Itouch

I am still not sure if I see the purpose of using an itouch in the classroom.  I found it hard to use with primary age students.  There are two things that I found beneficial but could be bought at a cheaper price for what they were.  I really liked being able to record my conferences with students.  It was very helpful to assess them by listening to them later on.  It also helped me hear myself as a teacher to see what I needed to change to better help the students. 

Another app that I found to be helpful in the classroom as the merrian-webster dictionary, which did not require an online connection to use like many of the other dictionary apps did.  The students were able to use this to help them with their vocabulary and to better understand a text that used words that they often did not know. 

I would have appreciated more instruction on this tool and how it can be used in a classroom than what was given.  I think that it could have a lot of benefits but without the proper training of it I do not know how many different things this little device can do. Like many other teacher candidates, I did not feel comfortable using it in the classroom because I was afraid that my master teacher would think I was just playing games with the students. 

I understand that it is important to learn how to use such a device because I am sure that before long students will have things like them in their pocket.   If this is the case they should learn how to use it, to help them with their homework as well as use it as an educational device instead of just a gaming device.