Physics I-Pod Review

Using IFlipr, my Academic Physics classes used the I-Pod touches to review their vocabulary, equations and units for equations. This was the first time they were able to used them. Each student was given a worksheet, when a word, equation or unit appeared they were to write their initial thoughts, then check the true meaning of the word, equation or unit. My initial intentions for the I-pods were to provide Pod-cast lessons for students that needed to hear the lecture again, were absent for the original lesson, assigned to ISS or DAEP. Implementing that plan is taking longer than I anticipated due to timing in my schedule. I have now scheduled two days of the holiday break to create several pod-cast lessons. (Let's hope that goes well). As for the review, comments from the students were:
- "I enjoyed using them."
- "I could review at my own pace. Which was easier for me."
- "I prefer the lecture review. However, it did help."
- "Ms. Wilkes, can we take a quiz on the I-Pod touches."
- "It was cool! It was easier than using paper reviews."

Perhaps, my second semester plans will go well. I have several students that are willing to help me create pod-cast lessons using Garage-Band. They are very patient and excited by the chance to help the teacher and the class.

Time, Time, Time

So here we are 3 months into school with our power to learn equipment and what have I learned. Well, for starters, I think ambition far outweighed ability to fully implement our grant proposal. When we sat down last spring to write the grant our expectation was that we would get the equipment over the summer and have time to develop some lessons. Unfortunately, circumstances being what they were, we were unable to get the devices before the 3rd week of school which greatly reduced the amount of time to really develop any lessons. Add to this the incredibly steep learning curve for the Macbooks, programs, and ipods, and you have a recipe for disaster. Trying to incorporate new techology into the classroom and replace or enhance exisitng activites without disrupting the curriculum flow just hasn't been possible. There are several reasons for this. Piloting eduphoria has been a drain on time, losing instructional time to GEAR UP activities, making sure students are prepared for TAKS, and for me, having a student teacher and new chemistry teacher on my team have created addtional time constraints. The biggest issue is TIME. There simply is not enough of it. On the bright side my students have used the Flip cameras to record labs that have been used to create a folder of videos that are available for any student to review chemistry topics that were covered in the lab. Of all the equipment the Flip cameras have been the most useful and I will continue to use them. As far as the iPods go, I just don't think we are ready for them. Perhaps in time we will be able to develop some really good lessons but for now their use is limited to enrichment activities (which is a recent idea that has not been created yet). My own limited knowledge of the technology has also severly limited what can be done in the classroom. My hope is that I can spend time next summer developing some lessons. I simply was not prepared for the amount of time and effort that this was going to entail. So, as soon as someone can manufacture, stop, slowdown, or rewind time, let me know. It is the only way I will be able efficeintly learn to use and implement the technology.

Egg Drop Videos

Today was Egg Drop day and the Physics students enjoyed using the flip-cameras to video tape their drops. Very little to no training was needed to get them started. They embraced the process of collecting data from the video with an open mind. In addition to video taping, they were instructed to down load their video into the student folder and the teacher folder. I am anticipating an easy transition to the data from the video to a data table then into a graph.

What's been going on

So at this point in the grant all of my classes have used the i-pods. My AP classes have used the flipvideos. The podcasts for AP have been successful just time consuming. The kids enjoy being able to relisten to the lecture as many times as they need to understand a concept. The kids also like the flashcards I make for them since they know if they understand a concept right away instead of waiting until they get to school to find out they missed all of the homework problems.
I had my AP chem kids video a lab that took 2.5 hours of class time since many kids were out for a field trip. I was able to shorten the videos and make a podcast of the important pieces of the lab so the absent kids could just download the lab and watch what happened and record their data from that. This saved the students and myself from having to stay for long periods of time after school to make up the lab. My goal is to start doing this for all labs and at least once a semester have them make video lab reports in which they would record the lab, edit the lab, and answer questions pertaining to the lab and turn in the video.
My pre-AP kids did a lab that used the i-pods. I made a worksheet with names and formulas on it and the students had to write the one that wasn't given on the worksheet. I made a flashcard set that had the same questions as the worksheet so they could go in the order of the flashcards and be able to check their answers to make sure they were doing it correctly.
I've also had my pre-AP kids use the i-pods when they come in afterschool for tutorials to memorize their polyatomic ions. Finally when they finish a test they can use the i-pods to play the math or vocab games that I put on the i-pods. This has worked out so they are not bored waiting for everyone else to finish and they are not disturbing anyone else.