Do Cell Phones & iPods Belong in Classrooms?

K-12 Computing Blueprint Newsletter for April 2010 features the results of a July 2008 poll about cell phones in the classroom At that time two-thirds of the teachers who participated in the poll answered, “Cell phones have no place in the classroom except for emergencies.” To find out if opinions on this topic have changed in the past two years, there’s a new survey ready for your ideas not only on cell phones but also on other digital devices like iPods in the classroom.  While in the polling area of the site, you can check the archive of Quick Polls for educator opinions on topics such as Twitter, Kindle, stimulus funds, Race to the Top,  etexts, 1:1 computing, and more.

The Battle of the Budget

With technology in fast forward, what is it wise for schools to purchase?  Aaron Eyler in his Synthesizing Education Blog addresses the problem in  “The Battle of Education Technology: Software, Hardware, & Funding (And What to Do About It)”. He suggests spending budget money on those items that will develop school infrastructure, like networks, bandwidth, wireless connections, and servers; purchasing netbooks and other student-centric devices, rather than laptops and desktops; and using GoogleDocs and Open Office instead of software like Microsoft Office. To prepare for the future in our schools, Eyler advises that we support school IT departments, enhance the home-school tech connections, and prepare for the future. What are your ideas about what we should be doing with our tech budgeting and future planning?

ReQall Recalls for You

If you have a cell phone, an iPhone or a Blackberry, you may want to check out reQall. It’s a memory aid that’s voice-enabled and acts like your personal assistant for phones, the Web, Outlook, Google Calendar, email, Evernote, text messaging, instant messaging, Firefox, iCal and News Feed.  Using reQall is as simple as placing a call and telling reQall what you want to remember—like shopping lists, reminders about meetings and doctors’ appointments, notes about lesson plans, calendar items, etc. Your words are translated into text, which can be used in a variety of ways. There’s even a Memory Jogger that “ can also predict when you'll forget and send you periodic "’memory refreshers’ to prevent forgetting.” Think of telling your students about this memory aid, for it would be excellent for reminders about long term projects, papers, reports, and homework. The standard version is free; the Pro version is $24.99 a year or $2.99 a month. If you are interested in this memory aid, watch this  YouTube video about reQall.

Have You Explored iTunes U?

iTunes U, which is available for computers, iPod Touch, and iPhones, features over 150,000 free education media files. Although many of these resources are posted by universities, you’ll also find Classics for Kids from Cincinnati Public Radio, music lessons for young people, sessions from Edutopia, and courses for teachers and parents. iTunes U, with its outstanding courses from some of the world’s top universities, is a valuable resource for students and teachers interested in pursuing educational topics beyond what’s available in their school or region. On the Apple site, there are video guidelines to lead you through directions for using iTunes U on mobile devices and on your computer.

What Do Parents Want When It Comes to Tech in Schools?

Blackboard K-12 provides the download of a pdf booklet, Speak Up 2008 Selected National Findings, which discusses findings related to parent responses collected for Project Tomorrow’s Speak Up 2008.  The report says that only a third of the parents who took part in the survey thought “schools were doing a good job of preparing students for the 21^st century.” Parents were “dissatisfied with the availability of “quality technology in schools and teachers’ skills in using technology.” While both parents and students taking part in the survey wanted better technology use in schools, there were differences of opinion on what types of technologies should be used for learning. Parents tended to want tools that could be related to traditional learning such as eBooks, interactive whiteboards, and systems that let them know how their children were doing.  Students were more interested in mobile devices, media tools, games, online classes, and unlimited Internet use. Sounds right on target, doesn’t it? The survey included over 21,000 parents, almost 300,000 students, and over 30,000 teachers and administrators from 50 states.

Getting Started with Podcasting?

ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) has published “Student-Powered Podcasting”. The book, written by Christopher Shamburg, is priced at $32.95 ($23.95, ISTE members).  You can listen to an interview with the author at ISTE Casts.  The book includes chapters about radio drama, readers’ theater, foreign language podcasting, historical interviews, audio tours, fan fiction, and much more.  Appendixes tackle topics such as legal and ethical considerations, classroom rules, and copyright and fair use. Check the site for teacher and student competitions such as the creation of a one-minute story with the following sound effects: water splashing, engines vrooming, matches striking,

Finding AudioBooks & eBooks

OverDrive School Download Library and ABC AudioBook Classroom are K-12 libraries for use at home and school. The ebooks and audiobooks can be accessed on computers, iPods, cellphones, and other devices. The ABC system, which includes 1000 audiobooks loaded to a school network, has an option for whole-class access and transfer from computers to MP3 players and can help with vocabulary, expression, comprehension, and motivation. The OverDrive system lets students use over 600 eBooks and audiobooks from home through checkout using students' school IDs. The systems can be used on both Macs and PCs. eBook format comes in Adobe (PDF & EPUB) and Mibipocket (PRC); audiobook format includes Windows Media (WMS) and MP3.

Textbooks in the Apple AP Store?

Random House now has an ebook reader that will work with iPhones and iPod Touch, which means it will be offering digital versions of its books in the Apple App Store. Print size of the text as well as font types can be changed by readers who purchase the books, and notes can be taken in the books. Users may add on features such as videos, quizzes, and interviews with authors. Although Random House has started with best sellers, can textbooks be far behind? Will we be able to pick and choose texts in the Apple App Store? Read Fred Bartels comments, "The End of the Textbook? ... as we know it" and see what he suggests might be possible for texts of the future with Apple's new iPhone software. Will we be able to pick and choose to purchase only the chapters we want and perhaps, put together our own textbooks? Yes, we will—one of these days.