Wormbog

This is the second in a series of posts about the iPod Touch in the classroom.  The first post talked about using the device for Internet research.  In this post I will look at online testing.

Online testing at DCHS is done using RenWeb, our student information system.  I will acknowledge from the start that there are likely much better tools for creating online tests, but this is what we are working with at the current time (Here is a helpful article about assessment solutions from Tech and Learning). RenWeb allows for creating multiple choice and essay questions.  If you have ever typed on an iPod Touch you can probably imagine that it is not the right tool for a test that is heavy in essay questions.

It was interesting to watch the students in several classes use the iPod Touch for testing.  They initially struggled to log into RenWeb because of an interface that is not friendly to the smaller screen.  We also learned early on that we have to force RenWeb into a dial-up mode so that it would drop frames and many of the graphical elements.  With the “pretty” stuff out of the way the students were able to get to the test with no problem.  As with the internet research a majority of the students preferred to take a multiple choice test on the iPod over the classroom PCs.  With a test that had just one essay short essay question the students also preferred the iPod.  On a test that required several short answer and essay questions the student would have preferred to take the test on the PCs.

In summary, the iPod Touch is a great tool for multiple choice tests.  Tests that require a lot of typing should be done on PCs.  The way I would suggest they are used is that the iPod Touch is used as a tool for quizzing and test preparation.  PCs or laptops should be used for the actual tests.

The next post will cover the app iResponse.

I am going to start a short series of posts on our use of the iPod Touch in the classroom.  Now that we have a functional case and Google Calendar setup so that our teachers can reserve the lab we have the opportunity to evaluate how the iPod integrates into the classroom.  The first topic is Internet research.

When looking at the iPod’s small screen it is hard to imagine that it could play a role in research in the classroom.  However, once you start to use mobile Safari you quickly realize why the iPod Touch has become so popular as a web browsing device.  Once you learn to use the multitouch interface, double clicking to zoom in on a section and landscape vs. portrait mode the iPod Touch becomes a capable research tool.  Students have been very quick to pick up on these functions.  In a history class the students had passed out the iPods and started the research within 2 minutes of the teacher asking them to begin.  For the most part the students preferred the iPod Touch to the older PCs in the classroom for the research they were asked to complete.

After watching this type of exercise in a few classrooms this week I think the iPods accomplish the task of basic Internet research well.  An assignment that is going to take 20 minutes or less is ideal.  Research for larger projects where students students will be writing papers should be done on laptops or desktops (or maybe the iPad).

The next topic with be online testing with the iPod Touch.

We recently purchased 23 iPod Touches to test in the classroom as we consider a one-to-one program from next year.  Along with the iPods I was looking to purchase a case that would allow us to protect the iPods as we moved them between classrooms and to charge and sync the iPods.  I was very disappointed with the cost of the cases and carts on the market.  The 2 options that we found were:

• Bretford PowerSync Cart for iPod – $2,300
• Bretford PowerSync Case for iPod – $2,000

I am sure that both of these are great solutions, but I was not interested in spending $2,000 to protect $4,000 worth of iPods.  We decided that we would put together our own case.  Here is our solution:

• Case: we had an aluminum case from wireless microphones around that we used but something like this would work fine. ~$50
• USB Hubs: we purchased four 7 port powered USB hubs from NewEgg. $100
• Power Stip: we added a standard power strip to power the USB hubs.
• Padding: we used foam that was left over from other projects to cut out slots for 30 iPods.  We used an electric kitchen knife to cut the foam which worked well. (If you have to purchase a case look for one that has foam included)

After a little trial and error making cuts in the foam we came up with a fairly good solution.  Rather than trying to cut out sections the

USB hubs and power strip

same size as the iPods we just made single slits with the knife.  This keeps the iPods safe without giving them room to move.  We also cutout channels on the bottom of the foam and slits for the charging/sync cable.  We daisy chained the USB hubs.  After connecting the power and the USB to a Mac Mini iTunes opened and all 23 iPods appeared and started to sync.

I am concerned about a couple of issues.  The first is that the foam feels rough and because we only cut slits for each iPod I am concerned that they will scratch over time.  I will be watching them closely for signs of scratching.  iTunes also seems to have issues syncing 23 devices at the same time.  This could be a function of an older Mac Mini that is also recording cameras and playing music during class changes but I have not had a chance to test it.  I am not too worried about iTunes because I do not plan to have to sync the iPods frequently.  We are looking for tools that will allow the teachers to use the iPods without asking to have content sync’d to them each time.

This might not be as pretty as the Bretford solution but I think that it accomplishes the same task, for about $1,900 less.

DCHS is in the first stages of evaluating Apple’s iPod Touch for a one-to-one program next year.  Through a generous gift from our PTF we were able to purchase 23 iPod Touches to test over this semester to determine how well they can be used in the classroom.  I will try to keep you up-to-date on our progress and thoughts about how well they are working as a tool to help better educate our students.

The first step in this process is to teach our teachers.  I am going to start with a short introduction this Thursday that will include using Safari for basic web browsing, how to watch videos, and how to use the iPod as a classroom response tool.

Using the web will be an important part of how the iPod Touch integrates into our curriculum.  So often we are asked to bring the mobile lab to a classroom so the students can spend a short time using the web for research.  My hope is that the iPod Touch will be able to fill this need.  I often find that it is easier to read on the iPod Touch because I use the zoom capabilities to focus on the content and am not distracted by the sidebar content on the site.  We are also hoping that teachers will be able to use this for web tests that are primarily multiple choice.

Video has also become an important teaching tool.  Through the use of the mobile lab this year we have found that students are more engaged with the video when they are watching it on their own screen and have the ability to pause and respond to worksheets.  I will show the teachers how to provide video content that we can put on iTunes if they are going to use it on a recurring basis.  I will also be teaching them about Air Video.  This tool allows teachers to host video on their laptop and stream it to the students iPods.  I have tested it with 3 concurrent streams and it worked well.  The next test will be with all 23 iPods.  With Air Video teachers will be able to host video without requiring IT to resync each student iPod.

The next tool we are going to explain is iResponse.  iResponse allows teachers to create quick multiple choice questions and to show class response on a graph.  It also has a neat feature that allows the teachers to push questions to the device that can be answered at home and then uploads the responses the next class.

I am hoping that with these a basic understanding of these three tools teachers will start to integrate the iPod Touch lab into their lesson plans.  I will let you know how it goes.