iPhone/iPod Touch classroom applications

I posted a discussion when the iPhone was first announced about how it could be a revolutionary educational computing platform. Alas, I have not been able to convince myself to plop down the cash for one of these devices, but the more affordable iPod Touch has caught my eye for a lot of the same reasons. I recently borrowed a student's Touch and began playing around with it. The wifi worked flawlessly and I was up and running in no time. I have since been checking out a lot of the apps that are available for this device (in both an unbroken & jailbroken configuration) and I believe that the future I envisioned for these devices is approaching. Google is also configuring applications for these devices as they are a testbed for the coming Android-equipped Google phones.

I'm curious as to how any of you might be using (or dreaming of using ) these devices in your classroom. As computing moves increasingly into the "cloud", the low cost of these devices makes their use more justifiable to administrators, too. Thoughts?

Tags: computing, iphone, ipod, mobile

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Permalink Reply by Jeff on February 8, 2009 at 8:17am

http://store.apple.com/us_smb_78313/product/TL357LL/B?fnode=MTY1NDA...

Here's the link for the part of a learning lab - add the ipod classic or Itouch to the cart. Our cart hasn't arrived yet - and I see now Apple doesn't seem to have it listed as easily as I found it when I ordered it. I'm going to call on Monday.

Permalink Reply by Jeff on February 8, 2009 at 8:20am

Hi Melvina,

We've had success with I-talk - you need to get a microphone though - the Iphone has one built in, the Touch does not. The most reasonable one we've found is the microphone/headphone combo that comes with the IPhone - $30 from apple store. A colleague of mine has their cart going - she didn't mention sync issues but did say they use "manual sync" from the tab - have a dedicated laptop and I think 1 generic Itunes account. We are still waiting for our cart

Permalink Reply by Melvina K on February 8, 2009 at 9:37am

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for sharing about the i-talk and the microphone. I'll pass the info about the microphone/headphone with our tech person.
As for our cart, we're planning to have a webconference with the Bretford cart people this week. We received an email from the Bretford director apologizing that the manual that came with our cart is incorrect......
I'm glad to hear that your colleague has their cart up and running. I'm wondering, If we still have problems, do you think we could contact her to ask for her help? I think we're the only ones in Hawaii that have the ipod touch cart. Most schools here have the learning lab cart for their ipod classics.
I really appreciate your help!
Hope you receive your cart soon so we can share more ideas!

Permalink Reply by Jeff on February 8, 2009 at 8:36pm

I've decided to come to your school and help you set it up:). If you give me your email address I'll pass it along to my friend. Thehuttons@hotmail.com (sunny and cool Calgary).

Permalink Reply by Melvina K on February 8, 2009 at 8:55pm

HI Jeff,
Yes, you're welcome to come to our school to help us! :-)
My email is mkurashige@midpac.edu
I appreciate you passing along your friend's email and also helping us with our cart set up. Hopefully we'll figure it out after talking to the Bretford tech people.
If not, we'll email your friend in sunny and cool Calgary!
Thanks so much!

Permalink Reply by Derek Keenan on April 7, 2009 at 6:16pm

I have used italk and several others and I have found italk to be superior to all others I have tested. Free, clear sound and ridiculously easy to use. I have a cart of 35 touches coming any time now, really excited to start using them with my high school kids.

Permalink Reply by Susan Wells on May 13, 2009 at 12:24pm

We too have found iTalk to be the best of the bunch for podcasting. There are so many outstanding educational apps coming out now. At first we were having to make apps work for us, we're finding now tools that work with and for our curriculum. A couple to take a look at: CountBy for a hundreds board and TimesBy for a multiplication board, also Show Me the Money for a cool bill counting game that looks easy at first but is actually quite challenging.

Permalink Reply by Dave on January 14, 2009 at 10:41am

It's been almost a year since your comments were originally posted, but I hope that mine give you an idea of how useful the Ipod can be in a classroom setting. I'm a high school special ed teacher and since getting my 80G Ipod a year ago, I've become completely enamored with it and the possibilities it holds for kids in my classes. Pod casts are what we hear about most, however, using the Ipod as a multi-modality tool to present information is what my emphasis is. For example, when reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" I always begin the section with background on the depression and life and race relations in the south during that time. Using the Ipod's video functionality by downloading pertinent documentary material ("The Case of the Scottsboro Boys", etc.) makes information available throughout the section and also gives more classroom time for more indepth study. Downloading an audio version of the entire text for struggling readers (and text versions as well) makes the information more accessible and comprehendible to those students. In order to pull everything together, I always show the best movie version of whatever piece of literature we're covering. Once again, allowing the students to download the movie to their Ipod and view on their time allows for more classroom time for discussion and addressing deeper curricular issues associated with the piece. While testing can also be a struggle or this segment of students, providing an audio version of the test can help immensely. I'm hoping to write a grant and get funding for this project duing the 2009-2010 school year.

Permalink Reply by sharpjacqui on January 17, 2009 at 6:15pm

I have been in discussions with teachers here in New Zealand and we are very interested in how the iTouch, iPods and iPhones can be used in classrooms. So far I have used my 80 gig iPod to record students orally publishing their stories, which then gets transferred into iTunes as a sound file or into GarageBand to be published as a Podcast. I have also saved many educational DVDs, audiobooks and Video Podcasts and play these through a connection to a TV set, this is ideal for a group of students. For whole class I would connect to a projector. In my role as a consultant I can only try these activities sporadically but at the beginning of April I have a class to experiment on for 2 whole weeks and I intend to use the iTouch, iPods and my iPhone. I have been experimenting with 'apps' which has inspired me to start a Wiki http://ipodsiphonesineducation.wikispaces.com/ as a record of apps and accessories that I come across. I have only just started this Wiki and I have about 50 apps to review which I will do over the next few months. I will also record my days in the classroom as a blog. Aside from the iPod family I am also going to look at how I could use a PSP, at the moment I can see its use as another wireless connection to the Internet for information retrieval.
This is a great thread, I look forward to reading more about what you are doing with iPods. If possible I would like to add individual's examples (websites, wikis or blogs) to my wiki.

Permalink Reply by Mike Palmquist on June 1, 2009 at 12:19pm

Hi,

GradePad, an iPhone/iPod touch assessment tool,
is now available at the iPhone App Store for $1.99.

Check out www.gradepad.com for 50 other GradePad rubrics.

Look for a free NECC version on June 28th.

The "Pro Edition", available on July 4, includes a GradePad.com account
so you can share GradePad rubrics, create groups & assessments online, and manage assessment data for tracking and reporting purposes.

Best wishes,
Mike Palmquist

Attachments:

GradePad_2009.pdf, 1.3 MB

Permalink Reply by Mike Palmquist on June 2, 2009 at 3:07pm

Hi Shawn,

We think the iTouch has lots of promise as a teacher tool. June 1, we released GradePad, an iPhone/iPod touch performance assessment app for teachers and trainers.

Today, GradePad was named Jane's E-Learning Pick of the Day.

Look for a free NECC version released on June 28.

Permalink Reply by John Nugent on July 25, 2009 at 1:03pm

I actually have a unique problem. As a School Board Trustee in Lapeer, Michigan I would love to approve(with my fellow trustees) classroom iPod touches. A million ideas are running through my head how we could use them. However, as a Board Trustee I cant just start forcing teachers to use iPod touches. I am beginning to make suggestions this year...hopefully someone will find the interest. It is a new idea so maybe it just takes time.