There are about 25 million iPod Touches in the hands of youth today, plus you can add the number iPhones in parent’s hands that get passed off. Although the distribution of these resources is uneven, the price of the ipod Touch makes it a good candidate for 1:1 programs or even just as a small set of in-class resources.

We expect that anytime, any-place micro-tutoring and consolidation will have a positive effect on student learning – but we need to have the right software and the right approach to supporting students as they work with the software to ensure that the knowledge that they acquire is connected and durable. We also expect that by providing children and youth with an opportunity to interact with models to make sense of foundational concepts and skills their ability to move forward in their understanding of new concepts will be enhanced.

Looking at the apps on the app store is rather discouraging – of the 1000+ math related apps – more than 90% are simply flash cards. However, if you sort through the apps you will find a few which have been developed by educators. Next, if you consider how you might support students as they work with specific apps, you will begin to see their potential – look for ways to engage students in sense-making discussions, challenge them to work together to solve the presented problems and share their strategies, then have them focus on accuracy before speed.

As teacher educators we are developing a collection of free apps to support k-8 students in developing or remediating foundational conceptual understandings and skills (see MathTappers Find Sums, MathTappers; Clockmaster, and MathTappers: Estimate Fractions on the App store – and keep looking we have more on the way).

We encourage parents, tutors and teachers to review the info and advice sections and to take a few minutes to become familiar with each game and then work with their student(s) for a few minutes to explore the models and games presented, and discuss useful strategies before sending them off to work on their own.

The best apps present meaningful/useful models, and encourage students to develop accuracy first and fluency second.

There are about 25 million iPod Touches in the hands of youth today, plus you can add the number iPhones in parent’s hands that get passed off. Although the distribution of these resources is uneven, the price of the ipod Touch makes it a good candidate for 1:1 programs or even just as a small set of in-class resources.

We expect that anytime, any-place micro-tutoring and consolidation will have a positive effect on student learning – but we need to have the right software and the right approach to supporting students as they work with the software to ensure that the knowledge that they acquire is connected and durable. We also expect that by providing children and youth with an opportunity to interact with models to make sense of foundational concepts and skills their ability to move forward in their understanding of new concepts will be enhanced.

Looking at the apps on the app store is rather discouraging – of the 1000+ math related apps – more than 90% are simply flash cards. However, if you sort through the apps you will find a few which have been developed by educators. Next, if you consider how you might support students as they work with specific apps, you will begin to see their potential – look for ways to engage students in sense-making discussions, challenge them to work together to solve the presented problems and share their strategies, then have them focus on accuracy before speed.

As teacher educators we are developing a collection of free apps to support k-8 students in developing or remediating foundational conceptual understandings and skills (see MathTappers Find Sums, MathTappers; Clockmaster, and MathTappers: Estimate Fractions on the App store – and keep looking we have more on the way).

We encourage parents, tutors and teachers to review the info and advice sections and to take a few minutes to become familiar with each game and then work with their student(s) for a few minutes to explore the models and games presented, and discuss useful strategies before sending them off to work on their own.

The best apps present meaningful/useful models, and encourage students to develop accuracy first and fluency second.

Along with new gizmos coming in everyday with advances in technology, Online Tutoring also seems to be coming of age. Online tutoring programs like Eduwizards (http://www.eduwizards.com/) are working at the cutting edge of technology to bring education within the reach of thousands of students. Eduwizards relies on it’s vast bank of certified and experienced tutors to provide customized lessons to students in the comfort of their homes and as per their schedule. What’s more, Eduwizards can even provide tutors for tricky subjects and topics that most other such services would shy away from.

Truly, the ‘i’ in iGeneration stands for technology and the the benefits it brings to individual students.

Along with new gizmos coming in everyday with advances in technology, Online Tutoring also seems to be coming of age. Online tutoring programs like Eduwizards (http://www.eduwizards.com/) are working at the cutting edge of technology to bring education within the reach of thousands of students. Eduwizards relies on it’s vast bank of certified and experienced tutors to provide customized lessons to students in the comfort of their homes and as per their schedule. What’s more, Eduwizards can even provide tutors for tricky subjects and topics that most other such services would shy away from.

Truly, the ‘i’ in iGeneration stands for technology and the the benefits it brings to individual students.

http://patrickaievoli.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/gen-ithe-rise-of-generation-interactive/

http://patrickaievoli.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/gen-ithe-rise-of-generation-interactive/