just as Dory has stated, we need to keep swimming because we will see light again. The world of education is continually being bombarded with new ideas, concepts, must does and technologies, we can only grab parts along the way as we try to teach our students how to use a myriad of resources to compile assignments and learn the necessities for life. So what are we to do; where do we begin; and how do we keep on swimming?
McKenzie (2003) emphasises that as educators our pedagogies should be concerned with the ‘art of teaching’ or how we ‘orchestrate classroom learning.’ I am elated to see someone come out and state exactly what pedagogy is and what we should be focussing on as educators. For the benefit of others and not just myself the following table is included from McKenzie’s article to help us all focus more on our pedagogies rather than on the tools we use within them. There is a lot in this diagram to take in but it will help a teacher wanting to do what is right by their students. This is part of that ‘just keep swimming’ attitude; this is one of those concepts that you can choose to grab along the way or leave behind; the choice is up to you.
So where does this leave me and my pedagogy? Honestly, back at the beginning. This is where I sit down and renegotiate my tactics, to stop focusing on the products the students can use and start focussing on how these products or tools can be used to give the students the best chance in developing great works that demonstrate their diverse and unique abilities. My pedagogy will now look at the new innovative technologies as but a small part of the overall innovative pedagogies that we as educators are developing through the use of these technologies. We can have students text study notes and record interviews on iPhones, but unless there is a truthfully enriching and engaging real world application, we are simply allowing students to use their ‘gadgets’ during what should be a learning experience for the future.
Now technology is the next big surprise in our journey as educators, it will continue to enlighten us on the varying applications it can do for us, so how should we approach this new found tool? With careful consideration in regards to the effect it will have on our students, both positively and negatively. There are many great reasons why technology should be incorporated into our learning but we need to be careful that we keep a balance. Pedagogically speaking, it would not be wise to introduce technology simply for ‘down time’. Fun and games are great but there is a time and place. If we wish to incorporate technologies into our pedagogy then there needs to be reasoning behind why we use it. Therefore, I would state that after looking at a variety of articles and their pros and cons in relation to this topic there is much evidence that such technologies as an iPad2 would be of great value to the classroom.
I would bypass the phones and PDAs as the iPad has all of those features. It is also friendlier for reading e-books, completing assignment, researching on the internet, emailing class groups, having web conferences and texting study notes. It would also benefit the child who was sick for a week and needs to catch up or the child who needs extension work; they can simply upload the information they need to their iPad; you may even consider taping some important lessons. I believe that both my students and I would benefit as a whole class from this device in orchestrating that classroom learning environment that I am looking for. No longer do my students need to be communicating within a restricted timeframe, they can discuss matters outside of school. If they get something all mixed up they can discuss it with either their classmates or the teacher in order to straighten things out.
Yes I believe that technology should be infiltrating our pedagogy to enhance classroom practices but it needs to be done in a simple and practical way. As an educational tool I am not convinced that having your class be part of a group in a variety of social networks would be worth all the extra effort. I believe it might be worthwhile have a whole class Facebook account to upload photos, share experiences from an excursion and the like but to have a Facebook account, Twitter account, Ning group, be part of a forum, blog, texting circle and email system is just an overload of technological systems that we as educators don’t need to be diving into. As I said earlier, there are many barriers, but we need to ‘just keep swimming’and find the parts that work for us. We can’t attach ourselves to everything; therefore, using our pedagogical focus, we need to determine what is best for our students and their learning needs. Find out what is important to your students and start with that. You will be surprised where your students take you and where your learning journey through ‘the big blue’ goes (Finding Nemo, 2003). So remember when you think there is too much out there to delve through, just keep swimming and you’ll make it eventually.
