Finding Technology Where I Thought There Was None

When teachers talk about their amazing tech tools, it used to make me feel a little jealous. A whole class set of iPads? I wish! But after going on a treasure hunt in my own house, I am feeling excited and lucky. I have more than I thought I had!

Of course, I still have a few items on my wish list. I'd love love love to have a few iPads or e-readers for students to use. And I found a little gadget today called a Boogie Board.

 



The "Rip" model allows students to make sketches on the pad, and then save their work as a PDF. Aaaaaaagh! Fun! Want!

But I'm still feeling pretty happy! Look what I found!



Let's see... what have we here? First, that's a third generation iPod nano in the top left. Funny, that iPod just "appeared" at our house a few years ago. Someone left it at some point, but we can't figure out who it was! We've asked everyone we know, but there have been times when lots of kids are coming and going, and I'm guessing that it belonged to a teenager. One of life's mysteries. Thank you to it's original owner... I'm taking it to school!

Next, in the top middle is a Nikon CoolPix camera that one of my daughters got for Christmas a few years ago. She loved that camera and has taken very good care of it. But now she has an iPhone, which is super convenient... and the camera doesn't get used. Isn't she sweet to donate ithe camera to my classroom?!

In the top right, an "OLD" iPhone. It's actually an iPhone 4, so not completely ancient... I'm going to load stories and Reading Rainbow episodes onto it and let my first graders enjoy it! Of course, it can also be used for still photography and video recording.

Bottom left: Check it out!...a near-antique! ...Kids, that's an iPod. When it was purchased, that's the only name it had. Now it's referred to as a Classic. Purchase date was 2006, and my husband used this during his very long commute on the train. He watched movies and listened to music and frankly, we were all a little amazed. You can hear the hard drive spinning away... Gone is my husband's long commute, and with it his need for this iPod. It's mine now! My students can use it to watch Reading Rainbow or listen to reading.

That camera in the middle of the bottom row is a Flip Video. It's a great little camera, and the students will be using it in a completely "hands-on" way.

And finally, my iPod nano. I've been running with this little gem for years now. And I love it. But my wonderful husband upgraded it for my birthday last week. The addition of the radio on my new iPod is a treat. Now I can tune in to television shows at the gym! So the old nano goes straight to my classroom, too.

Look around your house! See what you can find!