I’ve ordered three iPod Touches to be used in a trial at the high school, middle school, and elementary level. Stealing some ideas from John Schinker, I’m putting forth the following questions for the participants to answer:
Does this device work well enough to have a place in our schools?
How could this be used effectively with students?
What limitations are there that would affect its usefulness?
Are there solutions to overcome those limitations?
What technical hurdles would have to be overcome to make the use of these devices successful?
If we were to start using these computers, what could they replace? What could we buy fewer of to make this cost effective?
Are these durable enough for student use?
Is the iPod Touch too complicated / different / cumbersome / annoying to be used in this environment?
I’ve started to come up with some ideas on how they can be used. My main goal to start is to focus mainly on communication. I’ve setup the Prologue theme for Wordpress, and am currently recruiting teachers to try it out. I’ve also installed the Elgg.org Open Source social network software at the HS and am investigating ways that it can be used in the classroom.
What are some of the important aspects that you can see implementing with a 1-to-1 program?
p.s. I’m trying out publishing from Google Docs, let’s see how well that works!
Tags: 21st Century Skills, Hardware, Mobile Computing by Mr.Rcollins
1 Comment »
photo credit: swpermanAs we investigate ways to use mobile Internet devices in our classrooms, it hit me that they could be used as an interactive student response system (ISRS). Since current ISRSs are around $100 per person, why not invest in a more useful device such as the iPod Touch, Sony PSP, or Nintendo DS (with Opera)?