Touch Screen Tablets
Today touch screen devices are all the rage. Most of today's new smart phones, tablets, mp3 players, digital cameras, and computers have touch-sentsitive screens that allow the user to interact with the devices by using their fingers, a stylus, or a digital pen. Because these touch devices respond to finger motion, they are very user friendly. A child for example isn't going to have to use a mouse to select information on a screen, or use a keyboard to zoom in; all that child will need to do is tap their finger on what interests them to select, or pinch their fingers to zoom in or out on the screen.
Not only are these devices user friendly, they are also incredibly intriguing to children in this digital age.Touch enabled devices are the most up-to-date machines, and children naturally are engaged when working on them. For these reasons I think incorporating touchscreen devices into the education curriculum is a great idea that will enhance student motivation, engagement, and ultimately result in higher performance in many subject skills.
Touch screen tablets are number one in my mind when I think of incorporating touchscreen devices into the classroom. These devices do not take up much space (less than a computer, and monitor) and they can easily be help in the hands of elementary children. Today even Apple's ipad mini is available, and would be ideal to give to first through third grade students. The original ipad, larger in size would be more appropriate for grades four and up through high school. There are also other touchscreen tablets available for students such as the Dell Latitude 10 tablet, and the Samsung Galaxy Note II.
Below is a youtube video giving us feedback from a 5th grade teacher, and her students on how they feel about using ipads in the classroom. See for yourself how these touch screens can engage young minds as well as yours.
As these students were explaining in the video, there are endless ways to use touch screen tablets to enrich their curriculum. I also want to share a link to the article, 25 Ways To Use Tablets In The Classroom. I particularly like way #25 from this article: using tablets for current events. My school is doing away with Scholastic News next year, and we are trying to find a way to keep our students up-to-date with current events. We could use touch screen tablets in the classroom to allow students to work in pairs to research current events on kid friendly websites like Time for kids, or discovery kids.
Every teacher can use tablets in their classroom in at least one way, and many teachers will probably find more than ten ways to use touch screen tablets. I know that each classroom is different, and that's why these tablets will fit nicely into those classrooms. They are versatile, and exciting for students of all ages.
-Lisa Costello
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI like you entry for this week. Considering that the majority of the new technology out there consists of using touch screens, most students may already be familiar with them. Of course, with any technology, there has to be cases for them. Sometimes, they are more expensive to replace the screen than to actually buy a device.
One of the things that first came to my mind while reading your entry was using iPads. Particularly allowing students to create their own ebooks with them. I'm not sure if you can do the same thing with any tablet, but I have personally seen apps using an iPad and it's very versatile. Any lesson could be put into a book.
Good entry!
Kia
Kia,
DeleteNice point about cases; they can be expensive. Let's face it, students drop things so we need to protect our technology as much as we can. Also I love your idea of creating ebooks. I can think of several of my students who would go crazy for that idea. The possibilities are endless with the use of touch screen tablets like the ipad.
Thanks for your post!
-Lisa
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post and I can't agree with you more about touch-screen devices. Students find them very attractive and since they are the newest and the best thing around in the world of technology, they are far more appealing than just the computer. while I find that my students are more engaged when a task is on the computer than a paper and pencil activity, doing that same activity on a tablet would probably blow their minds (especially since they think of them only in regards to games and fun most of the time). The major hurdle I see in this is funding. Tablets are not readily available for teachers to utilize and if their are, there usually isn't enough of them to go around. I am battling with whether or not we should be focusing on increasing the number of computers per student, or if simply moving towards tablets would be more beneficial and cost effective. Especially considering what you have already mentioned...that all you need is a finger (which for our younger students, is mush easier than using a mouse). Just some food for thought.
Thanks for posting the video with the post! I really enjoyed it!
Samantha
Samantha,
DeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the video. I thought it added a nice touch to show how students enjoy using these devices. Also I agree that we should put our funding toward tablets and not computers. Tablets are user friendly, and all-in-one devices. They also can be stored easier. I think as time goes on, classrooms should increase the levels of tablets available to students.
Thanks for your post,
-Lisa