iPod Touch Schoolwide Implementation
There are a number of posts from individuals interested in using iPod Touches for teaching and Learning. At Culbreth Middle in Chapel Hill, NC we began a pilot this past August to place the iPod Touch in the hands of staff and students.
Our staff development for faculty to roll out the new technology centered on teacher coaches leading their groups in exploration through professional learning communities.
Our AVID students use the iPod Touch in the AVID classroom and in all other courses. They have piloted this program, using the iPod Touches daily for note taking, keeping individual agendas, translation for world languages, and accessing research through the Internet. In addition, our AVID students use many of the apps that teachers sync with these mobile devices. As student leaders, they’ve understood their responsibility to work and share this learning tool in collaborative groups.
This winter we were able to add iPod Touch labs for each of our seven interdisciplinary teams and two labs for our exploratory and resource teams. The interdisciplinary grade level iPod Touch labs are housed with each team and shared among the four content teachers (math, language arts, science, and social studies). These teachers plan together so that their students have access throughout each day. They access the internet as needed and use many apps as well.
Teacher current app favorites include: WordBook, Thesaurus, USA, Countries, Brain Tuner, Blanks, Whiteboard, CoinToss, Lose It!, Word Warp, FlipBook Lite. Of course they are using the included apps: Calendar, Calculator, Notes, Clock, YouTube throughout each day.
We held an iPod Touch Day last week with visitors from all over the state and from across the country. We even had a group from the UK come see our students and teachers in action with the iPod Touch. With almost 400 iPod Touches now in use at Culbreth, we’re happy to share what we’ve learned and what we’re learning.
Our staff development for faculty to roll out the new technology centered on teacher coaches leading their groups in exploration through professional learning communities.
Our AVID students use the iPod Touch in the AVID classroom and in all other courses. They have piloted this program, using the iPod Touches daily for note taking, keeping individual agendas, translation for world languages, and accessing research through the Internet. In addition, our AVID students use many of the apps that teachers sync with these mobile devices. As student leaders, they’ve understood their responsibility to work and share this learning tool in collaborative groups.
This winter we were able to add iPod Touch labs for each of our seven interdisciplinary teams and two labs for our exploratory and resource teams. The interdisciplinary grade level iPod Touch labs are housed with each team and shared among the four content teachers (math, language arts, science, and social studies). These teachers plan together so that their students have access throughout each day. They access the internet as needed and use many apps as well.
Teacher current app favorites include: WordBook, Thesaurus, USA, Countries, Brain Tuner, Blanks, Whiteboard, CoinToss, Lose It!, Word Warp, FlipBook Lite. Of course they are using the included apps: Calendar, Calculator, Notes, Clock, YouTube throughout each day.
We held an iPod Touch Day last week with visitors from all over the state and from across the country. We even had a group from the UK come see our students and teachers in action with the iPod Touch. With almost 400 iPod Touches now in use at Culbreth, we’re happy to share what we’ve learned and what we’re learning.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Bonsignore on
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Thanks much Denise (and all) for your recommendations on the sync carts and mics, etc. It's been helpful! Did any of you apply for grants to augment your funds, or did you work within the school budgets alone (or did your school have some funds from any subsidies/grants, etc)?
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Permalink Reply by Janice Friesen on
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We are also all PC, but the district allowed us to have one mac for syncing.
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Permalink Reply by Roland O'Daniel on
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I have a couple of questions, we are looking to develop a lab approach with a couple of teams of students. How are you handling the logging into and out of accounts on the iPod Touches? One of the processes we are struggling with is setting up apps with accounts and having to manage the process with 4-5 students working on the same machine. Also, how are dealing with email access?
Thanks,
Roland
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Permalink Reply by Susan Wells on
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A wonderful resource for iPod student info http://www.acu.edu/technology/team55/iphone/iTouchTOC.html This comes out of Abilene Christian University. They started at the university level at the time we began our project with 6-8. They are amazing. I recommend everyone check out their webpage!
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Permalink Reply by Nicole Gleason on
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Help Needed
I am in the process of syncing apps to my school touches Touches using my personal iTunes account. I was a second grade teacher and had 4 in my classroom. Now I am a technology teacher traveling with 6 to bring into classrooms or to use in the computer lab. iTunes will only allow 5 devices sync purchased apps. What if there is an app that I want on all of the Touches? Any suggestions?
Thanks, Nicole
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Nicole,
Are you syncing the same apps to each? We're working with 700+ devices, syncing 80 per MacBook. Is this what you're seeking to do on a smaller scale?
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I was at a conference this week where it was stated that we need to purchase the apps for EACH device we are syncing it to. I had not understood this before. It would be REALLY difficult when we are updating 20 at a time. Does anyone have more information on this?
Janice
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Permalink Reply by Tony Vincent on
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Janice,
Apple recently changed the App Store's Terms and Conditions and introduced the App Store Volume Purchase Program. It certainly is a change from the way we understood buying classroom apps in the past.
Syncing won't be affected by the new program, but you will need to purchase apps in a different way.
I wrote about the Volume Purchase Program on my blog: learninginhand.com/vpp. You can see from the comments that educators are not thrilled at the idea of following this process...
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Thanks Tony, I will read your blog.
Janice
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Permalink Reply by Mark Marshall on
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Wow...I did not know this. Great, I had made a budget for the apps last April and this just changes everything. Really disappointing. Where do I complain??
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Permalink Reply by Denise Plain on
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WOW - thanks for the info Tony!
What are Apple thinking?? - how to make things even harder for teachers.
Was thinking about getting more iPods, but now mmmmm.....
I agree developers should get rewarded for their work, but surely there must be an easier way than the VPP.
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My suggestion would be to create a new iTunes account for the school- something generic that other teachers can also use.
You could buy the app twice if you need it on more iPods - not sure if that would work though (I was able to put the bought apps on many iPods)
If you only want to use one computer for your personal account and the school account you can set it up so that you choose which account you want to log into when you plug in an iPod/iPhone
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1495
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