The Apple iPod Touch with an eight gigabyte memory is not only user friendly but offers a variety of options and applications for the owner. This hand held device is 4.3 inches in height and weighs approximately 4.05 ounces. It is light and compact enough to fit into a pocket. This device allows the operator to use wireless connection to download music, books, movies, videos, video games, send and receive e-mails, and create and view podcasts. The applications the Apple iPod Touch provides is more than a laptop or desktop computer. It is compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows XP Professional or Home operating systems in addition to Macintosh OS X v.10.14:11 or later operating systems. It comes with earphones and a 2.o USB cable for instant use from a computer. Once charged, the battery last up to six hours for the user. The cost for this compact, universal hand held device runs from $195 at Wal-Mart or Apple.com for $199. It is more practical to invest in this small device that has more capabilities and applications than a desktop or laptop computer.
There are multiple ways in which the Apple iPod Touch can be implemented into the classroom. First, it would allow for students to obtain and gather research instantly without having to go to the library and share computers. Secondly, teachers could set up web cameras to record lectures, discussions, or any other class activities and create these into a podcast for student access after school from personal computers or their own mp3 players or iPods. It would be extremely useful in the aspect of students who are absent for school activities or sickness to view the podcast to gain information they may missed or review for homework assignments. Also, there are application that allow students and teachers to communicate and address any concerns or questions about an assignment or class. Paper would be saved, cutting school costs because teachers could send assignments via the iPod Touch for the students to complete and post to the teacher's e-mail box. Furthermore, there is an application for both students and teachers to implement in setting classroom and individual goals and tracking their progress based upon the goals. This assists educators and the pupils in keeping a record for the improvement that has taken place. Finally, one could easily assess areas that needed immediate assistance or remediation. Teachers could use tutorials or simulation applications instantly to help students achieve their goals and become successful in areas that demonstrate or suggest they need extra help. The Apple iPod Touch has several learning advantages and can be easily and effectively implemented into any classroom and subject area. Both teachers and students would benefit from the use of this particular hand held device.
iPod touch: What is iPod touch? Retrieved on February 8, 2010 from Apple website: http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch.what-is/gaming-devices.html
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Imagine a way we can get "connected" with another classroom via Skype. There is a project I recently learned about, not necessarily a new one but it opens doors to classrooms from another country without the expense of travel! It's called a Culture Box Exchange. Craig Roland shares this idea…
1. Teachers in two schools (in different countries) agree to have a "Culture Box Exchange" and set up a calendar for the project as well as ways of communicating with each other (e.g, via Skype) and documenting the project. Also, decisions should be made up front about the size of the boxes to be exchanged (e.g., shoe boxes work well), how they'll be shipped and what sorts of things ill be included in the boxes.
2. Students in the participating classrooms are given the challenge of representing their "local culture" via visual artifacts and text documents. This can be a complicated task when the "local culture" is diverse. Also deciding what sorts of artifacts best represent their culture(s) and whether to create the artifacts themselves or used found or purchased items is certain to lead to debate. This is what can make the culture box exchange so interesting.
3. The items chosen are packed into the shoe box (which may need to be packed in packing material and a larger box for safe transit) and shipped. The teacher should contact the partner school with the news.
4. While the boxes are in transit it's recommended that each classroom make a list of what they know (or think they know) about the other students and their culture. The thing I like about adding this step in the process is it raises the possibility of talking about our assumptions and stereotypes we may hold about others.
5. As an alternative to #4 or even in addition to #4, you can have students from each school/country exchange e-mail messages or instant messages to introduce and describe themselves.
6. If at all possible, coordinate the opening of the boxes at each school so they can occur during a live link-up using Skype or other teleconferencing tool (like iChat). If that's not possible, the "opening ceremony" should be documented with Flip cameras or other digital video tools and shared with the other school over the Web.
7. During the video-teleconference or video-taping, students should have the opportunity to introduce themselves, describe the cultural significance of items and objects found in their respective culture boxes, and ask questions of the other classrooms.
8. Wrap-up session. After the exchange has taken place, it would be good to return to the list of assumptions (or stereotypes) that students had of the other class prior to the exchange and to talk about what they learned from the experience. This discussion should be documented on video as well and shared with the other class.
What I especially love about this project is the global awareness this presents to our students about other students outside of our own city or town. Many students are not able to travel outside of the United States and experience the world abroad. This opportunity can change previous notions of other cultures and introduce a whole new world that has not been explored. It also brings together both the use of technology and human relationships on an international level. Diversity has a new level when kids can come together like this.
Roland, C. (2010, August/September). Culture Box Exchange [Web log comment]. Retrieved August/September, 2010, from http://arted20.ning.com/group/connectedclassrooms/forum/topics/cultural-box-exchange
The iPod Touch is a compact device to use for the classroom and may may even occupy the learning environment in the future. Here's another technological wave that will most likely do the same...it's the iPad. The iPad is the newest wave if technology sweeping the nation. It is a wireless, keyboard less laptop that is entirely touch screen. It’s thinner and more compact than any other laptop, completely relieving the problem of minimal space. Any student could slip it into his or her backpack without having to worry about having no room left for their binders, pencils, etc. This rather remarkable piece of technology costs $500, a seemingly reasonable price for a device that does so much. With the amount of options at the touch of a finger, it would not be all too surprising if the iPad made its way into schools in the next decade if not a few years.
Most schools have a computer room in which students will research material for a project or paper. While this is a reasonable method of research, the trips from the classroom and back could easily be eliminated. By having the student in possession of an iPad, he or she is prepared for any sort of research without having to leave their seat. This would be advantageous to almost every subject and it would allow students to do homework anywhere rather than waiting until they came home. Students who spend long hours after school could write papers, find current events, save pictures, and numerous other things without having to wait until the end of the evening when they’ve become tired and unwilling to do homework. They could also message their teachers with a question on the spot rather than the next day when the assignment is due.
But with every positive comes a negative. Technology, while presenting a new world of opportunities, also provides doors to things that aren’t so wholesome. Blocking websites is a problem that any school with computer access faces. Students have always been capable of going outside instruction and wasting time as opposed to using the time to their advantage. Schools need to be very careful about what sites they do or do not block. Every so often their will be a website that is perfectly clean but is blocked for the smallest of reasons. An art teacher may want to use a picture from an art site but cannot because the school has deemed it inappropriate for nudity or some form of sexual content. That deprives the students of good material all because one painter decided his work would be more aesthetically pleasing if his model were naked. And while some sites are blocked for this reason, others that are legitimately inappropriate are left unchecked. Every school needs to be aware of the dangers of the internet without barring their students from it.
"Smart Boards or are they?"
Smart Boards are a fairly new form of technology that is becoming common amongst classrooms. The Smart Board serves as a replacement to the classic whiteboard. It is very similar to a whiteboard and has many of the same functions. It is a computer that can allow you to save what you have written and refer to it another time. It is highly functional and can be a useful tool in the classroom.
Though the Smart Board is useful, it can also be a nuisance. With every new technology there comes a series of bugs to be worked out. The Smart Board has not surpassed that mark quite yet. A teacher can waste time that is better suited for learning waiting for the Smart Board to work. And while the teacher is working to fix the board, the students will have lost interest and begin to talk amongst themselves, further wasting instruction time when the teacher needs to quiet them down. Quite often the cursor on the board will freeze or the entire board itself will freeze. This is very frustrating when it happens more than once in a day.
However, the Smart Board is still a rather remarkable device. It is interactive, which allows students to be more involved in their learning. Hands on learning is one of the best methods in the classroom, especially for younger children. And while it has it’s kinks, there are many other things a person could use it for. It has become a part of business meetings as well as classrooms. The Smart Board has the capability of sending a file across cities and even as far as countries! This is a very inventive feat of engineering that can take this generation far.
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