We sometimes ask students to reflect on their learning in
situations where their attention is taken up with the cognitive demands of completing
the activity. There is little left over for self-awareness. The voice/ video
recording and playback functions afforded by mobile devices allow students to
review their performance in isolation from the event and support them to reflect
constructively on their performance.
Learning Activity: Reflecting on reading fluency ,errors and
fix up strategies used.
Apps/ Native functions:
voice recording, storage and playback, Easy Portfolio App
In this activity students read a short passage of text.
They immediately listen back to their own reading, pausing the recording to
identify errors and fix up strategies they could use to repair
meaning and accuracy.
Student may also use this strategy to improve
their fluency and expression. In my experience students have a lot of
experience with listening to expressive, fluent reading. They know how it
sounds. What they may not be aware of is how their own reading sounds. Repeated
reading of a text with a focus on fluency and expression focuses students'
attention and provides a platform for reflection on their own performance.
Students may also be unaware of the progress they have
made. Listening to an earlier recording and comparing it to a recent one
provides students with a concrete illustration of how much they have improved
over time and can be a great confidence builder.
If students use an iPad rather than an Mp3 player,
recordings can be organised and stored in an App such as Easy Portfolio. It allows
users to create multiple portfolios enabling a teacher to create a portfolio
for each student. Voice recordings added to portfolios can be replayed before
saving. Teachers are able to access portfolios to provide verbal or written
feedback to students.
Learning Activity:
Small groups conduct a fair test and evaluate their scientific
investigation.
Apps/ Native Functions: Video and image capture ; Show Me
App
Prior to carrying out their investigation, students have
been involved in discussions of fair testing and know that a fair test requires
them to change one variable, measure one variable and keep all other variables
the same.
Students are able to use an iPad to record (video)
themselves conducting a single trial of an experiment and then discuss all of
the aspects they need to keep constant. They then conduct a second trial
and replay the video to evaluate how closely they replicated the procedure.
This process can be repeated over a number of trials to allow for fine tuning
of the investigation and develop awareness the investigation process. Watching
the video allows students to observe the task separately from engaging in the
task and allows students time to discuss solutions with their group.
Using the same device (iPad) students use Show Me to
capture a still image of their investigation setup. This application includes
the option of taking a photograph within the app itself which is automatically
inserted onto the whiteboard ready for students to add voice over and
annotations using the pen tool.
In order to share their reflections, groups of students
may rotate to view each other’s Show Me presentations or the presentations
could be uploaded to the Show Me site and viewed by the whole class on the
interactive whiteboard.
Using a mobile device allows students to move seamlessly
from conducting the task, reflecting in order to improve, explaining their process
and presenting their thinking to peers.
Opportunities for transformation: A class Show Me account or accounts can be
created using generic email addresses where student
work samples can be shared with the wider learning community without creating
safety and privacy concerns.
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