Last week, I bored you to tears with my post on grad work, family blog, Windows 7, and iPod Touch. I’m happy to report that I’ve accomplished nearly everything I complained about last week!
I’ve finished all my applications, and I’m just waiting to hear back from my committee that it has all been submitted.
I updated the desktop to Windows 7, and had to do a clean install. Unfortunately, that means I had to back everything up, and then reload all my extra programs (like Office), which I forgot to do (the reloading, not the backing up). So, although I now have a homegroup set up, I can’t open Office documents until I reload that onto the machine. No worries, I’ll tackle that next week. Currently, the computer is dismantled and sitting in my kitchen as we prepare to have new carpet installed tomorrow morning (yeah!).
I purchased an iPod Touch, and boy am I excited about it!!!! It’s all I’ve been talking about on facebook (my poor friends). There’s SOOOO MUCH POTENTIAL here for classroom use, especially at the KINDERGARTEN level!!!!!! I am going to back off of the exclamation marks now, but seriously people, my daughter (5 yrs old) has learned 60 new site words in just a few days using the I Can Read app. There’s a free version, which she exhausted within a day or two, and so I paid $1.99 for the full version, and she loves it. Wish I knew where an online version of the app store is, so I could link it for you. Anyway, she is soaking up so much from this little device, that she doesn’t get from a computer. I think maybe there’s too much to do with a computer, and at her age it can be overwhelming. I think Nelly works (yes, we’ve named it) because it fits easily into her hand, it’s interactive, and hard to mess up!
So, now what? I’m looking for educational grants online that will give money to those with great ideas for classroom technology….I’m sure this idea isn’t original, but my daughter is adorable, and I figure if I let her be the spokesperson, we’d be a shoe-in! 
Wishful thinking.
Regardless, I am just floored with its classroom capabilities, and hope to be able to see it come to fruition in a local classroom before I’m done with my project.
My daughter has been making, “eating,” and emailing cookies to her family members (mainly my sister, and mother, since they are saved in my contacts).
She wanted me to share this cookie she made with the Cookie Doodle app.
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And below are two pieces of “art” that I made using the Spin Art (free) app. Really, it’s probably my best art ever!
Also, there is a flickr group you can join and post your Spin Art for all the world to see! How exciting for our students (heck, its exciting for me!).
Well, guess that’s what I have to say for now. Believe me, my iPod Touch posting will not end here, I’m sure I’ll be talking about it for months to come.
Another great app? Words with Friends! It’s a scrabble like game, and I think it would be great for maybe third graders. The only downside is that the free version has advertisements on it, and they are not appropriate content. So, you would either have to purchase full version (which is advert free), or maybe there is another education work around that I haven’t stumbled upon yet.
Posted by Book Chook on February 6, 2010 at 10:28 am
Spin Art is fun. I love anything that makes my creative efforts look good!
Posted by Da on February 6, 2010 at 2:20 pm
This is great Kris. I’m so proud of what you have accomplished!! If I haven’t said it before, you have come along way and by teaching your kids modern technogoly, they will surpass you. Watch out……. I Luv U!!!!!! Mom
Posted by Kelly Tenkely on February 7, 2010 at 4:33 am
You have been busy!! Good luck on the grants, a lot of work but you will be great.
I haven’t seen the spin art app, downloading now and looking forward to playing with it.
Posted by Nicholas Provenzano on February 7, 2010 at 5:52 pm
I always get excited when others get excited about tech. You find one great thing and you want to share it with the world. I think that’s what makes us teachers. Keep having fun and good luck with the grants.
Posted by comic life « Education as a Portal on February 11, 2010 at 8:11 pm
[...] site test « get appy! [...]
Posted by Kathleen McGeady on February 12, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Hi Kristen,
You’re right, iPod Touches have so much potential! I’ve been using them in my Grade 2 and 3 classroom for the last 18 months. I was lucky enough to originally get a grant from our state’s Education Department to trial this “emerging technology” and am now pursuing extra funding from the department to get more iPod Touches to look at using them for assessment (collecting data from apps) and reflection (using the mic accessory that you can buy).
I only have 2 iPod Touches in my classroom but using a headphone splitter, five students can be on the one iPod at once.
While I love using iPod Touches in the classroom at the moment I do wonder whether they’ll become obsolete once the iPad is released. This seems to do all the functions of the Touch (and more) and would be great in the classroom because an iPad would be easier for more than one student to look at at a time.
Kathleen
PS – I got Windows 7 recently too and am loving it!
Posted by klbuley on February 12, 2010 at 10:23 pm
Kathleen – I think that the iPod Touches will still be more usable in a Kindergarten or 1st grade classroom. Not to say the iPad will be too big, or that it will function differently, but there’s something to be said about having the device in their hands (their tiny hands) and being able to carry their creations (or math, or site words) around with them (to share with others). I am not sold on the iPad yet, but I am open to the possibilities. Currently, I think that a classroom full of iPod touches would be better than a couple of iPads per classroom. Maybe in a few months (years) I’ll eat my words….but for now, that’s where I stand.
Posted by Pam Thompson on February 14, 2010 at 1:31 am
With such wonderful enthusiasm you can’t fail to get your kids hooked! Seriously, I think you have great ideas for using new technologies and I wish you well with your grant application. make sure you let us know how you go!