Grades K-5 on iTunesU

I watched the video podcast entitled "What is A Planet?" I was surprised to find out that up until very recently, scientists had not defined within scientific terms what a planet actually was. This created a dilemma when faced with the amazing new discovery of a possible planet in 2005. But, in 2006 a planet was officially defined in by the International Astronomical Union(IAU) as a celestial body that is in orbit around the Sun, has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium(is a round shape), and has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit. According to this definition, the planet we know as Pluto is actually considered a "dwarf planet". However, science is constantly changing with new observations and discoveries being made every day. Who knows how many planets there are? Nobody knows for sure, it's mostly speculation that still must be proven.

This video was very educational in that it gave the official scientific definition of a planet. It also showed some computer illustrations and diagrams of the planets in our solar system. This would be a great video to show to my future students, for example during a science class. It's a good way for them to get a visual idea of what our solar system might look like, and what qualifies a planet. I can also imagine the videos being more interesting and engaging for elementary students than, say a textbook would be. "What is A Planet?" showed three dimensional movement in space, as well as interviews with real scientists and astronomers.

Another great aspect to incorporating iTunes podcasts and videos into teaching and education is that the information is condensed. You get a brief, overall, to-the-point review, definition, and explanation of whatever material you are looking at. This gets rid of a lot of excess and/or unneccessary information that would possibly allow the students more opportunities to become distracted. As an added bonus, the videos on iTunesU are free!

"The Edible Schoolyard" and "A Night in the Global Village"

The first free video on iTunesU that I watched was literally "the edible schoolyard". This was an ingenious idea! Gardening taught the kids from Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School SO much. They learned the scientific facts about photosynthesis and plant life, how to grow varying types of fruits and vegetables, and how to fertilize and harvest the food they planted. They were also learning about the different seasons and how they affect the agricultural industry. The children also incorporated math and science into their preparing, baking and cooking of the food they harvested. They also learned how to work together to achieve a sense of community and belonging in helping one another. And it didn't feel like school because they enjoyed it so much. It was more like play for the students. You could tell that all of the children loved their garden and had a sense of pride in what they had accomplished with it. This hands-on approach to education is one of the best, most effective, and most fun ways for kids to learn. For me, watching this video gave me ideas that I could use as a teacher, especially in the subject areas of science or social studies. I think children of just about any age would benefit from this way of learning.

The second iTunesU video was called "A Night in the Global Village", and described how the Global Gateway Program can benefit students. Through this program, the kids got to experience first-hand the difficulties faced by many third world countries: hunger, poverty, and having a shelter to protect themselves. They learned that it was not always just about getting food; they had to be able to successfully communicate with each other and neighboring communities in order to trade and bargain for necessary resources, like firewood and water. This experience allowed the students to understand that there are people in the world that need our help. It taught them sympathy, responsibility, cooperation, and to be thankful for what they had in their own homes. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a roof over their heads and good food and water every day. The students realized this through their experiences in the Global Village. I think the Global Gateway Program is a very successful way to help students be more aware of the different cultures and ways of life of the people in the world around them, more so than having them read about it from a book. Once again, hands-on education like this works, and the students will most likely never forget what they have been through and learned during the process.

iTunes University

There is a multitude of student and teacher resources that can be found through iTunes. If you go to iTunes U, you will see what I mean. One of the most helpful things available for students, especially at the college level, would be the different links listed according to subject. This list of subjects can help students to narrow down their resources and saves them the often daunting task of searching for information on the internet. For instance, if you click on the "literature" link, you will find at the top of the page materials that are new and notable. Some of these media are podcasts, including lecture readings, surveys and interviews. Other resources involve the top downloads, so students can view the most used media circulating iTunes for that day. This helps to narrow it down even further, as there is so much information available.

As for teacher resources, iTunes has the "teaching and education" link available. This useful link includes project learning, technology advancement, and career development help. It has tips for integrating studies and lesson plans as well. It even has podcasts relating to social and emotional learning for teachers to help students build character and become more responsible. Many of the podcasts have movies and instructional videos included for visual aid. The biggest plus: almost everything on iTunes is free. All you have to do is go to www.iTunes.com and download iTunes to your computer. You save the program to your desktop and it's there whenever you need it! I know I will be using iTunes quite a bit as a student now and as a teacher later.

Using iPods in the Classroom

The use of technology in the classroom has escalated again with the use of iPods. If you type http://cit.duke.edu/pdf/reports/ipod_initiative_04_05.pdf into your browser, you will find that Duke University has employed the iPod in their classes. In 2004, Duke became the first college to offer 20GB iPods to all of their incoming freshmen. The new students cold use their iPods for a course dissemination tool for use in podcasts, as well as a classroom and field recording tool. The students became more engaged in school with the continued use of their iPods.

Another school using iPods in 2006 was Dallas Bishop Dunne Catholic School, in their World History class. Most kids already have iPods, so the teachers decided to use them for school and classroom instruction. The students in their World History class were learning about the Islamic religion, so they used their iPods to research the internet and download information pertaining to the material they were discussing in class. They could also use the iPods for class presentations and podcasts. Several of the teachers at Bishop Dunne could use the video technology for downloading class assignments, homework and lectures. The best thing about utilizing the iPod during classroom instruction is the ease and portability of the tool, thus minimizing the need for so many textbooks, binders, and other more cumbersome materials. As technology in education continues to advance, I'm sure many more schools will want to use the iPod in their future classes.