Developing Oral Language Skills
Patricia Dillabough, Speech Language
Pathologist with TLDSB, was kind enough to provide me with a list of suggested
apps to help improve oral language skills. Some of these apps are as follows:
Noodle Words – Active Word by Noodleworks, Vocabulary Builder 1, and Category
Carousel Pocket SLP by Snapse Apps, LLC.
The focus group of 5 Kindergarten students is currently using these apps
on a twice weekly basis, for about 10-15 minutes per session. Adult guidance is
necessary, so either I am assisting each child or an ECE student is providing
support. It is hoped that these apps will help students develop vocabulary and
word knowledge.
Student Independence
The Senior Kindergarten focus students
are now quite independent using the iPads. They continue to seek assistance
from me with regard to passwords [e.g., for Raz Kids] or if 'something goes
wrong with the sound', otherwise they are comfortable with the various apps on
the iPads. The SKs also are quite willing to help the JK focus students who are
not independent using the iPads. The JK focus group is on a continuum when it
comes to the iPads [beginning, developing, well-developed].
iPad Notes
This month we are learning how to use
the Notes dictation feature to record students’ thoughts about activities they
are working on. For example, as part of the Kindergarten Science and Technology
curriculum, the students have planted bean seeds and are observing the seeds’
growth. We hope to re-locate our bean plants to the school garden – if warm
weather ever arrives. Also, the focus groups are constructing ‘structures’ and
will soon be making bird feeders using a variety of materials. Results are
being communicated using iPad Notes.
This is all quite challenging as the
dictation feature frequently ‘mangles’ the students’ sentences. Editing of text
needs to be done with an adult. Nonetheless, the students love this feature.
They find it hilarious when what they have said is not accurately recorded.
Then they want to try dictating sentences again in an effort to ‘get it right.’
So…while Notes isn’t an efficient word processor, it is proving a great feature
to capture student interest.
Photo Gallery
Picture 1 Picture 2
Note
Picture 1 - “It’s my
latest octan tower [Lego movie]. There’s a square based pyramid in it, 2
cylinders, and 1 rectangular prism. Also 3 more sort of cubes.”
Picture 2 - “It’s a
hotel and that’s the sidewalk in front. There’s a square based pyramid in it
and a semi-circle. Me and my family live in the hotel and we own it.”
Next Steps
At this point, next steps involve
continuing on with what we have been doing over the course of the iPad project
- exploring
various apps relevant to our inquiry question and tracking student engagement/ progress
through the use of photos, videos, note-taking [speech
to text], oral language checklists,
and
students’ journals as an expression of
their understanding.
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