The first day of praticum, I was presented with something I had never seen before: an iPod cart. Each kid got to use their own iPod Touch to go through prefix flashcards. The first thought that crossed my mind was that this was pretty slick - students get to mix education with technology that they would usually associate with fun. Of course it seemed like a good idea!
The more time that passed using the iPods, however, the more I saw flaws in this idea. There were other applications on the iPods, so we were constantly telling the students to exit out of games and go back to the flashcard application. There were way too many distractions. Also, when I returned to South two days later, I heard that one of the iPods had been stolen that day, and was still missing.
Maybe this is one of those instances where the old is more practical than the new. Regular paper flashcards do the same job as the iPod one, without the distractions, and without the temptation of being stolen.
iPod flashcards? They sound pretty sweet. Part of me wonders how feasible it is to spend the money on twenty-some iPod touches when it is just as efficient to use paper flashcards. Also, I know we looked at two websites in class last Tuesday where students could make online flashcards. I think that would be a better use of school money AND reduce the amount of distractions.
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