iTouch Uses

In my main placement classroom, I have found a few instances in which the iTouch might really help out the kids.  Something that always has the kids hung up is story ideas.  I constantly hear kids saying things, such as, "I don't know what I wanna write about."  Or, "Nothing interesting has ever happened to me that I'd want to write about."

I understand their frustration because, for me, getting the first few sentences down on paper is the hardest thing to do.  I feel that every word has to be well chosen and used for a specific reason.  It all has to be perfect!  Then I end up staring at my blank page because nothing will do, nothing is perfect enough.  What I have learned to do is just free write and just write something!  I found an app called StoryBuilder, and the kids would use the exercises to start getting words out.  There are cartoons (comic book storyboards) and the first part of the sentence starts, then the students fill in the last missing part of the sentence.  They can record their voice narrative and replay.  Everything is recorded until the story is complete.  I think this app helps kids get over their frustrations of starting a story out perfectly.

Another app that I like is google translate.  With ELL students, I can use this with and communicate with them if there is anything that is unclear in conversations.  It is also an excellent tool to use in conferences with parents of ELL students.  One of my favorite apps!

I also saw an app called Fractions, and yes, it is all about fractions.  As the kids start to get into the idea of fractions, this app has so many images and exercises that explain how fractions are used and why fractions are used.  It can also be used as a game, as you can master simple fractions and answer questions about fractions.  You can take quizzes and test yourself, too.  It's not all about pizza slices and pie slices anymore!