I chose this session because iTunes U is something I don’t know very much about. We have the app on our iPads, but I’m pretty sure nobody at my school has used it yet. I knew that there were lots of resources for lessons, but really didn’t understand the magnitude of free help available to teachers using this app.
The session was presented by Rebecca Wildman, a fourth grade teacher at Boyne City Elementary School in Boyne City, MI. Rebecca is recognized nationally for creating engaging and comprehensive iTunes U courses aligned to the Common Core in the area of English Language Arts. The 75 minute session wasn’t nearly long enough, and I wish I could spend more time learning with Rebecca. I’d highly recommend following her on Twitter.
Rebecca showed us some courses in iTunes U. Since she teaches the fourth grade, her courses are more like units. They include a few weeks of work on one topic. When you create a unit you can write your own lessons and presentations or search and use those created by other teachers. You can change and update the content at any time. If you are using videos, books, or other materials that need to be downloaded it is a good idea to have the students do that all at once. Then they can use the course without being dependent on the Internet.
Boyne City Elementary is a one-to-one iPad school, and they are lucky enough to have a strong infrastructure and lots of teacher resources. They also have bought online books for their courses and are using them in the place of textbooks.
After working together to learn how to care for the iPads Rebecca lets her students take them home. Even if they don’t have the Internet at home, her students can access the content. And the great thing is that they can do so with their parents. One part of one of her lessons included having the student read the lesson with a parent (grandparent, older sibling, babysitter, etc.) and snap a photo of themselves doing so. They email the photo to Rebecca to show that they’ve done the lesson.
Students can type their work and email it to the teacher. But they are still able to use pencil and paper if they are more comfortable with that way of doing things. If a student forgets or misuses their iPad they are required to use paper and pencil for their work.
We looked more closely at two units during the session. One was on the Solar System and one was on nonfiction, using the Titanic as a research subject. Both were packed with interesting materials including books to read, videos, documents, images, web links, and apps. Students can use the materials over and over again to strengthen their understanding and knowledge. This frees the teacher to work more closely with small groups or individuals.
We didn’t have time to get into the actual creation of a unit, and I’m sure it took Rebecca some time to put these together. But once they are finished she will have them forever and they can easily be tailored to the needs of her current class.
Rebecca feels strongly that teachers should share ideas and content with each other for free. You can learn more about the way she uses iTunes U at the iPad in Education website. And if you are ready to dive in, going to the iTunes U catalog and finding courses appropriate to your curriculum is certainly a place to start.
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