Central City students use gadgets in classes

CENTRAL CITY - Keegan Kula is a picture of concentration as his fingers move quickly across the iPod screen.

“Eighteen seconds!” the 9-year-old announces excitedly.

“That's great, Keegan,” Buffy Campbell tells him.

Keegan rushes over to show Campbell the screen, then goes back to his seat to begin another round of “Balloon Pop Challenge.”

Keegan isn't playing - he's learning. On an iPod Touch.

The Central City school district introduced the technology to its special education classrooms this year. Campbell, the district's director of special education and at-risk services, said the popular devices are used to supplement education for the district's special needs population - from students with severe limitations to those who qualify for extra assistance.

“Our kids are enamored with technology,” Campbell said. “For all (special education) students can't do, they can work a cell phone or play a video game. They know iPods, they understand them. They love them.”

Already a 1:1 computer initiative district, some of the district's students already have school-issued laptops. The iPod Touch program expands on this technology, giving students the chance to work independently with a portable, and affordable, device.

“There isn't the stigma attached to the iPod Touch that there is with other products,” said James Stachowiak, coordinator for the University of Iowa's Center for Assistive Technology Education and Research. “Every student wants an iPod Touch.”

It was that familiarity that prompted Shannon Sullivan-Channon, a special-education teacher with the Iowa City school district's Transitions Services Center, to write a grant request specifically for iPod Touches.

The program received $2,000 from the school district foundation to purchase nine iPod Touches, gift cards, cases and some applications.

“I really believe in inclusion, that these kids can do what the other kids do,” Sullivan-Channon said. “They see kids their own age with these devices and they want them, too. It's a chance to bring them into the world.”

The fact that the iPod Touch has thousands of applications that are educational, practical or simply entertaining is a bonus.

While it's too soon to tell how many schools will incorporate the popular device in classrooms, Stachowiak believes educators are just beginning to realize the potential.

“There's new stuff coming out every day, in terms of applications,” he said.

Also, iPod Touches, and their oversized counterpart, the iPad, don't require hours of professional development other products demand.

“The big commitment of introducing something new is the training,” he said. “With the iPod Touch, not as much is needed for students because they're familiar with it.”

Students can even help their teachers, some of whom might adapt to the changes at a slower pace, but appreciate its value once they're up to speed.

“I'd be sad if they took them away from me,” said Marie Henderson, a kindergarten through fourth grade resource teacher at Central City Elementary School. “I can individualize the whole room using different applications. Everyone is doing something different at their personal level. No one has to wait, we just keep moving.”

Central City purchased 40 iPod Touches for about $10,000. The devices were used to help students with their Iowa Tests of Basic Skills and Iowa Tests of Education Development exams earlier this month.

Some special education students are allowed to have the test questions read to them. Rather than have a teacher do this, as they have in the past, Campbell said the iPods were programmed, as a playlist, to read the test questions. Students even had the option to hit repeat, if needed.

“Each student could go at their own speed,” Campbell said. “It gave them their independence, which is great.”

Andy Crozier, coordinator of digital learning technology for Grant Wood AEA, said iPod Touch and iPad usage is on the rise in classrooms and will continue to be as more schools experiment and share their results.

“It allows for customization,” Crozier said. “It offers a lot more individualized learning for students that's hard to replicate.”