It’s Like Having a Teacher In Your Pocket
Rhonda Stonecipher, San Marcos CISD (picture center above)
Presentation at the 05/15/2009 San Antonio Regional Technology Directors Meeting
Hosted by Alamo Heights ISD’s Jennifer Faulkner

(Image Caption: Right Click image left to view full-size)

• Scanned Copy of the Handout (this is great! Kudos to Rhonda and San Marcos CISD)
• Podcasting handout

1. Podcasting in the Bilingual/ESL Classroom: Enhancing Teaching and Learning through Portable Computing: Started with $7500. A lot of the kids are from different countries (India, Japan, Russia, Mexico and others). We’re about 40 kids effective when we first started it.
2. Accelerate Learning – The reason for this is that we want to accelerate learning. Kids new to the country didn’t have computers and lacked opportunities to practice English. Go from ordinary to extraordinary. The iPod enables them to Create, Distribute and Accessible.
3. iPods Can be used for Learning in the Bilingual/ESL Classroom…iPod is a great access device for learning. Podcasting and iPods simplifies content distribution. We also let kids take them home (check them out from the library). We’ve had very few problems with kids altering what we put on the iPods. Now we use it with Special Ed Students. We can share this with teachers (including newcomer teachers)…and helped bridge the gap between teachers and newcomer teachers, and they talk and collaborate more…same with special ed teachers.
4. Why Use iPods: Differentiate instruction for students, scaffolding for new learning, Portable anywhere/anytime learning, Review and Reinforcement, creativity and imagination, collaboration and student centered.
5. News for Coverage: Newcomer Academy by WOAI.com. Only 1 in 3 schools in the country. This is supplemental. Starting the 5th year with iPods.
6. Learn by Listening: iPods is not just for music. Kids can learn everything that there is in school. Students read 20 minutes (oral reading) every night using their iPods+microphone. This creates an ongoing sample of work…teachers can help students appreciate their progress towards losing their accent, which students’ desire.
7. Recognition: U.S. Dept of Education, KEYE of Austin (Fred Cantu), WOAI of San Antonio, Texas Lone Star Magazine Cover Story, San Marcos Daily Record, Radio Interviews, TexasISD.com

   (Image Caption: Thanks to Joel Adkins, Kerrville ISD for contributing this photo of Rhonda’s preso!)

8. Reach All Learners: reaches visual learners with videos/photos/powerpoints with voice overs doing vocabulary, lyrics=transcripts/lecture notes, artwork=illustrations/speaker photos, videos=visualization/documentaries/demonstrations. Mentions SIOP (Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners)…these techniques can be taken and made to work on the iPod. Students are able to write scripts, match pictures with words, and retell what they learn. All iPods are engraved with San Marcos CISD and all local pawnshops know about it. Only 2 iPods stolen in 4 years.

   Since all the classes are the same, it’s really easy…we name all the iPods the same thing (1500 iPods) and just add content to the playlist. You can plug in 3-4 iPods at the same time…if they have the same name, they all get the same thing. Teachers will sync them during a changing period (20 at a time). It’s all in the setup…put the work in the beginning, it pays off later.

   At high school, it’s a little different. Sync only the list of kids in that class…will probably purchase pre-paid VISA cards. I recommend going with the iPod Nanos…

   Audience Contribution:No way to create a playlist for the movies. Mention of Cosmopod app (download FLV and more to your iPod). Don’t provide students calculators.

9. Keys to Success: Board support, administrative support, parent involvement, professional development (requires on the job training, not just a one shot workshop), technical support, and Apple Support.
10. Curriculum Resources: Easily shared resources…UnitedStreaming Video, Teacher Powerpoint Lectures, Educational Podcasts, Audio books, Audio of Vocabulary & Spelling, Music, Student Created Projects, Parent News, and Student Videos.
    
    Grammar Girl, all the Disney stuff is really good.
11. Results:
    – 50% showed improvement by 1 letter grade from fall to spring (all subjects);
    – 98% showed improvement since inception of iPod project;
    – 63% progressed 1 level TELPAS;
    – 100% show improvement in science

    DeafEd teachers need time to produce materials for their deaf education students.

12. Expansion: PreK Bilingual, High School ESL, SSI grade levels, Gifted and Talented, and Special Education.
13. Lessons Learned:
    -Better able to meet state expectations
    -NCLB
    – Improved performance
    -Confident Students
    Do you know enough about me to teach me? by Stephen G. Peters

    Kids listen to media technology and TV and their peers. If you have students create material for iPods, they’re more likely to listen to their peers than they are their teacher.

    Students created podcasts with Garageband (shared some examples).

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