Mid-Tech Tools

About Tape Recorders

Tape recorders can be used for both collecting and delivering information (i.e., books on tape). In addition to traditional tape recorders, there is also a wide variety of digital recorders available on the market today. They range in the amount of information they can hold. Some are simply meant to hold reminder messages, and they fill up after a few minutes or even just seconds. Others can continue recording for hours. Digital audio files on the tape recorder can be transferred to a computer.

Suggestions for Classroom Use:

• For a language arts lesson that incorporates tape recorders, visit: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/writing/tguide/index.asp?topic=Other#description (Link will open in a new window.)
  
  
• During pre-writing brainstorming sessions, tape record students’ ideas. Later, individually, in pairs, or in small groups, students can listen to the tape, discuss ideas, and make a list of the ideas they like.
  
  
• Have students use the tape recorder to document interviews, observations, experiments, and selected activities. Listening to the tapes later can stimulate discussion and ideas for writing.
  
  
• Have students tape record themselves reading their first drafts. Later, as they listen to themselves and follow along with the text, have them use a magic marker to note places where they can elaborate.
  
  
• Have students who struggle with writing compose their first drafts using a tape recorder as an alternative mode of expression. After listening to the tapes, students can then transcribe and revise the first drafts into more finished pieces.
  
  
• Give students a visual prompt (e.g., a picture or object) and have them tape record all their thoughts and observations. Sometimes providing students with a set of prompting questions (e.g., What do you see? What colors do you like? What is happening?) elicits additional ideas.

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About Portable Keyboards

Battery-powered portable keyboards are lightweight and durable, enabling students to type and edit text files in diverse settings, e.g., in the classroom, at home, on field trips, in the library. Once text is entered into the portable keyboard, it can be printed out or transferred to a computer at another time for formatting, revision, and editing. Some keyboards are expandable with mini-applications that work with popular educational software, such as Co:Writer and Inspiration.
Given that portable keyboards are relatively inexpensive compared to personal computers (approximately $200-$400), schools are using them to increase students’ access to technology. With fewer students waiting in line for a word processor, classroom computers can be reserved for higher-level tasks.

Suggestions for Classroom Use:

• Take advantage of the keyboard's portability. Allow students to take them into the stacks of a library or along on a field trip to record information and observations while they are still fresh.
  
  
• Portable keyboards lend themselves to cooperative assignments. For example, during a brainstorming or planning session, students can pass the keyboard around, taking turns giving input.
  
  
• For students with handwriting difficulty, portable keyboards can be helpful for note-taking during lectures. They also help save time if the student is taking notes for a writing assignment, since the text can be transferred directly to a computer.
  
  
• Have students use the keyboard to keep an electronic journal or writer’s notebook. Students can carry their keyboards around and record ideas for writing whenever inspiration strikes.
  
  
• Portable keyboards are great for brainstorming, since formatting is not required for just generating ideas.

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Hand-held Spell Checkers

Suggestions for Classroom Use:

• Students have better success with a spell checker if they learn a strategy for using it first. Click here to learn about Dr. Tamarah Ashton’s CHECK strategy: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/technology/ashton_spellcheck.html
  
  
• If available, encourage students to use the text-to-speech feature. It allows them to hear the misspelled word and the suggestion lists offered by the spell checker.
  
  
• If a student comes across an unfamiliar word while reading, he or she can enter it into the spell checker and hear it spoken out loud.
  
  
• Students can compare a word from the spell checker’s list to the definitions in the dictionary and the synonyms in the thesaurus. This will likely increase their chances of choosing the correct spelling.

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