Learning in Hand

NECC Session: iPod touch/iPhone Application Support Group

2009-06-30T09:57:00.002-06:00

Leslie Fisher presented a fast-paced session at the National Educational Computing Conference in Washington D.C. It was called The iPod Touch/iPhone Application Support Group. Here are some of the notes I took:

Leslie talked about having a battery charge last long by turing off 3G and Bluetooth. Dimming the screen also lets your charge last longer.
Take a screenshot by holding down the Sleep and Home buttons at the same time.
SaiSuke ($9.99) lets you see your Google Calendar on your iPhone. The best part is that you can see what's written on your calendar in Month view. There is also a free version.
Note Pad is a $4.99 replacement to iPod touch's built-in Notes app. Leslie likes that the background is white and it doesn't use Maker Felt as the font.
Evernote is free and syncs your notes with your computer and the web.
Leslie likes Twitterfon for Twitter.
Remember the Milk is for taking notes.
Leslie uses Duck You Undo to teach her iPhone new words.
Mapping apps works best with GPS on iPhones. Loopt, Around Me, and more.
USA Today is a great news app and The Weather Channel is a great weather app.
She spent time on not-so-productive apps like Shazam, Beejive ($9.99), iTV,
Games: Airport Mania, Jet Set ($4.99), and iSudoku.
Responseware from Turning Point is a student feedback collection system.
Check out Leslie's 42-slide presentation online. You'll see she mentions music, astronomy, "of the day," and reference apps.

iTunes Account Without a Credit Card

2009-06-29T18:20:00.002-06:00

An iTunes account is required to download iPhone/iPod touch applications from the App Store. When you create an account, iTunes asks you for a credit card number to keep on file for purchases. When using iPods in schools, teachers probably don't want to use their personal credit card and schools usually do not have a credit card that can be used for iTunes. Fortunately, there is a way to create a new iTunes account without giving financial information. Here's how:

Open iTunes and go to the iTunes Store. Then click to go to the App Store.
Sign out of any iTunes account you might already be signed in with. (Do this by clicking your email address in the top-right corner of the iTunes window. Click the Sign Out button in the dialog box that appears.)
Go to the details page of any free app. Click the Get App button.
Click the Create New Account button and complete the registration.
When asked to select a credit card, choose None.
iTunes tells you that you will be asked to provide a payment method when you make your first purchase.

I suggest adding money to the new iTunes account through gift cards. This way when you want to purchase a paid app, you still won't be required to give a credit card number.

It's important to note that iTunes will not provide None as a choice for Credit Card unless you create an account by first downloading a free app. The good news is that you only have to do this once, and you can sign into to this account on up to five computers.

Apple IIGS vs. iPhone 3G S

2009-06-16T14:31:00.001-06:00

Apple's newest handheld, iPhone 3G S, is for sale this month. I thought it would be interesting to compare iPhone 3G S with one of Apple's desktop computers from 20 years ago, Apple IIGS. The "GS" in IIGS stood for graphics and sound. However, it's clear that today's iPhone is much better with graphics and sound. The "S" in 3G S stands for speed. Compared to IIGS, 3G S certainly is the speedier computer. The similarities of these two computing devices pretty much stop at their names.

I think the most telling fact above is the number of software applications. The Apple IIGS could run software written for Apple II machines, which were produced for 17 years. iPhone was just opened up to programmers in 2008 and there are there are already 5 times as many apps as compared to what was available for Apple II computers. The number of iPhone/iPod touch apps is set to double by year's end.

The bottom line: you can do a lot more with an iPhone/iPod touch than you could ever do with a IIGS. Sure, it's wonderful that iPhone can access the Internet 50 times faster, has 250 times more RAM and runs at 214 times the megahertz. But really, it's about the usefulness of the computer, and with 50,000+ apps, iPhone is certainly useful.

Apple IIgs photo from flickr.com/photos/quagmirez31/3547583644

Caption This Photo

2009-05-27T15:01:00.001-06:00

I bet you can come up with a funny or clever caption for this photo.
Leave a comment with what you come up with!

Tip for Moving Icons on an iPhone or iPod touch Home Screen

2009-05-15T10:27:00.003-06:00

If you watched my Ustream.tv workshop last month, you heard about my frustration with organizing my eight pages of apps on my iPod touch's Home screen. Dragging icons from page to page is time consuming and frustrating.

I came across a video on YouTube that gives great advice for my problem: iPhone Tip: Organizing All Those Apps. The video shows how to use the dock at the bottom of the Home screen to move up to four icons at a time. It's quite a clever trick!

Picks from the App Store, April 2009

2009-04-29T18:00:00.002-06:00

I hosted "Picks from the App Store" on Ustream.tv on April 29, 2009. The broadcast was recorded live and you are certainly welcome to watch the archive version below or at ustream.tv/recorded/1445088.

The best part about the broadcast was the associated chatroom. Unfortunately, the chatroom was not archived with the video. During the hour-long workshop, I demonstrated and talked about a variety of apps. Here are the App Store links:

In addition, after the show I learned that you can indeed search within the iTunes Store for only free apps. After initiating a search, click Power Search and select Applications. You'll see a checkbox that says Search for free applications.

Note: Unfortunately, the recording did not pick up the audio or video from David's call--another reason to watch live.

Web Directories for Apps

2009-04-29T01:51:00.000-06:00

Whether you're browsing in iTunes on your desktop or in the mobile App Store on your iPod touch/iPhone, you can get lost in more than 35,000 apps. But, you should know that iTunes isn't the only place to find apps to download. Let me tell you about three websites that offer alternative ways to sort through all those apps. Although these are websites outside of iTunes, when you find an app to download, they link to the details page in iTunes so you can download the app.

Mobclix keeps detailed data about the App Store. I like that it allows filtering apps by category and price. This way I can narrow my browsing and searching to free apps in the Education category. I can sort the results by rank, average rating, or release date.

AppShopper also makes it easy to browse by category and free vs. paid. You can also browse just new apps. Unfortunately, AppShopper's search option can't be limited to just free apps.

Educational Apps Review has video reviews of a couple dozen apps. The growing number of reviews are tagged by grade level and subject. Simply click on the tags on the left side of the page to see the reviews. The site is run by educators and they are organizing a community around the site with a Ning and a wiki.

You can access these sites on your desktop computer or in mobile Safari. When using mobile Safari, the download links actually launch the mobile App Store where you can download and install the app. (Unfortunately, Educational Apps Review's videos won't play in mobile Safari.)

Last week the billionth app was downloaded from the App Store. Apple recently said they have sold 37 million iPhones and iPod touches. That means that there has been an average of 27 apps downloaded for each device sold. That number will only increase as the App Store gets more and better apps. Next time you want to browse and search for apps, I highly suggest visiting the online app directories above--you just might find your next favorite app!

iPod Activity and Lesson Ideas

2009-04-13T18:33:00.002-06:00

You can read about how 20 classes at Nova Blanche Forman Elementary School in Florida are using iPods in the newspaper article iPods Hit the Books: Elementary School Embraces the Media Player as Learning Tool. Some of the activities the article mentions include:

fourth graders watch a video about the sun's layers
third graders play podcasts about solving math problems
first graders record video book reviews
the principal delivers message and training resources to teachers
students work at their own pace by pausing, rewinding, and rewatching math podcasts
students are allowed to take home the iPods to do homework
teachers use iPod to facilitate parent-teacher conferences

If you're looking for more ideas for using iPods in the classroom, click on over to the Apple Learning Interchange. The Learning Interchange has many resources for teachers that are made by teachers, including lesson plans that use iPods and iTunes. Some of the lesson ideas include:

Learning Math with Music: Students work in groups to create their own rhymes and songs for an entire family of math facts. Individual students record their songs using an attachable microphone.
Radio Show: After reading and listening to several radio dramas, student groups write and record a radio drama based on an event or period in history.
iPod Reporters: Students explore the basics of news reporting and gain an understanding of why news is news and what their responsibilities are as news gatherers. Students then plan a class newspaper.
Reading Fluency with iPods and GarageBand: The goal of this lesson is to develop stronger reading fluency and comprehension, and increase language acquisition skills: Using an iPod and a voice recorder.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Students download and watch videos from United Streaming on iPods. Similarly, check out All Quiet on the Western Front.
Oral Histories: After a discussion on what it means to be an American, students use an iPod and a voice recorder to interview a family member. They then combine the interview with old photos of that relative in iMovie, and create a short video history about that person.
Digital Science Experiments:This lesson can be applied to any science experiment. The teacher uses an iPod and a voice recorder to provide experiment instructions to small groups of students.
Listening to Letter Sounds: Sounds and their corresponding symbols are taught in a series of lessons using various strategies and aided by Lively Letter cards.

Apple's Learning Interchange has a search box where you can specify resources that are tagged iPod and allows you to specify grade levels and academic levels. You just might discover a really cool lesson idea!

For more about iPods and learning, go to Learning in Hand's iPods section.

90-Minutes About Podcasting & iPods

2009-04-08T19:28:00.002-06:00

Last month I co-presented a webinar about podcasting and handhelds for the Texas High School Project. It was recorded and is archived on the THSP Webinar Series page. The best part of the 90-minute webinar is when Marcy Voss and fellow teachers at the Boerne ISD talk about their iPod project. They discuss the logistics and challenges associated with giving high schoolers iPods. Boerne ISD also shared their iPod User Contract.

Click to launch the Podcasting: Placing Learning in the Students' Hands webinar.
The webinar was presented and recorded using Adobe Connect.

"Picks from the App Store" Live Workshop 4-29-09

2009-03-31T22:09:00.003-06:00

Please join me on Wednesday, April 29th for Picks from the App Store! This is the first in a series of free workshops for SIGHC members by SIGHC members. Even if you know nothing about SIGHC, you're still welcome join in. Here's the description of the online workshop:

The hottest handhelds today are Apple's iPod touch and iPhone. In addition to being great audio and video players, the iPod touch and iPhone run a mobile platform with over 25,000 software applications available from the App Store. With thousands of apps listed in the Education section of the App Store, it can be hard to find the very best apps for teaching and learning. SIGHC member Tony Vincent shares his educational app picks on Wednesday, April 29th at 3PM PST on Ustream.TV. Tony will present the first half-hour and the second half hour is reserved for participants to share their own picks and to ask questions. You can participate by joining the chat room on Ustream.tv and by calling in your picks via webcam at www.ustream.tv/channel/tony-vincent.

Before the beginning of the workshop, sign up for a free Ustream account so that you can pick out a username for the chat. To create a new account, simply click Sign Up, which is located in the top-left of each Ustream.tv page.

Participants are encouraged to have their webcams and microphones ready so they can talk about their own App Store picks and so they can ask questions. While the workshop will most likely be recorded and archived, I really hope you can join us live.

Oregon Trail for iPod touch

2009-03-19T18:44:00.002-06:00

The original The Oregon Trail was released in 1971. If you have a hankering for the Apple II version of Oregon Trail, you can play it online--with old time graphics and sounds--at Virtual Apple 2. Students probably won't appreciate the ancient-looking game. The original version has a lot of text and unimpressive graphics.

What might impress them is the new iPhone/iPod touch version of Oregon Trail from The Learning Company. Available for $6 from the App Store, the Oregon Trail is quite fun to play. Here's the description of Oregon Trail from iTunes:

Westward, Ho! Your favorite pioneering adventure game is back and takes you to an exciting, historical side-scrolling adventure entirely rethought to fit the Touch experience of your iPhone / iPod touch.

All of the decision-making and problem-solving fun of the original game, plus additional parameters to take the Oregon Trail experience even further than you've played before.
8 skill-based mini-games, including 2 accelerometer-based challenges: hunting, fishing, river crossing, rafting, wagon repairing, telegraph, berry picking, and gold panning.
Random events (disease, bandits, hitchhikers, etc.) faced by real pioneers increases the challenge.
Side-missions add more excitement to your journey, affecting your westward trek.
Prepare for your departure: Select the members of your party, choose your departure date and purchase supplies.

Oregon Trail shares information like what clothing to wear, how much oxen weigh, and which is the best seat in the wagon. Of course, by playing students get to practice map skills, conserve resources, and develop a strategy. Teachers using this in school will enjoy teaching students about dysentery (and other historical diseases) as well as having students compare the game to the real struggles pioneers had traveling across North America.

Oregon Trail is getting rave review in iTunes. I've had a blast playing it and I know youngsters who were born after the 80s will too!

Besides Oregon Trail, the there's Westward in the App Store. This $5 game is a strategy game where you "control the destiny of the Wild West by building thriving towns, exploring uncharted plains, dense forests and rocky canyons and guiding settlers to safety and success." Westward is rated 12+ for mild profanity, fantasy violence, and tobacco and alcohol references.

New Video & Blog About Mobile Learning

2009-03-19T15:43:00.001-06:00

Two of my favorite educators are Cathie Norris and Elliot Soloway (who have been evangelizing mobile learning for nearly a decade now). This dynamic duo are featured in a new video from the Mobile Learning Institute's video series A 21st Century Education. In the video Cathie and Elliot speak with teachers and students as they travel to some handheld-using schools. While en route, Cathie and Elliot talk about mobile learning. Here are some quotes from the artistic video:

"Mobile computers are the future. Laptops are very 90s. They're your daddy's computer. They're your parents' computers. They're not the kids' computers." - Elliot Soloway
"Just like a business person uses the computer 24/7--they use the computer for everything they do. That's the way we now conceptualize the way we use mobile computers." -Elliot Soloway
"It's going to be amazing to see how many of them [schools] go to cell phone computers rapidly because they're seeing that every child has one, every child knows how to use one, and that's why when we see districts like Keller saying, 'You know what? Rather then fight it, let's see if we can take advantage of it. Let's use the infrastructure that the tel co has. Rather than us spending our money building a wireless infrastructure, let's just use the tel co's structure.'" -Cathie Norris
"Mobile technologies are going to make a bigger change to our lives than the PC and Internet together. I mean, the PC changed everything. The Internet changed everything. But the mobile technologies is every bigger than that." - Elliot Soloway

Cathie and Elliot work tirelessly to deliver their message to anyone who will listen. I'm really pleased that together they have started a blog called Tech Disruptions. Here's how they describe their blog: "We will address topical issues that arise as technology continues in its inexorable way to engender changes in K12. Here is your opportunity to express opinions about the changes that technology has wrought."

I really enjoy the format of the blog--it's written as a transcript of a jovial conversation between Cathie and Elliot. So far Tech Disruptions has tackled topics like eBooks, mobile phone bans, and cloud computing.

Podcasting Yields Higher Scores than Attending the Lecture

2009-02-22T23:55:00.004-06:00

I've been fascinated by the idea that teachers could flip-flop lectures and homework. Lectures could be podcasted (and put on DVD for those without internet) and assigned as the "homework," allowing for class time to be spent on discussion, collaboration, and reteaching. In July I wrote about a pair of high school chemistry teachers who are doing this very thing with great success.

The article "iTunes University" Better Than the Real Thing in last week's New Scientist reports the findings in a study from the State University of New York called Can Podcasts Replace Professors. The study found that students who listened to podcasted lectures performed better on tests over the lecture material than students who actually attended the lecture in person.

The study used 64 Psychology 101 students. Half of the students listened to an enhanced podcast (that's showing the lecture's slides along with playing the audio). The other half were given a print out of the slides and were present for the lecture.

Students who were in the podcast group averaged a 71% while those in the lecture group scored a 64% average when tested over the material in the podcast/lecture. However, those who listened to the podcast and did not take notes scored that same as those that attended the lecture. Those in the podcasting group that took notes averaged 77%.

These results would certainly be different in a K-12 environment. But, it makes sense that when students can pause, rewind, and rewatch a lecture they learn the material better. Podcasting lecture material has the added benefit of changing what can be accomplished during class time.

iPods Episode #17: Favorite iPod touch Apps

2009-02-18T16:52:00.001-06:00

Learning in Hand: iPods Episode #17: Favorite iPod touch Apps was recorded live. It was supposed to be a call-in show, but no one called in. Fortunately, there were live listeners in the chat room who asked great questions.

Besides sharing some useful information about the App Store and installing apps, listen for information about the Google Moderator series designed for educators to vote for their favorite apps. You can find the series at tinyurl.com/edapps. Please contribute your own and please vote!

Tune in for all 16 minutes of Episode #17 to hear all about some of the great software the App Store has to offer. Note: This is an edited version of what was recorded using TalkShoe. If you want to listen to the entire live broadcast, go to this page.

Soft Reset #20: Netbooks in Fort Smith

2009-02-12T00:42:00.001-06:00

It's a pet peeve of mine when podcasters note how long it's been since their last episode. Though, in this case, I think it is worth noting that after two years, there's finally a new episode of Soft Reset! Episode #20 is features a discussion with teachers who are putting the latest technology trend to work in their classrooms: netbooks. Netbooks are small and affordable notebook computers that have screens between 7 and 10 inches in size. While they don't have a CD drive, they do have Wi-Fi, USB ports, batteries, display ports--really everything you'd expect in a laptop.

Fort Smith Public Schools has nearly 20 classrooms using Eee PC netbooks. George Lieux, technology professional development specialist, gathered up nine classroom teachers to talk with me about their use of the mini laptops. I speak with these elementary, middle, and high school teachers who all share valuable classroom management tips as well as great curriculum integration ideas. If you are thinking about getting class sets of netbooks, you have got to listen to this episode!

Show Notes:

These Fort Smith teachers are all using class sets of Eee PC 1000HAs.
Their netbooks have 6-cell batteries, which last for an entire school day.
Instead of purchasing Microsoft Office, they are using OpenOffice, free software.
Besides OpenOffice, a Web browser was the most used application by students.
Third graders had to pass tests about Internet safety and copyright before using the netbooks.
It's useful to have all students face their desks in the same direction so the teacher can see everyone's computer screens at once.
Headphones get all tangled when stored each day. One teacher finally placed numbered hooks on the wall, one for each headset. No more tangles!
Where the netbooks are being used by more than one student it is help to create a Windows XP account for each of those students.
The greatest challenge for these teachers is managing a classroom with so many different computer skill levels.
We used GoToMeeting to connect and record. Unfortunately there are some audio issues, but you should be able to hear most everything just fine.

Enjoy the show! Click an icon below to listen or subscribe.

NASA's Do-It-Yourself Podcast

2009-02-09T21:51:00.002-06:00

NASA is providing some raw digital materials for students that they can combine to make videos, audio recordings, and slide shows about selected science topics. They are calling this a Do-It-Yourself Podcast.

Currently there are three topics: Lab Safety, Newton's Laws, and Spacesuits. For each topic, NASA provides video clips, audio clips, images, and information. Students can edit together what NASA provides with their own video, voice, and/or images. Software like iMovie, MovieMaker, GarageBand, Audacity, and PowerPoint could be used for the do-it-yourself podcast.

I think it's exciting to see the final products with a project like this. Although students have access to the same digital materials, each and every project will turn out differently. NASA encourages teachers to share students' products online in the form of a podcast. If it's a movie I think a great place to share it online is TeacherTube.

NASA has a blog dedicated to giving teachers guidance for the Do-It-Yourself Podcast. In addition, the blog will let the world know when new topics are added.

Ranking of Favorite iPod touch/iPhone Apps

2009-02-05T08:24:00.001-06:00

iPod touch and iPhone Apps in Education is a Google Moderator series where educators are encouraged to vote on suggestions for educational apps and to submit their own suggestions. The apps suggestions are ranked so when you visit the list, the apps that netted the most votes are listed first.

With over 15,000 apps currently in the App Store, there are lots for teachers to sort through. Perhaps this list can help us find apps that would otherwise be lumped in with the hundreds of apps in the Education category of the App Store.

When submitting, please list the name of the app, a short description of how it could be used in education, and the price (if it isn't free). In order to vote or submit, you'll need to sign-in with your Google account information (or sign up for a free account). Unfortunately Google Moderator doesn't allow for linking to the apps. So, if you read about an app you might want to download, search for it in the App Store.

Kick YouTube

2009-01-31T16:41:00.001-06:00

YouTube does not provide a way to directly download videos from their site. That's probably because they want you to visit their ad-supported webpages.

Why would you want to download videos from YouTube? Well, there are lots of great educational videos there. YouTube is blocked in most schools, so teachers who want to use these videos in their classrooms have to download them from home and bring them to school. Also, in order to view a YouTube video on an iPod or other portable player, you'll need to have it downloaded.

The videos on YouTube are in Flash format (those are videos that end with the .flv extension). So, even if you manage to save the .flv movie file, you have to either convert it to a different format or find software that will play it. After a video is downloaded and converted to the proper format, you can sync it onto an iPod or put it in PowerPoint slide shows or edit/remix it using video editing software like iMovie or MovieMaker.

I often use Zamzar.com to download videos from YouTube and convert them into the MPEG-4 format that iPods and QuickTime love so much. In four easy steps you paste the YouTube URL into Zamzar.com, select the video format (likely .mp4), and input your email address. After clicking Convert, Zamzar will put your request in a queue. Once it has processed your request (usually between 15 minutes and 2 hours), Zamzar will email you with a link to download the converted movie.

Another way to download videos from YouTube is using software. Some are free and some are pay and you can find software for both Mac and Windows computers. There is freely available software that you might already have on your computer that can download YouTube videos and that's RealPlayer. You might already have RealPlayer installed--you'll need version 11 and it's free. RealPlayer 11 actually enables you to download videos from websites, including YouTube. Unfortunately, when used to download YouTube videos, RealPlayer does not convert it from the .flv format, so you'll need to convert the file if you want to use it in other places other than RealPlayer. (As a Mac user, I've installed Perian which enables QuickTime to play those Flash videos.)

Now there's a new site that is even simpler than Zamzar. It's called KickYouTube.com. You don't need to copy and paste the video's URL, install any software, or wait for an email. Here's how it works.

1. Find the video you want to download on YouTube. Many videos on YouTube are now in High Definition. If the video has a "watch in HD" link below it, click it so you'll be downloaded the larger video size.

2. In the address field, type kick in front of youtube.com and press Enter.

3. You are taken to the KickYouTube site, showing the video from YouTube. Across the top of the page are download options: FLV, MP4, HD, AVI, MPG, 3GP, iPhone, PSP, MP3, OGG, and GIF.

4. MP4 is almost always my choice, so I click it. Then I click the Go button where I get this message below. So I just right-click (or Mac users can Control-click) that green Go button and save the video file to wherever you want on your hard drive.

Now the video on is on the hard drive. It can be put on a flash drive, burned to a DVD, imported into move editing software, put it in a slide show, or whatever you like to do with video files.

Very similar to KickYouTube is PWNyoutube.com. Just add pwn in front of youtube.com when viewing a video and it will take you to a page where you can download that video.

With YouTube in their URLs, I'm guessing that Google (the company that owns YouTube) won't stand for their trademark being used in other web addresses, so KickYoutTube.com and PWNyoutube.com services may not be around for long.

YouTube may one day offer downloads directly from their site. In fact, a "Download this video" link can be found on pages for President Obama's videos. When clicked, the link will download an MPEG-4 video to your hard drive. If this becomes an option on all YouTube videos, services like Zamzar and KickYouTube or software like Real Player and TubeSock won't be necessary for downloading videos.

Please note that downloading videos from YouTube may go against YouTube's Terms of Service. Also, the video creator's copyright should be respected and acknowledged at all times.

Live Call-In Show 1-28-09: Favorite iPod touch App

2009-01-14T22:51:00.002-06:00

I'm planning a call-in show for the next episode of Learning in Hands: iPods. The topics is Favorite iPod touch Educational Apps. These can be apps that teachers and/or students use for teaching and/or learning. With over 10,000 apps in the App Store, there are certainly lots to choose from. The show will be recorded live on Wednesday, January 28th at 8:00 PM Eastern time.

We'll be using TalkShoe, a free service that lets anyone record an audio program where listeners can call in by phone or by computer. On the 28th, you'll need to click here to listen live, call in, and join the chat room.

If you're not familiar with TalkShoe.com, I suggest heading on over there and checking out some of their programs that are currently live. You can join any live show without talking--just go in and have a look and listen so you are ready for our show on the 28th. I suggest you sign up for a free account and then download TalkShoe Pro so you can use your computer's microphone to call-in. (You can also call-in using Skype--TalkShoe will give you a VOIP number to call.)

I'm nervous that I'll host a call-in show and no one will call in. So please mark it on your calendar and consider participating. Even if you don't plan to speak, you can listen live and participate in the associated text chat. If you can't join us, please email me (tony@learninginhand.com) with your favorite apps and their uses and I'll talk about them during the show. Thanks!

Is 8GB Sufficient in an iPod?

2009-01-14T21:58:00.001-06:00

I'm often asked how much memory should an iPod for classroom use have. In the typical classroom, the 120GB iPod classic is overkill. Whenever I can, I ask to see classroom iPods to check how much storage is actually used. In most cases, it's one or two gigabytes. Now, in classrooms that are using iPods to store dozens of videos from TeacherTube, YouTube, and United Streaming, several gigabytes are used. In almost all cases, 8GB is going to be plenty. The 8GB iPod nano retails for $150.

What about the iPod touch? The lowest-priced touch is $230 with 8GB of storage. Besides storing audio and video, that 8GB also has to have room for all of those wonderful software applications from the App Store. I have my iPod touch loaded up with hundreds of songs (1.7 days worth), several podcasts, 1.9 hours of high quality video, and 571 photos. Besides all that media, I have 89 apps installed.

As you can see from the Capacity Graphs above, I still have plenty of room on my iPod touch. And surprising to me is that although I have it loaded with 7 screens of apps, they only take up 604MB. That's an average of 6.8MB per app. And since you can only load up to 9 screens of apps (for a total of 148), a touch full of apps only needs about 1GB (1,006MB) reserved for that. That leaves 6GB remaining for media, which I think is plenty for classroom use. For personal use, 6GB may not be enough to hold your entire music collection--but I'm talking school use.

Unlike many handhelds and MP3 players, iPods don't have an expansion slot. So when you purchase an iPod, you have to make sure you get the right amount of memory. If you don't get enough gigabytes, you will have to carefully manage what gets put on the iPod through iTunes. If you get too capacity, you end up overpaying (a 16GB iPod touch is $300 and 32GB is $400).

If you want to see how full your iPod is, connect it to your computer. In Tunes, click the iPod in the Devices sidebar. On the Summary tab, scroll down to the bottom of the screen. You'll see a Capacity Graph like mine above. Click the graph to change among number, size, and length of items.

Managing Podcast Creation in the Classroom

2009-01-12T18:38:00.001-06:00

Peggy Hilleary in Georgia is a fifth grade teacher who attended a podcasting workshop I lead a couple months ago. She emailed me with her ideas for managing podcast creation and has some questions.

Dear Tony, I had a great workshop with you in the fall at Woodward Academy in Georgia. And now I am finally taking the plunge with my two fifth grade classes. But I need your help in working out the logistics. And let me say that I will be the first in my school to do such a big project with a whole class. So I don't have any help here. Hope you can help me. Just before our winter break I followed your model of having the students listen to some of your students' podcasts. They really enjoyed them, and they really began to see patterns and qualities important to a successful podcast. After winter break I am ready to put my students into teams of about 10. That will be 2 to a classroom, for a total of 4 episodes being written, then taped, then worked out on the computer with Audacity, adding music and organizing the podcast.

I really like how Peggy has thought this through. A key to successful student podcasting is clear organization. Like most classroom situations, if you don't think it through, the whole activity could become a disaster. Here are some of Peggy's questions and my answers to her:

Is this too much for me to handle--making 4 episodes at once? I do have a teaching assistant, and I do know iMovie very well, so I am familiar with the process of production with script, music, editing, etc.

Four episodes at a time is good because you have the whole class working on it at once. And if you've had movie-making experience, making an audio podcast is much easier, especially from a classroom management stand-point. Just be sure that each student has a specific role so they aren't left out of the process.

If this is something you think is doable, how much time do you think it will take from beginning to end? These 4 episodes will be a series on the theme of "Journeys and Quests." Each one of the podcasts will have almost the same segments, giving the 4-part series some unity along with the theme.

I like consistency you have planned in the series. It will take the most time to research and write and edit scripts. You'll want to give plenty of time for this since it's so important. I'd say a week of writing and then to record and edit, another week. And, with it being a podcast, don't feel you need to publish them all at once. In fact, having one published once a week would be good because then it would give listeners a reason to subscribe in iTunes.

If you do believe my process sounds ok, will I then need 4 computers, one for each team? What software will I need to load on it? iTunes? Audacity? Anything else?

Four computers would work best--especially if they can be laptops so students can go to quiet places to record. You'll want Audacity on them (or GarageBand is a great Mac alterative). iTunes is only necessary on the computer you'll plan to publish from--so as long as you have it on yours. Also, on one computer, have the free Levelator software. Levelator will even out the volume throughout the podcasts so that sounds aren't too faint or too loud. Follow my Podcasting booklet on how to use Levelator and then iTunes to give the audio file tags and export as an MP3.

What advice do you have for me in how to make this successful? I do hope to publish it on iTunes, and I hope it will actually be something other students might enjoy.

To make the best podcast, you really need to read and edit the students' scripts--maybe even for two or three rounds of editing until they are just right. It's so much better to catch misinformation, confusing sentences, and poor planning before students start recording. Also important before recording is that students practice reading their scripts (perhaps in front of the class so the class can give constructive feedback). That way when they do record, they've have an awesome script and have had coaching on how to make it sound the best.

I'm sure Peggy's fifth graders will do a smashing job thanks to the thought she's putting into how she's managing the project!

A Powerful Commercial That Features Podcasts

2009-01-12T16:13:00.001-06:00

Kaplan University has a great commercial that's been airing on television. The spot features a professor apologizing to students for a system that has failed them. I really like how about half-way through the 60-second commercial you can see the professor appearing on computer, phone, and iPod screens as a podcast.

The commercial has several great sound bites, including:

"It's time to use technology to rewrite the rules of education."
"It's time to learn how you learn so we can teach you better."

Help iPod touch Find Its Location

2009-01-05T00:53:00.002-06:00

Unlike iPhone, iPod touch does not have a GPS chip. But, it can still estimate your location. Your current location is used in map apps, including Google Maps. If you've used an iPod touch, you've probably tapped the location icon in Google Maps to zoom right into your whereabouts on the map (well, at least within a couple hundred feet).

Instead of GPS or cell towers, iPod touch uses the Skyhook Wi-Fi Positioning System. Skyhook's location services work indoors, which can't be said for GPS, which usually needs line-of-sight with the sky. In fact, iPhone also uses Skyhook's services in combination with cell tower signals and GPS so that your device can locate you just about anywhere.

Skyhook has referenced over 50 million Wi-Fi access points in the United States and Canada. Currently that covers about 70% of population centers. Skyhook continues to add the locations of Wi-Fi access points to expand its reach and improve its precision.

You can add the locations of Wi-Fi access points to Skyhook's database to make it even more inclusive and accurate. Let's say that iPod touch doesn't accurately report your location when you are at home (or says that your location cannot be found). Go to Skyhook's Submit a Wi-Fi Access Point page and place a pin on the map with your home's precise location. You'll also have to provide your Wi-Fi router's MAC Address (this has nothing to do with Macintosh computers, by the way) and your email address. After up to 7 days, Skyhook's databases are updated so iPod touches and iPhones near your access point can triangular their current locations more precisely.

If it seems iPod touch isn't giving accurate locations when at other places, say at school or at favorite hotspot, you can submit other access points to Skyhook as well--you'll just have to be able to provide Skyhook with the MAC Addresses. Follow instructions on this page to determine an access point's MAC Address.

Even without a GPS chip, iPod touch can triangulate its current location thanks to those millions of Wi-Fi routers that are registered with Skyhook. Submitting your router and other routers improves Skyhook's positioning services for everyone.

12 Days of iPod touch and iPhone

2008-12-25T15:46:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays!

Here's a listing of my 12 Days of iPod touch posts:

iPods Episode #16: iPod touch Tips

2008-12-25T15:31:00.001-06:00

Learning in Hand: iPods Episode #16: iPod touch Tips is online. In this video podcast I share some of my favorite tips and tricks for Safari, text entry, and the Home screen.

In the video I do not attempt to show you the basics of using iPod touch. Mostly because Apple.com has a great iPod touch Guided Tour video and 116-page User Guide. Instead, I share tips that I hope are at least partly new to even experienced iPod touch and iPhone users. Here's a quick list:

Safari

Tap the time to skip to the top of the page
Double-tap a column or image to zoom in
Save an image by tapping and holding
Tap and hold a link to show its URL
Add a bookmark icon to the Home screen
Use bookmarklets to find text on a page, find similar pages, look up words, skip to the end of the page, and more
Turn iPod touch horizontally before entering a web address or search to get a larger keyboard

Text Entry

Double-tap Space for a period, space, and capitalization of the next word
Type "im" and "cant" and let iPod touch autocorrect to "I'm" and "can't"
Move the cursor by tapping, holding, and dragging
Enter student names into Contacts to add them to the auto-correct keyboard dictionary
Reset the keyboard dictionary in Settings > General > Reset > Reset Keyboard Dictionary

Home Screen

You can have up to 9 pages of apps for a total of 148
Tap the bottom right or left corners to move between pages
Tap and hold one icon until they all jiggle to rearrange them
Push the Home button to go to the first page of icons when on any other Home screen page
Put commonly used icons on the first page
Put most accessed icons in the dock
Download Backgrounds free from the App Store for thousands of images to use for wallpaper

Watch all 18 minutes of Episode #16 to see these tips in action!