Reflection on Introducing iPods in 1st Grade

Last year was my first year teaching and in the start of that year my school district encouraged teachers to incorporate the use of iPod technology in the classroom.  Being a fresh and new teacher I felt it was a great opportunity to get right in the trenches and be part of the team, while simultaneously side-stepping some of the more political responsibilities until I felt more prepared.

The experience thus far has been equivalent to the initial attempts of getting into a swimming pool as a  constant cool breeze blows.  First, you test the waters with your toes (which isn't the best way for me to determine favorable water conditions since my toes are always cold) going ever so slowly, trying to acclimate yourself before the plunge.  I was inspired with the many different applications of the iPods and eager to get them in my classroom, but, as goes with everything new, I worried about the responsibility of all that expensive technology.  Also, like the chill of the pool water, the amount of information thrown at me and all the tech-lingo was daunting.

Yet, I took another step deeper.  It started with procedural lessons and exploratory lessons with my students and, in true constructivist fashion, we developed what would work for my teaching style and their learning styles together.  I decided that these lessons should be taught whole group and my class immediately approved of this by not yelling out "that's not fair" as only young children can do. I wonder if maybe  this was not my most effective choice. It was a slow process (but remember I'm still only getting my feet wet).  First graders following a step-by-step procedure requires a "broken record" method of instruction given by the teacher and utmost patience by all.  Aside from getting a sore lower back from bending over monitoring and assisting my students, I felt that the procedural portion of the lessons went well.  We agreed on Norms for Proper iPod Handling, assigned individual iPods, organization and cleansing, etc.  All-in-all the iPods were still in tact, accounted for, and still looking like they just came off the assembly line.  I took the next step deeper into iPod integration, App exploration.

Having done much of the ground work of App searching during Inservice week, I was ready to have the students "play" and show me what Apps were useful in the class, what Apps were inappropriate ("too babyish" or "too hard and confusing").  The purpose of this portion of the lessons was to familiarize the students with the touch screen and how to navigate the iPod touch (i.e. tapping, swiping, pinching, etc.).  Although the technology was new to 99% of my students, they easily mastered it.  In my observations I was able to mentally note strengths and weaknesses of the Apps that were available to my students, then later delete or save and organize those that met the needs on my classroom.  At this point I felt like I was wadding around comfortably and so were my students.  I think we might be ready to start going deeper into the pool.