This year I have been using my iPhone and iPad quite a bit in the classroom. I have been using the notepad feature in iPad to take anecdotal records while watching students perform movements in tasks and games. Using a spreadsheet app, we have also tracked progress using checklists. These have been very helpful in keeping meaningful notes and have enabled me to very accurately assess student achievement and progress.
The iPhone has been most useful in giving students instant feedback with regard to form. When I give corrective feedback, students cannot always make the suggested changes easily. It is times like this that I ask the student if they mind if I record them performing the action. I then use this handy app that I downloaded to view my own golf swing. The app records a short ten-second video which can be played back in slow motion, paused, and reversed. Just today I used this to show a first grader how when he threw he held his elbow to his side instead of getting his arm up and back. When he saw it (he was super excited), he was able to see exactly what I was talking about. His subsequent throws looked much better as he was able to focus on keeping his elbow up. I reinforced his new found form by rerecording his movement and again showing it to him. It has been very effective.
I also recently downloaded an app that simulates a gadget that I used when I taught in Sweden years ago. I had been searching for something similar ever since I moved back, but to no avail - until now. During stations a lot of time is spent monitoring the time, for example: one minute of work and then 30 seconds to rest and move to the next station. The gadget I had in Sweden was hooked up to the stereo and would automatically mute the stereo on any preset interval. Students knew that while the music was playing, they were working, and when it was silent they had a bit of time to move to the next station and rest. This new app does just that with a few added bonuses. Each interval can be a different song and the end of each interval is preceded by a few short beeps.
