iPod Shuffle
I was able to use some of my money from doing home visits to get an iPod Shuffle for classroom use (thank you, Roger)!
I have been diligent this year about loading all of the CDs I use for instruction into my iTunes and organizing them in playlists by theme. The shuffle has taken me to the next chapter in this quest to streamline my classroom audio needs.
For every kindergarten theme we teach, I usually have a center set up with books on tape for the kids to listen to. Remember the old days when we had to pop in the cassette, rewind it (because in my haste to get to the next tape, I didn't rewind the last time!), press play, adjust the volume....
Now, I can transfer all of the cassettes to CDs (now, scholastic has books available on CD as well), and load the CD in to my iTunes playlist for a theme. CDs are much easier to handle than cassettes (no rewinding) but an iTunes playlist with all of the stories is better yet. Even better than that is transferring the playlist over to the iPod shuffle. This way, my laptop is not necessary for the books to be heard. If I have to be gone, the books will go on without my laptop. Also, if I need my laptop to provide another computer for the group at the computer center, it will be available. Or, I can use the time to get my laptop set up for the next learning activity so that things are all ready to go, using technology to minimize transition times as much as possible!
It's a good thing!
posted by Lynn @ 12:58 PM
7 Comments:
I have just purchase an IPod Nano. For my birthday! I also have stereo speakers to hook up to it. So far, I have only used it for music for transitioning students. But now I may try downloading some CD stories for reading on to it.
Beth
I have an IPod Nano and speakers. So far, I have only used it to play music for transitioning students. However, I am going to try loading up some story CDs and give it a try. That's a great idea!
Beth
Lynn:
Boy your post took me back a few years (or quite a few if truthful).
I remember all the songs we used when I student taught kindergarten, and then all the books on tapes when I was teaching third grade.
Ah, the days of centers! With 4th and 5th grade I no longer do those things, but I do remember. The iPod sounds like it would make life much easier. Interesting to think about where else they could be helpful.
Linda
Hey Lynn,
pretty kewl stuff. All of our Elem. Music teachers here just got ipods and some bose speakers for their classrooms. Now where just trying to figure out the whole issue with itunes. It's blocked by our filter here.
Do any of your colleagues have ipods, or have you demonstrated it? This seems like a technology that K teachers would like.
CRL
Lynn,
Isn't it great when technology makes a teacher's life easier? I had that same feeling when we were able to replace the video that went along with our Spanish text with a DVD. The DVD is divided into chapters & so no fast forwarding & rewinding. Sometimes students need to watch it a few times to answer the accompanying worksheet. We also use lots of CDs in the foreign language classroom for listening comprehension. You've got me thinking how an ipod might make this simpler!
I am so lucky to have you as my teaching partner. I am very excited to see how this will work for the kids. I'm sure I will need to get my own ipod nano soon. We will be so organized and ready for all day kindergarten next year we won't know what to do.
Hi Lynn,
Sounds like you are taking great advantage of any and every bit of technology that you can!! I'm just now getting my own iPod and enjoying the mobility of what was once "imprisoned" in my laptop's iTunes on the go! With students having white earbuds in constant connection to their heads, I know we can take even more advantage of this technology as a motivator - I love what they are doing with podcasting!
Though centers are traditionally thought of as limited to elementary school, I used the same concept in teaching 9th grade - with the help of five classroom computers. Though a little chaotic with bigger bodies (and raging hormones!), it was a huge motivator and very effective.
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