A few weeks ago I posted Essential iPod Touch Apps from a 9 Year Old Boy’s Perspective. In it, I provided an overview of all of the iPod Touch apps that Isaac currently had installed on his Touch. I created aGoogle Spreadsheet to use to keep track of his list. That led me tho think it might be an interesting little research study to collect Isaac’s opinions regarding the apps. Why did him pick them out on the iTunes Store and download them? What makes an app engaging, or not engaging? How would he rate the app? So, like any good educational researcher, I created a quick assessment tool for Isaac to use to review the app and for me to collect my data.
I’m not going to lie, it’s been a bit of tough sell to Isaac. Even though I created a desktop shortcut to the Google Form on Isaac’s laptop, he has been a little reluctant to actually open it up and submit review data on his own. I have managed to coax him into reviewing two apps on two separate occasions. I’m going to share the first four reviews with you tonight in their submitted form. Early on in this process, it seems like Isaac really enjoys apps by the developers at Donut Games.
And as a tech director, I am concerned that no one at Apple seems to have a good answer about managing sets of these devices. “The iPad is designed for end-user management” was the rather glib response we received from our local Apple rep. Buying software requires buying an iTunes gift card if one wants to use a PO. No attention that I can find has been given to educational licensing of any “apps” for the thing. Sigh…
There seems to be a general lack of interest by Apple in helping educators unleash the full potential of the devices. I have personally reached out to an Apple exec who I met at METC 2010 on multiple occasions and received no follow-up reply. Yes, I’m talking about you, Mr. Morrie Reece (reece@apple.com), Apple’s Senior Education Development Executive. Was it all an act when you excitedly snapped pictures of my jailbroken Touch running Screensplitr & DemoGod as I explained how I needed to mirror Touch apps on my local computer for use at conference presentations and for creating screencasts for professional development and training purposes?
I’ve had the iPad for three days now and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the device. One part of me is totally in love with the device. Another though can’t help but feel a little unsatisfied. As of now, I’m planning to write a proper review after my first full week using the iPad.
Today, I’ve decided to focus instead on a short post using the WordPress app for iPad. Download and set-up of the app, which is free, was really simple. If you already have an existing WordPress blog, you simply enter the URL and your log-in credentials and you are ready to go. By default, the 25 most current posts load into the app.
I am many things. An educator, a doctoral candidate, a friend, a colleague, a leader, an innovator…I’m sure this list could go on with much debate. However, first and foremost, I’m a husband to a wonderful wife and a father to 3 sons who are the center of my life. Ian and Isaac are twins who are 9 years old and in the third grade. Aiden is just about 3 and starting to give us a real run for our money.
This morning I handed over control of one of my iPod Touch devices to each twin. I spent some time with Isaac showing him how to access the iTunes app store, download apps and sync them to the Touch while Ian was off shopping with his mother. I thought it might be interesting to give Raised Digital and IEAR readers a look at what apps 9 year old boys download to their iPod Touch. Here’s a couple screen shots that give you the general rundown.
Coming soon: Skype on America’s most reliable wireless network.
Skype and Verizon Wireless are set to launch a new service, Skype mobile™ that enables customers to use Skype on a variety of best-selling Verizon Wireless BlackBerry® and Android™ 3G Smartphones.
In addition to free Skype-to-Skype global calling and low rates to international landlines and cell phones, Skype will be ‘always on’, meaning customers can receive Skype calls, instant messages and see friends’ presence anytime. And, Skype usage won’t be charged against customers’ monthly Verizon Wireless data plans or minute allowances.
@kbrueck sent me this link earlier today. I thought it was an interesting development given the Ustream iPhone app that has been available for some time now, but I have been unable to take advantage of, given my Verizon contract & Blackberry Storm device. I’m excited to see that VoIP apps are starting to become available for other smartphone devices. If you are currently a Blackberry user and would like to try the Skype app when it is available, there is a form on the website that you can fill out and submit to receive updates.
The application is most suited to provide a skill and drill approach to memorizing vocabulary, math facts and other learning content. It also provides learners with the opportunity to:
learn “bite sized” pieces of relevant information at a time
receive immediate feedback on results
test knowledge in any subject using custom card set integration with Google Docs
Cost: Free
Recommendation: I recommend this app for personal use and school use at this time. I feel this app would be most appropriate for use at home for parents who want to provide an extra supplement to school curriculum that requires a skill and drill approach, like addition and subtraction facts. It will require teacher or adult modeling of use for most early elementary students to operate successfully.
My youngest son, Aiden, is two and a half years old and seems to be devloping a real interest in the iPod Touch. While this is most likely because he watches his mom and dad use mobile devices on a daily basis, his interest really made me consider if and how the iPod Touch and the apps available for it could be used to support early learning.
There are approximately 6000 educational apps available in the iTunes store, so I have been trying to spend some time each day investigating, experimenting and analyzing an educational app. To further explore my research questions, I also decided to follow the example of Piaget and use my own children as a research subjects, so I downloaded a few apps, synced them to my iPod Touch and set Aiden loose.
In the coming months, I plan to continue working with Aiden and various iPhone apps. I’ll be collecting data, video documenting his learning experiences and trying to determine what place, if any, these apps have in the early childhood classroom. In some cases, I’ll review the apps and contribute them to I Education App Review. To kick this little project off, I thought I’d share a few of the early videos I’ve collected.
I reviewed the Wheels on the Bus and Word Magic iPhone apps for the I Education Apps Review community back in April. Each review consisted of a written component and a supplemental video review to show the app in action. One thing that I was never quite satisfied with was the technique I had to use to capture video of the iPhone app in use. To complete the first two app reviews, I resorted to mounting my video camera to a modified tripod that allowed me to capture video from directly above my iPod Touch. This method was less than ideal as it was very difficult to attain the proper lighting so that the screen was always clearly visible.
This weekend, I sat down to write, record and edit a long overdue IEAR review, but I just couldn’t seem to produce video of the iPod screen that was high-quality enough to use. After nearly an hour of frustration, I decided there had to be a better way to create video of an iPhone app in use. That’s when I turned to Google and YouTube. I started with a Google search of the terms “iPhone screen capture.” Jackpot. The search results provided a plethora of website and video tutorials.
While Qik has been around for almost a year or more, I’ve never had the opportunity to leverage the service into my blog or any of my presentations. This had been primarily due to the fact that I did not have a Nokia phone or an iPhone. Alas, I am one of the few Mac users who uses a Blackberry. This is because I have a family plan/contract with Verizon for my cellular service. I’m extremely satisfied with Verizon’s service, but have always been a little bummed that I can’t have an iPhone (that isn’t jailbroken). Today, everything got a little better when I found out that Qik was now supporting the BlackBerry Storm, the mobile device I am currently carrying. You can see the results of Qik from my Storm above. I plan on testing the service more extensively in the upcoming weeks. If you’re a Storm owner who would like to utilize Qik, you can enter following link in Blackberry Storm browser and download latest version (0.1.11): http://qik.com/dl/298. Check the blog frequently for future episodes of Raised Digital LIVE!
