iPods in Education
Blog Booster: another free iPod app
Okay, Take Three! This is the third try using this app on my iPod Touch and I am actually writing on my Macbook. I froze the iPod twice, once when the app tried to sync my blog posts to the iPod, and the second time because I hit the buttons incorrectly when trying to take a screenshot. I was pushed out of the app and upon returning the sync process froze the iPod once again. I also lost most of the post, well everything except the title and tags.
I am trying this app since I could not find a way to log out of my blog on the free WordPress app. Personally it is not an issue, but with six classes sharing iPods, it becomes an issue. I need them to be able to log in and out, or at least have separate log ins. Blog Booster seems to allow that. I will have to try it out in my classroom to know for certain.
The app allows for adjusting text with bold, underline and some other features. Where I get my iPod hung up is when the app tries to synchronize my blog to the iPod. I can jump out of the app and do other things, however when I reenter the app, it goes back to the frozen sync screen. I will e-mail the app creator, 6taps and see if they can enlighten me on this topic. Hopefully they can help and I can push this out to my students.
Blogging from my iPod Touch
This blog is being written entirely from my iPod Touch. Previously I had toyed with blogging from the iPod, but had limited success. I could log in and create a title and look around, even type excerpts, but could not write to the body of the post.
I e-mailed Sue Waters at Edublogs support about the issue, she has been super-fantastic in helping me with the site. She was away, but I received a response from Ronnie B. at Edublogs. He Advised me that others have used the free WordPress app with success. I decided to try it and here I am…posting successfully from a mobile device.
To post, open the app by tapping it, then type in you blog URL, no need for the http. Type in username and password, then you are inside and ready to blog. All of my categories were pre-loaded,so I added tags and started writing.
You can type from the standard position, with the “home button” at the bottom of the iPod, or spin the iPod on it’s
side and have the expanded keyboard much like a cell phone keyboard. If you forget something in your post just scroll through and tap the screen where you want the cursor to be. It is so very easy to use.
As I experiment more with the app I will update or add more posts. I do believe my students will be able to do this much easier than I am currently. They can text without looking at the phones…as the phones are in their purses or pockets in our classrooms. This will be a cakewalk for them!
First Day of School: Less than two weeks away
Ah…the first day of school is less than TWO WEEKS away…and I could use another two months of summer…I have been creating a mental “To Do” list for the first two weeks of classes. During this time period I initiate my students into the wonderful world of technology in education. I have them sign up for most of the tools and programs we will be using in class, run them through basic tasks on the iPod Touches, and explain what is expected of them. As of now, I will not be pulled from my classes to be the district’s Technology Integrator, we have not received any funding from Pennsylvania as of yet, so I will be in my classroom full time. That may change if funding goes through, or some other opportunity, or random happening occurs.
So without further adieu, here is this year’s list, or at least what I have thought of so far…it is an aggressive schedule and if I find the students need more time, I will give it to them.
If the office has my class lists ready on Tuesday when I stop by the school, I can create my class lists and organize my Google Apps for Education accounts for my students. I can also create Discovery Education Accounts and organize my students Gaggle.net email accounts. These are tasks I must do for them, most of the other stuff, the students will do in class…which makes my life easier!
Day One’s agenda, I will hand out my class expectations and Textmarks documents, along with introducing the iPods to the kids. The sign out and sign in process will take almost half of each period. I am hoping that I do not have more students than iPods, but if I do, I was promised five laptops to help out.
Day Two’s agenda will begin the sign up process for Web 2.0 tools. I will start with Edmodo, which will be my online classroom platform. Once they sign in or up, the students will answer a survey question on technology experience, post a note in the discussion board to introduce themselves to me and the rest of the students, see how I will be posting documents for them to access online, and follow a link that I post out to the class wiki. They should have time to also look over some of the iPod apps once they complete the above mentioned basic tasks.
On Day Three I hope to have them log in to their Google Apps for Education accounts and see how the Documents 2 app works on the iPods. They can type a quick note and upload it from their iPods to their Google Apps account. If this does not take too long, I will then have them log in to their Gaggle email accounts. Between Gaggle, Edmodo, and the Google Apps for Education accounts my students will have extended access to the classroom.
On Day Four, the students will sign up for Evernote accounts and practice using the tools we have discussed in class. I can do this by providing the URLs to every tool used in the Edmodo classroom. The students will have their choice of using Documents 2, Evernote, or paper and pencil for class notes. I will encourage one of the web-based tools since they can access the information without worrying about forgetting papers in their lockers, or at home, or in their car, or a friend’s car, or…you get the idea.
Day Five’s agenda will start with a reminder about signing up for my Textmarks account and a preview of the flaschcard apps on the iPod Touches. I will have shared out a couple of sets of flashcards in .csv file format via Google Apps for Education. The students will be able to sync the flashcards to their iPod Touches using the flashcard apps. They will have time to see how the apps work and possibly find one they like more than the other apps. I am going to encourage the students to contribute flashcards to the class by creating their own accounts to the flashcard sites online. I will offer points for the creation of the resources. This will get the students more involved in the learning process and take some pressure off of me to be the sole creator of educational information for my classes. I am using only free flashcard apps, so students may have to create more than one account if the “free accounts” limit the number of flashcards they can create. I will also model how we will use the flashcards on the Polyvision Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) in my classroom.
At some point I will introduce the student blogs, probably Day Six will be the day. I recently upgraded to an Edublogs pro account. I am not sure exactly how I will roll out the 50 student blogs. I may make the blogs mandatory and regularly occurring in my Freshman Honors Civics class and keep the blogs as voluntary enrichment in my other classes, or mandatory with less postings required. I am leaning towards mandatory blogs with less required postings, it will give all of my students the experience they need in a global society.
Days Seven through Ten will be lab time for the students to work with the iPods completing tasks such as sending e-mails using the iPod Touches, uploading Documents 2 and Evernote files. Taking screenshots with the iPod Touches and emailing them to me. I will have the students record audio files on the iPods and send them via e-mail. The goal is to get the students somewhat familiar with the technology before we jump into the curriculum for the year.
I do have to have students sign up for Animoto using my teacher access pass and my Civics students will need to log in to their online textbook during this time period. I will also show them how my online Elluminate class will work and allow model the features. I hope to start online office hours by Week Three of school. I will use the Edmodo classroom to survey the students as to the night and time that best suites their availability.
I am hoping that the mini Eno board that I ordered in the spring has arrived. The students can practice using the handheld board to work the Interactive Whiteboard from their desks. My hope is that the students will be able to use the mini board so they do not have to get up and walk to the IWB all the time to participate in class. It would not be an issue if we had block schedules instead of 40 minute classes, so I must find ways to save time in class. I hope that by the end of the second week, we can sign the iPods out and in, in under 5 minutes much like the past school year.
The above schedule is subject to change, especially if we have any fire drills, assemblies, public announcements in the middle of class, and the inevitable schedule changes throughout the first several weeks of school. I am thinking that the students may need more time to complete the tasks at hand and become comfortable with the technology, but they may just surprise me and run way ahead of the schedule…either way I will adjust.
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This site came across my PLN on Twitter over the weekend. I forget who Tweeted the link and I apologize for not being able to give them proper recognition for the info…sorry. I think the site has many positive implications for education. In the day of shrinking budgets, who can afford to ignore free resources? The site is easy to use and you can view the ebooks on platforms other than an iPad.
I downloaded the free FireFox add-on and in minutes read a Dr. Seuss book to my daughter. It was just scanned images from the hard copy, but she enjoyed it. Imagine doing the same thing over an LCD projector onto an interactive whiteboard in your classroom? The students would go nuts, allow them to round robin read and turn the pages with the click of a mouse…even the high school students would enjoy it.
I forwarded the information to the administrators in my district, hopefully they will find the information as interesting as I did. At the minimum, I hope they look into the site, we could use any free help we can get!
The Dunwoody Crier – News: iPad for All
Using the iPad will also be cost-effective. At a price of $500, it compares favorably to a conventional portable, which can cost $2,000 or more. As more publishers put their textbooks online and teachers become more comfortable finding their own apps, the iPad will significantly reduce the need for costly textbooks.
via thecrier.net
Brandon Hall School in Atlanta, Georgia gets education. They are streamlining their technology funding away from obsolete in classroom only tools and giving their students mobile technology that they use anywhere. Take a look at the article and see what I am talking about. Their goal is to go paperless, no textbooks, differentiating learning to students needs.
Granted, the article does not say how the school is funding this initiative, but we as educators buy many things that are offered for free or we can make on our own. Maybe with spending our funds more efficiently and intelligently, more schools could do this.
Of course I am biased towards mobile technology, but why make kids learn in a fishbowl? Let them learn with the tools they are familiar AND can use outside the classroom in the real world.
iPods: The new OS 4.0
I recently updated my iPods operating system to the new OS 4.0 and I have only one word to say…..UGH!!!!
The premise for the software upgrade is great, you will now be able to run several apps at the same time, one in the foreground and others in background, which could not happen with the old OS. The issue is, previously when your iPod went into rest mode the battery life was fantastic, the iPod “slept” and the battery was not affected. Now I have to re-teach myself a entirely new method of iPod upkeep.
Previously, I could just tap the “home” button, see yellow arrow in image below, to jump out of one app then choose another I would like to use. I did not have to formally close the application I was using.
Yellow arrow points to home button.
The new software allows for apps to continue which means, even in “sleep” mode the iPods runs, thus draining the batteries. At the KTI Summit last week, I discussed the issue with Dianne Krause, another iPod/iPhone guru and she assured me that others are having the same issue. It was nice to know that it was not something stupid I was doing or that my iPod suddenly was having critical issues that were going to shorten its effective life span.
My short term fix to address this issue is to completely shut down the iPod when I am not using it, instead of letting it go to “sleep.” I used this strategy for the last week or so and it works. The power button is on the image below, a pink arrow is pointing to it.
The pink arrow is pointing to the power button.
You may say, “So, what’s the big deal Einstein?” Well, the big deal is, I have to manage iPods on a classroom scale, a cart of 25 which may be used 6 periods a day this upcoming year. I need to find a stable process to keep the iPods charged and usable for every period. I proved last year that once you ingrain a technology into your classroom culture, everyone becomes extremely dependent on it.
The long term fix is going to teach my students and myself to formally close out of each app after we are done using it. After almost a year and a half of use, it will take some time to adjust. I am hoping that by combining the two fixes I will have a system in place to keep the iPods consistently functioning and reliable for the upcoming school year.
Minor changes like this keeps my understanding of the need to constantly adapt clear. It also lets me understand why others in education may be weary or leery of making the leap into technology with their students. Change can be nerve-wracking, I am adapting well with technology, just please don’t ask me to change my pizza toppings.
iPods in Class
The use of the iPods in class is one way that I definitely can keep up with the class and all of the information that is needed to know. I was actually not too excited about using iPods in class but now, it’s one thing that I look forward to.
The iPods are so easy to use. Since we are living by the technology of our time, electronics like these are extremely simple to use. I can honestly say that I have never once even held an iPod Touch in my life, nor have I ever owned an iPod, until I took Mr. Sal’s POD class. Once I started using the electronic device that was completely new to me, I figured it out rather quickly. Just figuring out what all the buttons did, adjusting volume, the use of all the apps, turning the iPod to make the screen change, etc…
One thing that I like about the iPod Touch is that the buttons are heat sensitive, not pressure sensitive. I have a pressure sensitive phone and every time I put it in my purse or in my pocket, I’m calling someone or typing crazy text messages. I also really like that the iPod has a lock feature. The lock feature can prevent all those half hour calls to some random person that you didn’t mean to call and all those absurd texts.
Also another thing that I liked about using the iPods in class is that everything is so accessible to you. Everything is so quick. Unlike a regular computer, the iPod Touch is basically a “I want this done now and wow, now it’s done!” device. Computers take foreeeever to load. For instance, when I turned my computer on to write this blog, 10 minutes; 10 minutes for my so-called “fast” computer to turn on, and not to mention, for it to load completely, so that I can use it. Sure, they come out with new looking computers that are supposed to be faster but ‘I’m not talking fashion, so much as function.’
Another thing I like about the iPod is that typing is so simple. The buttons are so clear to read and I like that it’s basically a keyboard so most people already know where all the buttons are. I use the Notepad app to store all of my notes for class. Using this quick and easy app helps me to not fall behind with notes. If I had to write down all the information on paper, I would still be in the 3rd nine weeks of the school year. I’m usually not a good note-keeper, but using the iPod Touch, I’d have to say that I am now quite organized in my POD class.
The only problem that I am having with using the iPod touch is that the screen is, to me, small. But I mean, you can make whatever you’re looking at on the screen bigger, so I guess I don’t really have any complaints or anything that I would change.
Overall, I believe that the iPod is a revolution. It’s easy to use, accessible, and who doesn’t have fun using an electronic device that is personalized and you can do pretty much whatever you want on it? You can’t tell me that you don’t even like the sound of an electronic device, that can fit in your pocket, that can do almost everything that a computer does. I really enjoy using the iPods in class and I think that Mr. Sal should, for the future classes, keep using them.
Ipod touches in class
Using technology in today’s society is very common. Therefore when young kids are in school, they should be allowed to use different types of technology to enhance their learning skills. In an economics class at my high school, we used iPod touches during our class. There were many positive and a few negatives to this type of technology use during school.
The iPods helped the class become more interactive. We were able to search for information with the teacher by using the Internet on our iPod. This was a creative way our teacher was able to keep our class focused. Another positive is the easy access to the Internet for projects. The iPod was like having a compact computer at your hands. I like how we were able to write papers and research at ease, and we did not have wait for a day when a computer lab was available. Also, I believe signing out the iPods at the beginning of class was a lot quicker than I expected it to be. I was impressed about how lining up was becoming a ritual everyday. This was a very different experience from my other classes in the past.
The few negatives during my economics class were not huge problems, but they still occurred. During class people could easily lose focus on the topic we were trying to discuss by surfing the web. Also because of the easy access of the Internet, it was very easy for people to cheat on quizzes. I know a few people would take the quiz, but while taking it, be searching for the answers on a site like Wikipedia. These problems only occurred because of the people who took advantage of having the iPods, but because of them others would suffer. While some people actually studied for a quiz and obtained a good grade, others slacked off and still were able to achieve the same grade.
I believe that these problems could be fixed. If we were able to take quizzes on paper instead of on the iPod, everyone would be at a fair advantage. You will always have people who try to cheat, but taking the quiz on paper will make it harder for them to succeed at it. Also to keep students more focused, I would have a set plan. They would have to go to a certain website during class. Then after looking over the cite give an outline of what is important on that cite. I believe students would remember the information better by writing down the information and also stay on task. In my class we did not have to look up the information asked, and only a few students would do it anyway. Therefore having an outline or giving points to people during a lecture would help students focus on the material being learned. Although some students will not care either way, I think that more students will prosper.
All together, this was a good experience. Personally, I like writing my notes on paper better than on the iPods because writing information down helps me remember it. Today we are seeing technology enter the classroom more rapidly, and fixing the problems of having it will be the next steps schools will have to take. Technology does allow students to prosper, but it also allows them to become inattentive.
iPods In Class
Having iPods available for every student in a classroom is very beneficial for many reasons. Not only does it give students the opportunity to search the World Wide Web for information as it is being taught in class, but it also allows the students to interact and participate more since they have access to so much information. Overall, having these iPods in the classroom really broadens a child’s education.
As a teacher is teaching in class, what better way for the students to understand the lesson than to have them look up the definitions themselves in a quick and efficient way? Using the iPods does just that. They give students the ability to really gain a lot more knowledge than just having a textbook in front of them.
Along with being quick and efficient, teachers are always looking for children to participate in class and the iPods are a great way to get students to interact with the teacher and also other students. From the iPods alone, students that are usually very quiet and do not talk off task, they are speaking up more and more to explain any information they found.
IPods are really a great thing to have in the classroom but there are some thing’s I feel that are better to be done on paper than the iPod itself. Taking test and also taking notes are more beneficial to do on paper. Tests are hard as it is, so taking them on little computer screens is very hard and adds more stress to students than they need. Also, taking notes on iPods are not a good idea because when a student writes something on paper it is easier to remember. But besides these two little issues, like I stated before, there are so many great aspects to having iPods in the classroom.