Seven Ways Students Can Use iPods on the First Week of School

The following are a few ideas that teachers can use during the first week of instruction. I am a strong proponent of allowing students to bring their own devices (cell phones, smart phones, iPods, tablets, etc.) for the purpose of learning. I realize that this is not always possible on every campus, so you might want to ask permission and help create a plan for students who don’t have access to handheld devices. Many schools have iPod labs.

#1: Scavenger Hunt
Have students take a scavenger hunt of the school in order to make sense out of where things are located. This can include fire drill location, cafeteria, playground, electives and assembly location. Students can use the camera and then label the pictures with either Comic Touch Lite or Doodle Buddy. Afterward, have students analyze the way they use pictures to “capture” their world and the potential dangers in relying on the technology to frame our memories.

#2: About Me / Digital Storytelling
Students can use the iPods as an alternative method of telling their own story. One option is a simple podcast. Each student can create a simple life story using the Voice Recorder app. Another option would be to allow students to take pictures from their own world (in the class, at home, on the playground) and share information about the world using an app such as Comic Touch Light. Another variation of this is an About Me Metaphor Hunt, where students take pictures that represent themselves metaphorically. A possible tech criticism lesson here would involve students analyzing how the medium has shaped the concept of a digital story and a digital identity. I ask my students to answer: In what ways are you creating a brand? What are the dangers in branding?

#3: Multimedia Show and Tell
Students bring in an item from home and then create a short video about the item using the video recorder app. It works best if the students emphasize the deeper meaning behind the item. Afterward, students can "bump" and access one another's items. Another variation of this would involve students doing a Cribs-style video where they take the iPod Touches home and talk about their home, their environment and their family. Students can also use Splice and blend pictures and videos into one longer multimedia show and tell presentation.

#4: Survey
Students begin by creating a list of three survey questions. Teachers can specify whether this is an academic, critical thinking question (for example, a teacher might ask students to create a question about social issues) or a fun, team-building question (such as "What is your favorite food?" or "What was the best part of this summer?") Afterward, students use either the Camera app or the Voice Memos app (students might need to drag it out from the Utilities folder). As an added element of digital citizenship, students can answer questions about how interactions change when students answer questions on audio and video. Afterward, ask students to analyze how students act “in person” versus “on camera” or “in audio.”

#5: Interview
The interview project begins with a lesson on creating better critical thinking questions. Students use the video app to ask a question of the teacher, who pretends to be a celebrity. Afterward, students discuss what made certain questions good and certain questions bad. (One potential tech-integrated option here would be to use Google Forms and then look at a summary of responses or have students use a shared document or a Twitter stream to record quality questions) Next, students interview a partner using the video app and edit it with Splice. It helps to have students fill out a rubric for quality of questions and quality of answers (you may need to model it). When the video is done, students can write a newspaper article as their first narrative. This is a great chance to teach students to critique the way we edit words through media and the concept of the medium itself creating bias.

#6: My Life Concept Map
While presentation software works great for timelines, it can be powerful for students to think about how issues, ideas, events and people are connected to one another in a person's life. Using a program such as Idea Sketch, students can complete a "my life" concept map. When they finish with the concept map, they can explain it in a Voice Memo and post it as a podcast. When this is done, ask students if the mind is a web and whether or not the web metaphor is a result of the Internet as a dominant medium.


#7: Community Needs Assessment
Students use Google Forms to develop surveys regarding the strengths and weaknesses of their community. They can also use Voice Memo and Camera apps to take pictures of their community, interview people and create podcasts about the sounds and sights of their neighborhood. This can be an opportunity to get into how people act different on camera along with the pros and cons of using tools (such as spreadsheets) to quantify something as subjective as community perceptions. How does the notion of data collection potentially strip a community of its collective voice?