I love my iPods!

Are you a lucky teacher who gets to use iPods or iPads in your classroom? I am! I wrote a grant last year to get these babies and I actually won! I never win anything! There were over 500 applicants and I was awarded with 8 iPods to use in my classroom. I LOOOOVE them. I use them for so many different things but I will share all of their uses over time... right now I have to focus!
The first way (and the easiest for me) I have used them was as a small group activity. We all have the "morning meeting" or morning routine that gets build into our daily schedules, right? I use this time as an opportunity for the kids to play some games and learn! I started the "App Store" as soon as I felt they had the morning routine down.

First, I created this schedule...

Each iPod is numbered and each student has a different day to play. You can see that William plays on iPod number 1 on Mondays and so on.

Next, I downloaded some games. I work in an inclusive classroom so I have students with varying abilities. I make sure to get games that will benefit all students and specific students. I explain to students that they get to play 1 or 2 different games that will be fun and work best for them to learn. That's when this comes in...

I have lots of different games that will work and meet each students' needs. I chose 2 games for them and they get to choose to play 1 or both of the games with the time that they have, which is generally 15-20 minutes.
Then, I place their choices on the chart next to their name. I have to do this each day but it takes just 2 minutes and makes all the difference!

Now you can see that William plays on Mondays and he has his 2 choices next to his name & number.

This is a part of our morning meeting each day and practically runs itself. My only job is to change the games each day to meet the students' needs and make sure the iPods are charged (my goodness, this a disaster when they lose battery!).

Here is a list of my favorite apps to use. If you have some that you use and love, PLEASE let me know, I am always looking for more.

What to do for next time?
I am going to delete the games that I don't want to students playing quite yet. Too many pages of apps is very confusing! If you delete an app from the iPod/iPad you can always download it again through the AppStore, just don't delete it from your iTunes... then you're in trouble!

What to do for inclusion?
This lends itself nicely for all students. I make sure that there are an equal amount of games for all students to use and since they each have their own in such a small group, each has a different game to play based on their skills and needs. All students loooooooooooooooooooove to use the technology, no matter what it is.

Don't have iPods? I imagine something like this working with computers as well. My favorite sites are starfall.com and brainpopjr.com. Check out my Computer Groups Post to see how my computer groups are organized.