IPOD Thoughts

First of all, I would like to announce that Joe and Dave are my new favorite people!
I sped home today and loaded the entire third season of The Office onto my new video iPod. Maybe, this is not exactly educational, but the goal is to get me to understand, troubleshoot, and over-all manage using this iPod as an educational tool. What better way to get started than to watching Michael's debacles?
After loading the iPod to the iTunes on my home computer, I began to wonder about sharing the iPod as a team and with our students. I currently have a shuffle and an iPod mini, all of which no longer work for me because I don't have the same computer (or I've encountered the famous Apple battery issue)
Luckily, my best friend married a network security guy who works for an internet company! After talking with him it seems like we need to make some management decisions about how we use the iPods. This iPod will now only work with the iTunes on my home computer. I can't get audio or visual files using this iPod on my new laptop. Which means, if we wanted to store content on the iPods as we shared them, we couldn't. It will only read one iTunes. However, my friend told me that if we reset the iPod each time we switch computers (or users) it will reattach itslef to the new computer. Or we can elect to use another program other than iTunes.
I'm hoping someone has some insight into how this could work and how we can manage the content that we are using on the iPods.
Also here is the wiki post on ipods: wiki iPod post.
Here is a link I stumbled across on WIKIHOW, it is a how-to on sneaking an ipod into class. It could be something to share with your class the first day of school! I think Deborah Pickering and the Vocabulary people could call it wide reading!
Check out the IPOD shared document and add your own links and advice

One Laptop Per Child

Recently Nicholas Negroponte, on leave from MIT Media Laboratory, took on this non-profit effort to provide a laptop computer to children in developing countries! The first release was in Cambodia and was featured a few weeks ago on 60 minutes. Watch it here: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/20/60minutes/main2830058.shtml It was amazing to watch these children who had no electricity, no access to media, let alone computers. It took them a couple of hours, and they were exploring and enjoying their computers. They were commenting that it was ironic and powerful that the only light coming from these children's dilapidated homes was candlelight and the glow from their monitors.

There is a link to their website here: www.laptop.org . Much of the philosophy of this project is similar to our as Global Learners, technology enhances learning. Concerns could be similar as well. Their concern is hidden costs that go with this technology like wireless or batteries. Ours is kids not having the internet or personal computers at home. Another concern of theirs is theft. What if the laptops are stolen by older kids? I thought about that as well today as we were discussing video ipods being checked out and taken home by our students. If we put too many restrictions on the use of the technology, we are not allowing students to enjoy this technology to its full potential. Is loss/damage to equipment just a necessary risk we have to take?

There is an intersting side story to all this about intel getting into the same "business" of developing $100 laptops and creating competition for Negroponte.

Here's a great way to use your SmartBoard

How often do we run out of funds to take students on field trips? Or you just don’t want to take them on a field trip because of the behavior problems that could arise? Imagine taking a virtual tours or a virtual field trips without the stress of finding funds or the chaos of students being out of their routine!

What about in science - you could put a plant (or other specimen) on the doc cam, hooked up to the SmartBoard and projector. Now you have an interactive opportunity to label the parts of your object or help students observe pieces they may not notice on their own.

Here is a website that will search smart-board lessons with state standards. On this page you can search by browsing curriculum standards or subject/grade level.

http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/default.htm

There seem to be endless possibilities!

Screencast with SmartBoard

On May 17, 2007 a screencast of Google.com math features was created during the Global Learners Professional Development. The screencast was captured within SmartBoard software and then uploaded to youtube. I have embedded the video here as an example of how this can be done. The video could be improved by using better examples. However, I can see the value to our students of screencasts just like this. Imagine a scenario where a student missed class or just didn't follow what your explanation of an Algebra problem. If the screencast of the problem being worked were captured and loaded to a class blog the student could go back at any time and review. Anyone interested in trying this? If you are post the result on this blog.

Fun with Math

Couldn't resist sharing this site from WikiHOW. I have found some really humorous "how to's." This would probably be saved for Sophmores who could handle this type of lab activity.
How to Calculate Pi by Throwing Frozen Hot Dogs
http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Pi-by-Throwing-Frozen-Hot-Dogs
Definitely an interesting way to find Pi and took me a minute to figure out how it works (but there is a proof linked if it becomes too hard.
Anyone willing to try it? Any other "How Tos" that you found there?

Alright, I'm here...

I have to admit that technology and I do not get along as well as I had hoped. We argue and fight, it's not pretty. With all the blogs, wikis, rss, and other new terms, I'm reluctant. However, with this Global Learners class and the fact that I teach 21st century students, I am starting to come around. I would like to create a website for my class for all of my students to access. They would be able to email me if they had any questions, pick up any missed assignments, get links to helpful websites, and they could blog with me and the other students . I have never done anything like this, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on this idea. I was wondering what worked, what didn't, and if the students responded well.

EdClass in Class!

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to talk about a small success using EdClass and Geometry Sketcher this week in class. Ive had two days of lessons using our new toys and I must say Im impressed with the results. With EdClass I have used 3 lessons so far with my Geometry and Algebra classes. With my Geo 10C class, which is a little more advanced, I used the Golden Ratio lesson and the Finding Pi lesson. Both were interesting and the students enjoyed them. And both were easy to use with just one computer and the students hand writing the tables. The lessons both involved the students measuring things and finding ratios. They saw how body parts are arranged in the Golden Ratio and how the idea and number of PI was created. With the Geo sketchpad I used it in an opposite type of class. I used it in a lesson to teach the defenitions of Parallelograms. The lesson involved manipulation of Parallelograms and some cool visual effects. I used it in a class or perpetual F's and was impressed at how it caught their attention and instead of writing notes on the board, or trying to draw the figures which im horrible at, ive been writing them on word and projecting it on my wall. Well just wanted to share with you all my small success and more importantly ask if anyone else has found any good lessons on either program that you can suggest? Or any other program?