Jun. 4, 2007 - iPod® School -- Using Your mp3 Player in your Homeschool -- COOP Rescue
IPod® School
Using Your mp3 Player in your Homeschool
Enhance your Homeschool COOP Teaching
Have you thought using your iPod to enhance the learning experience at your local homeschool coop? When I lived in NY, I was a member of a wonderful coop where each of us took turns teaching one of three various subjects (Art, PE, and Elective). I love teaching, so I never felt that part was a burden. Sometimes, coming up with a way to keep the attention of 15 five to seven year olds was not easy though. I don't know how many times I went in to teach art using Arts Atelier Attack and could not get the video player to work! I was always having to go get the teenage boys to come switch the cables around. Now, I can use my iPod!
Video iPods can plug easily into any (newer) t.v. with an inexpensive A.V. cable from MAC. ($19). Now, you can load a video onto your iPod and plug it in at your coop. No extra dvd to carry, no knowledge of the church's cable concoction required.
Surprise! Video iPods can be used to launch slide shows on any t.v., computer screen or video projector... What fun! Now you can show those cool art prints on the big screen. No more passing around postcard versions! Applications of slide show learning at coop are endless!
At our COOP, we tried to make the elective hour a subject none of us got around to teaching at home. So, how many of you actually teach music appreciation? I have a Music Performance Bachelor's Degree, I understand the value of music for our brains and hearts, yet I struggle to cover this subject adequately. iPod School to the rescue! iPods of any size and color can be hooked up into a stereo system for group learning. In college, one of my professors liked to play "drop the needle" on our tests. He still called it Drop the Needle even though record players were obsolete even back then  . Basically, that meant he tested our recognition of the selected range of music (usually 4 hours of music!) by randomly selecting music which we had to identify by name, composer, and date. Yikes! Use your iPod to help your music students recognize basic composers and works of music. Drop the Needle goes really high tech with iPod School, and using only one piece from a total of 10 famous composers will bring this down to the elementary level.
Teaching Latin at your coop? Start each class with iPod vocabulary drill!
Need to keep 15 five to seven year olds quiet as they straggle in one by two; or while you wait for parents to pick them up? Play an audio cd. Short selections such as Jim Weiss.
Puppet Show productions are less threatening beginning experience in public speaking. Use your audiobook recordings to let children experiment with puppets.
Working in the two year old room? iPod school rocks with this age. Don't cart your Wiggles DVDs or Cedarmont Kids CD's to the nursery, just plug in your iPod.
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