Seeing how cool and awesome other people’s 365 challenges turned out, I decided to start one. As I have been doing this, I have been thinking about how a 365 challenge, modified in some way, could work in the classroom.

I know what you are saying. Digital cameras are expensive. Not necessarily. A decent digital camera can be found for $100. However, there is no need to purchase new equipment. Many students have cameras built-in to their cell phones and could use them. My GPS Camera Phone is an example of a photography blog in which the author publishes pictures he has captured with his GPS camera cell phone.

There are several connections to a host of learning objectives. Obviously, there is the art aspect. Photography is an art after all. Students can practice all those art terms like perspective and composition. Uploading the pictures to the internet incorporates technology, as well. Students can learn how to edit their photos and format web pages. What other subjects can benefit from a photography challenge?

Math

Two recent assignments at The Daily Shoot involved converging lines and intersecting lines, both topics covered in geometry. Students could be sent out to take pictures of various geometrical shapes, such as octagons and rectangular prisms. Upper level students could be sent out to find pictures of conic sections which could then be used to help students practice writing equations. Younger students could take pictures of numbers or x number of things in an image.

Barnes Library illustrates both parallel and perpendicular lines

Part of the Thomas Jefferson Library is a regular pyramid

Language Arts

Students could use the pictures they take as a starting point to creative or expository writing. They could also take pictures that illustrate a scene from literature. Alternatively, photographs could be used as a writing prompt. Especially for teachers that may not yet be ready to manage the technology of a photoblog, using pictures found on existing blogs could be a creative way to get students thinking and writing. Students can practice prose, poetry, persuasive and humorous speeches. Writing competitions often present students with interesting photographs to interpret.

Social Studies

Students could take pictures of local landmarks, historical and geographical markers. For history, students could take pictures of things that represent local history and write about it, connecting it to global or national history. They could also look at how the region has changed throughout the years. Incorporate a scavenger hunt and now students can work in teams to learn more about local people, places and history in a fun and dynamic way.

How has the ability to travel from one place to another impacted society and the availability of goods? In this shot, you have the Mississippi River, an ancient way of traveling, combined with a railroad bridge and a bridge for cars.

Lewis and Clark are two significant figures in American history. Students can discuss why as well as tracing their voyage.

Science

Students could take pictures of wildlife and nature. For example, they could spend the weekend taking pictures of trees, leaves, seeds and flowers or finding signs of wildlife such as bird nests, feathers, or dens. This can then be followed up with classroom lessons about environmental science, ecology, zoology or biology. Students could do a series of photos on how a certain feature, such as a river bank, changes throughout the year. This could make a perfect independent study project for ambitious students.

Wildlife can be found in city parks. Students can discuss the habitats and behaviors of local wildlife such as this possum.

This is a photo showing the effects of a river. Students can discuss the water cycle, erosion and benefits and challenges of living alongside a river.

There are a variety of ways to use digital cameras in education and a variety of ways to challenge the students to take pictures. Plus, let us not forget the community aspects. There are several blog communities that cover these topics and more. With proper adult supervision, students can connect to experts and find a mentor. The key is to find a challenge that is meaningful to students that also helps them construct knowledge and still meet a variety of learning objectives.

Online Resources

• Snup’s Photos: Tina Fanetti’s 365 Photo Challenge Blog
• Nature Blog Network: List of nature photography blogs
• Vanishing STL: Chronicles the loss of architecture and changing urban landscape in St. Louis
• Online Writing Challenges

Fostering science, math, and engineering interests in young people is the goal of several organizations, including many of our nation’s publicly funded agencies like NASA and NSF. Informal science education programs and institutions run the range. Some supplement traditional K-12 education lessons. Some provide opportunities for families to spend time together, learning, exploring, and having fun. And still there are some that specifically target under-served audiences to introduce them to pioneers and exciting career opportunities.

STEM Outreach Programs that Rock!

2009 was definitely the year science initiatives! It was hailed as the:

• Year of Science – with each month focusing on a different science topic;
• Year of the Gorilla – to raise awareness of the threat of extinction to this beautiful primate;
• Darwin Year – to celebrate the 200th year of Charles Darwin’s birth and 150th anniversary of the publication of his book; and
• International Year of Astronomy – to celebrate one of the oldest fields of science

To help spread the word of these science initiatives, Science Cafes really took off, especially here in the United States. Often hosted at fun meeting places like restaurants where pizza and beverages are served, people can meet local scientists and learn about interesting topics. Since local communities organize these events, the topics might be related to science initiatives or any other hot topic in the news like sports, herbal medicine, love or health.

But my absolute favorite science outreach efforts are the hands-on organically-grown science and nature outreach programs in individual communities. Here in St. Louis, Missouri, I’ve been involved in a few. My most recent experience was this past summer in the Forest Park Summer Youth Program with Boys & Girls Club kids.

Ocean Discovery Institute of San Diego, California, (formerly Aquatic Adventures) is an awesome program! Diverse young people from this very urban community are engaged in science exploration marine research, and environmental conservation education. This happens to be one of my dream jobs.

Plus, the 2010 San Diego Science Festival sounds like it will be the most anticipated science showcase of greater San Diego. Offering a wide variety of programs and events inspire all ages, “with a special focus on building a pipeline of future scientists and STEM thought-leaders” – festivities include supplemental K-12 Programs, Scientist Speakers series at local schools, a science exposition, and Scientists in Residence Program. College student scientists represented from disciplines such as Bio-medicine, Pharmacology, Engineering, Green Technology, Oceanography, and Astrophysics will work in partnership with San Diego county schools for 6 weeks and create joint project that will be showcased in the 2010 Festival.

Science Chicago hosted the world’s largest science celebration. Being the home of several private businesses like Alberto-Culver and institutions like the Shedd Aquarium, all of Chicago had a chance to get a closer look into how science impacts our lives and our health.

I recently discovered Multidisciplinary Education for the Environment (ME4E) also out of the Chicago, Illinois. This organization provides outdoor hands-on activities for schools, scouts, and public groups to learn more about ecology and local wildlife. They seem to have a full calendar of events such as bird counts, wildlife watching, making cast of animal tracks, wetlands and woodlands lesson plans, and urban gardening programs.

ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp sponsored by The Harris Foundation is a free, academic program offered in over 20 different cities in the United Sates. Middle school students participate in a variety of recreational, social, and STEM educational activities at local college campuses. Founded by Dr. Bernard Harris, it is designed to support historically under-served and under-represented students with limited opportunities.

Finally, no matter where you live, here is a program for any student in 3rd- 6th grade. Pulse of the Planet Kid’s Science Challenge is a nationwide competition for kids to submit experiments and problems for REAL scientists and engineers to solve. The website is also a fun place to play science games, watch videos, and enter to win awesome prizes and trips! Plus, the site also offers educator resources for teachers and parents, such as podcasts and download-able curricula.

7 handles deployment quite gracefully. We can literally just run Sysprep and deploy the image, and 7 will figure it out. Now, this isn’t the most effective way to Sysprep a machine, but if you need a quick image for something and you don’t mind sitting through the setup process, it works. Just like my article for XP, I want to say that  I don’t know if the methods here are the “right” way to go about sysprep-ing machines, but it works, and I think that’s what counts.

Sysprep is located in C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep by default (yes, it actually just comes with the OS).  Just run it as Administrator, select Enter System Out-of-Box Experience(OOBE) and check Generalize. After the machine shuts down, take an image and deploy it.

You’ll then be taken through the normal setup routine (setting up an administrator, license key, etc). If the machine is connected to the Internet, 7 will try to find updates and proper drivers.

Deployment Using Windows System Image Manager (WSIM)

If you plan on deploying Windows 7, you definitely need to create an unattended installation answer file. Unlike XP, where the answer file was just a text file with some fields, 7’s is a more complicated XML file. Microsoft has put out some tools to aid in the creation of these files, namely the Windows System Image Manager. This is part of the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK), a rather hefty download (1.6 GB iso), but something you need.

Using WSIM

Once you’ve downloaded and installed the kit, you need to grab some files from your Windows 7 installation disk. Explore the disk, go to the sources folder, and look for a file called install.wim, it’s about 2.5 GB in size. Copy that to your computer somewhere (I put mine in C:\Sysprep, but it doesn’t really matter where you put it). Now go ahead and open the Windows System Image Manager.

A new Windows System Image Manager window

It looks kind of ugly, but once you get used to it it’s not bad. The window is split into a few different sections, we only need the Windows Image, Answer File, and Properties sections. Right click where it says Create or Open an Answer File and hit New Answer File.

Blank Answer File

So now we have a blank answer file. The seven different options under the Components section correspond to the different passes that Sysprep makes. I’m not going into too much detail now; you don’t need to know a whole lot about the passes in order to get this to work. So for now, right-click where it says Select a Windows image or catalog file and click Select. Go to the install.wim file you copied earlier, and hit Open. It will probably tell you that it can’t find the catalog file, and ask if you’d like to make one; click Yes. This will “take a few minutes.”

Components are added to your answers file

Now you should see a tree with two options, Components and Packages. Expand the Components and you’ll see a long list of odd names. These components are the possible settings you can add to your answer file. Yeah, it’s weird. Anyway, if you highlight a component, the Properties pane will show you some of the available settings. You can then highlight a setting, and you’ll get a little more information; usually it just shows you the type of setting it is (boolean, string, etc), but it will warn you if a setting has been deprecated.

WSIM Properties Pane

Right click on a component and you’ll see Add Setting to Pass… 1 through 7, corresponding to the seven passes in the answer file. Some of them are grayed out, but more often than not you’ve got more than one choice. How do you figure out which to choose? Well, it depends on what you want it to do. For instance, putting amd64_Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup into pass 4 gives me different settings than if I put it into pass 7.

That’s the basics of WSIM. Microsoft’s TechNet has a more in-depth information about it if you’re interested.

Alright, so what are the Passes?

There are seven configuration passes: WindowsPE, offlineServicing, generalize, specialize, auditSystem, auditUser, and oobeSystem. Each is designed to take care of different parts of the setup process. Microsoft has a nice little table to explain what they do, go ahead and skim through it if you want. What we really need to know is this:

Generalize runs when we run Sysprep /generalize

Specialize runs on the next boot after running /generalize

AuditSystem and AuditUser run when we run Sysprep /audit

WindowsPE runs when Windows PE boots (it’s the setup environment, like what you’d see when you’re first installing Windows)

Making Sense of the Components

You’ve probably noticed that all of the components have very similar names. They all begin with AMD64, x86, or wow64, then Microsoft-Windows, and THEN the name of whatever the component controls. The beginning specifies the architecture that the component is designed for; AMD64 is for 64 bit machines (both Intel and AMD) and x86 is for any 32 bit hardware. WoW64 is short of Windows-on-Windows 64, it’s a subsystem that runs 32 bit programs on 64 bit OS’s (I’m not really sure when their use would ever be needed).

Most of the components have multiple versions, one for each architecture, so make sure to choose the right ones. For this article, I’m using only AMD64 components, but the 32 bit ones are very similar.

Okay, Now Let’s Make an Answer File

So once you’re familiar with using WSIM, all that’s left to do is build the answer file by adding the components you wish to add.

Building a Basic Answer File

To create a basic unattended installation answer file, we need two components: amd64_Microsoft-Windows-International-Core_neutral and amd64_Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup_neutral. The two of these take care of the basic questions during setup. Add International-Core_neutral to pass 7, and Shell-Setup_neutral to both 4 and 7.

In Shell-Setup_neutral for pass 4, set:

• Computer Name: * (this is a wildcard, it will create a random computer name)
• Copy Profile: false (this doesn’t work right now, so set it to false)
• Time Zone: full name of your time zone (ie Central Standard Time, Saint Pierre and Miquelon Standard Time)

Leave RegisteredOrganization and RegisteredOwner alone, we’ll change those in Pass 7¹

In Pass 7, you can change the RegisteredOrganization and RegisteredOwner settings. Also notice that you can expand this component in Pass 7, and you’ll see a sub-component named OOBE.  Here, you can set:

• HideEULAPage: true
• HideWirelessSetupInOOBE: true
• NetworkLocation: Work/Home/Other
• ProtectYourPC: 1,2, or 3

Do NOT set SkipMachineOOBE or SkipUserOOBE. SkipMachineOOBE is for “testing purposes only”, and SkipUserOOBE is deprecated; SkipUserOOBE is referring to the sort of Welcome screen that you’d typically get in previous versions of Windows the first time you log in, but there isn’t anything of the sort in Windows 7, so that setting doesn’t do anything.

On the ProtectYourPC setting, you can set it to be 1,2, or 3. When running setup, you’re asked to choose what sorts of updates you want your computer to automatically download. 1 is equivalent to the recommended setting (all updates), 2 is only important updates, and 3 is none.

For International-Core_neutral, there are five settings:

• InputLocale: Specifies the system input locale and the keyboard layout
• SystemLocale: Specifies the language for non-Unicode programs
• UILanguage: Specifies the system default user interface (UI) language
• UILanguageFallback: Specifies the fallback language if the system default UI language is only partially localized
• UserLocale: Specifies the per-user settings used for formatting dates, times, currency and numbers

The values are a string that specifies language and country. The naming scheme follows ISO 639-1 (language codes) and ISO 3166-1 (country code) standards. For example, if you want everything to be in English and you’re in the United States, you’d use en-us. And if you live at the Vatican and speak Esperanto, it’d be eo-va.

Once all this is added, your answer file should look something like this:

Answer file with basic information

At this point, you could save the file to your Sysprep directory, and run Sysprep by going to commandline and typing:

cd C:\Sysprep
Sysprep /generalize /unattend:<unattendfilename>

Once the machine shuts down, take an image, and it’s ready to deploy.

Adding Other Components

Those two components are really all you need to get the unattended installation process rolling, but Sysprep allows for much greater customization during setup. Looking at the components list, if we expand Shell-Setup_neutral, you’ll notice there are a ton of extra sub-components that weren’t listed in the answer file. To add them, just right click and choose what pass you want them in. For example, you can create new user accounts during setup, run logon commands, set display settings, etc.

There are tons of different components, and what each does isn’t very obvious in WSIM. As of writing this, Microsoft doesn’t have a breakdown of the components on their website for 7, but they do have one for Vista. Unless something has been deprecated, it should behave pretty similarly to how it did in Vista’s unattended setup, so it’s a good resource for figuring out how a component works.

Add Device Drivers

Adding new device drivers is now a lot easier than in XP. First, get all the drivers you’ll need all nice and organized somewhere you can get to easily. At the top of WSIM, click Insert, then Driver Path. Choose Pass 5 AuditSystem, because we can’t run the WinPE or offlineServicing passes in Sysprep. Select the folder that you’ve got all of your drivers in, and a new component will be added to the AuditSystem pass: PnpCustomizationsNonWinPE_neutral. Expand the component down to the Credentials sub-component, and provide a user name and password that has access to your drivers folder.

Note that if you do this, you must run Sysprep /Audit /Unattend:<filename> to run the AuditSystem pass. Once this is done, you then need to run Sysprep /OOBE /Unattend:<filename> to perform the remaining passes.

Other Things That Are Worth Noting

Creating Default User Profile

To change the Default User profile, you’ve basically got to manually replace the folder. However, using the Copy To… button in the User Profiles doesn’t work as it did in XP and Vista.  The Copy Profile setting in the answer file doesn’t work either.

To get around this problem, first, get your profile setup the way you like it then go to C:\Users.  Make a copy of the current Default folder (name it Default.back or something).² Next, delete the Default folder and rename the profile you just setup to Default.

To test it simply login with another account to be certain that you get the settings you expect. If it doesn’t have the same settings as the one you setup, there might be a permissions error with the new Default folder.

One thing you’ll probably notice is that the desktop background changes when you do this. This is because by default, the background image is stored in a C:\Users\<profilename>\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\TranscodedWallpaper.jpg, and for whatever reason, this doesn’t seem to get copied over.

If you want to persist the same background across all new profiles, you just need to change one registry setting: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\Wallpaper. Just put your background image somewhere that it won’t be messed with, and point that setting to the new picture. Then, of course, copy this profile back over the Default profile again.

Customize the Login Background

Windows 7 allows you to change the login background without the need to use third-party software like Vista (or maybe I just never figured it out?).

Go to %windir%\System32\oobe. Create a new folder called info. Then, inside info, create a new folder called backgrounds. Inside this folder, you can put your images, at least one named backgroundDefault.jpg. You can add others, named background<resolution>.jpg For instance, I have background1280×1024.jpg and background1680×1050.jpg. Windows will automatically pick the proper image, depending on the screen resolution. If it doesn’t find an appropriate one, it will default to backgroundDefault.

Now, go back to \oobe. Notice there is another background.bmp here. We need to change this too, but it’s considered a system file, so we’ve got take ownership of it first. Type cmd into the Start menu search box, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open an Administrator command prompt.

Now, type takeown /f c:\Windows\system32\oobe\background.bmp

If it gives you a Success! message, then you’ve got control of the file. However, you still must change the permissions to allow yourself access to the file. Once that’s done, rename the file something else, and then create a new background.bmp with your login background.

Finally, there’s one Registry key to change: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background\OEMBackground. Set its value to 1, and that’s it.

Good Reading

TechNet: Windows 7 Desktop Deployment – a lot of articles about various aspects of Windows 7 deployment. Not the most user friendly setup, but the information is good.

Footnotes

1. some even claim that you MUST leave these at their default values of “Microsoft” and “AutoBVT”.
2. If you do not see a Default folder, you may have to Show Hidden files/folders in Windows Explorer options

Converting an Original File to PDF

If you already have a digital document (Word, PowerPoint, email, webpage, etc) or image (JPEG, TIFF, or even another PDF) and all you need is to quickly turn it into a PDF, there is no need to purchase a proprietary solution such as Adobe Acrobat. There are free solutions for both major platforms (Mac/Windows):

In Windows

We highly recommend for Windows’ users a free open source solution developed by pdfforge.org called PDFCreator. Be careful, don’t be fooled by knock-offs that go by similar titles.²

Your new PDFCreator virtual printer will appear like any other printer you have installed.

1. Download and install PDFCreator, just accept the default settings during the installation process³
2. Once installed, open any document that you’d like to convert to a PDF and click on File > Print…
3. Now, instead of using your default printer, select the PDFCreator virtual printer instead, now select Print
4. You will now see a dialog asking for you to approve metadata about the document, click Save
5. Finally, you’ll be asked to give the document a name, click Save
6. Your new document will open in your preferred PDF viewer

HELPFUL TIP: You can also perform this exact process with another PDF as your source document if you’d like to optimize it to a standard resolution and file size. This is especially useful for documents that you’ve scanned at a high resolution but do not wish to rescan.

In Macintosh

Macintosh users are in luck. Every version since 10.1 of the Mac OS has had the ability to convert documents into a PDF as a built-in feature of its operating system.

Often ignored, the PDF dropdown in the print dialog has many options

1. Open any document that you’d like to convert to a PDF and click on File > Print…
2. In the resulting dialog box, pop down the PDF drop-down menu (typically at the lower left), select Save as PDF …
3. It will now ask you for a name and location to save the PDF (I recommend using the Desktop for easy retrieval) along with some metadata, select Save when finished.

Scanning Documents to PDF using VueScan

There are, of course, many scanners available out there in the world and each one of those has their own way of handling this process, but here at UM Saint Louis we use a program called VueScan in all of our computer labs.

Select the appropriate options for your task, here we are creating a multi-page PDF.

1. Click on the Output tab
2. Change Default Folder to your Desktop for easy access using the @ button
3. Select the check box for PDF file (uncheck the other image files if need be). If making a multi-page PDF, check PDF multi page as well
4. Place page on scanner, align as indicated on the device, click Scan. If necessary, repeat for each page of the document, select File > Last Page when finished
5. Document will open in your PDF viewer for your inspection

High Speed Scanning using the TLC Document Centre

When needing to convert larger documents from hard copy to a PDF, placing one page after another on a flatbed scanner (especially when in the 100s) is simply not a good option.  The TLC maintains a high-speed document scanner that allows you to convert –within minutes– documents 50 to 60 pages long into a PDF delivered directly to your UM Saint Louis inbox.⁴

High-speed scanning can save students and instructors valuable hours of work

1. From the main console menu, select Scan
2. Select Scan to File
3. From the resulting menu, select either PDF_Search or PDF_Image from the templates menu⁵
4. Select the Filing Options > Document Management Fields
5. Select the SSO ID button. Input your UM Saint Louis SSO ID.  Use More Characters to get to numbers and special characters⁶
6. Load the document into the top feeder, press START

Please be certain that your inbox has enough room to accommodate its new addition, otherwise it will be bounced to nowhere and you’ll have to repeat this all over again.

TIPS:

• For two sided or reduced size documents, select Scan Setups
• To name a document or set metadata before the document is scanned, select Filing Setups > Document Management Fields
• For a customized workflow, talk to your systems administrator
• Longer documents take longer to process. Please be patient and do not overload

Footnotes

1. $80 at educational prices, several times more for regular consumers
2. Knock-off titles such as PDF-creator, Solid PDF Creator, Cute PDF, etc. Some of these knockoffs use PDFCreator’s code but build-in prompts to get you to buy it. PDFCreator should only be downloaded either through the pdfforge.org site or their project page on sourceforge.net
3. I do recommend that you do not install the PDFCreator Browser Add On which is essentially just a Yahoo! toolbar. This isn’t so much of a problem as it is annoying.
4. Larger documents can also be handled but will need to be broken down into 50 page sections and appended one to the other.  However, this requires special TLC staff assistance.  Please ask at the front desk.
5. PDF_Search to make the text within the document searchable or PDF_Image for just the image of the document, smaller file size
6. Sometimes referred to as a GatewayID, the same username you use to log into MyGateway and your email

President Obama launched “Educate to Innovate” Campaign for Excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Education, a nationwide effort which includes over $260 million in public-private investments to move American students to the top of the pack in science and math achievement over the next decade.

President Obama visiting with New Orleans Science Students in October 2009

From the White House Office of the Press Secretary, Official Press Release:

President Obama today launched the  “Educate to Innovate” a nationwide effort to help reach the administration’s goal of moving American students from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math achievement over the next decade.

Speaking to key leaders of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) community and local students, President Obama announced a series of high-powered partnerships involving leading companies, foundations, non-profits, and science and engineering societies dedicated to motivating and inspiring young people across America to excel in science and math.

Among the initiatives announced by the President are:

• Five public-private partnerships that harness the power of media, interactive games, hands-on learning, and 100,000 volunteers to reach more than 10 million students over the next four years, inspiring them to be the next generation of makers, discoverers, and innovators. These partnerships represent a combined commitment of over $260 million in financial and in-kind support.
• An annual science fair at the White House, showcasing the student winners of national competitions in areas such as science, technology, and robotics.

President Obama has identified three overarching priorities for STEM education:

1. increasing STEM literacy so all students can think critically in science, math, engineering and technology;
2. improving the quality of math and science teaching so American students are no longer outperformed by those in other nations; and
3. expanding STEM education and career opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women and minorities.

Okay Mr. President and Secretary Duncan, I take this as your official submission to the upcoming Diversity in Science Carnival. The Diversity in Science Carnival (DiS) is a collection of blog post about topics related to increasing diversity in the fields of science and engineering. Each month the theme changes and usually relates to a larger theme. The upcoming carnival is focuses on programs to attract, prepare and retain pre-college students and the public in general to STEM. Broader Impacts II: Programs to promote STEM Diversity among K-12 students and general audiences. I’ll take interpret the White House press release as an official endorsement of the awesomeness of the science outreach and accept their submission in the upcoming DiS Carnival.

Philosophically similar to the White House “Educate to Innovate” campaign, the DiS Carnival and its participants include scientists, educators, and community members who care about STEM education and blog about its importance.
Check out the most recent DiS Carnival – Broader Impacts I: Programs to promote STEM Diversity among the college ranks – to enrich racial, gender and ability diversity at every level, (undergraduate, graduate students, postdoctoral and faculty).

LiveScribe Pen

There are so many options for technology in the classroom in our society.   Since technology is constantly changing, companies are coming out with newer technology all of the time.   From new SMART software to using Web 2.0 in the classroom, all of the technology is being used to move education forward.   If students have many options and avenues to collaborate, find information, and ask questions of students and staff, it will really teach them more than content.  This will also help move them toward furthering their social skills both in person and online.  Towards the end of the school year,  I became aware of a new technology.  I was having a meeting about my concepts class with one of our reading specialists at Clayton High School.  She told me about the Smartpen from Livescribe recommending I test it out for potential use in my classroom next year.   After this conversation, I went to the Livescribe Smartpen website and read all about it.  I  purchased the pen and the special notebooks. The cost for the  2GB pen was $199.00.

The Livescribe Pulse Smartpen can be purchased online through their website at Livescribe.   According to the Livescribe site, the Pulse Smartpen “records and links audio to what you write.”  The pen works by infrared camera and the Pulse dot positioning system, DPS. This is why the special notebooks are required; the pages of these notebooks have “navigation buttons” to start and stop recording and navigate through the audio. One can also print their own dot paper off of the Livescribe website. Al the pen writes, the infrared camera tracks the dots and links the audio to the smartpen charges on the USB docking station and while it charges the user can also upload its contents to the Livescribe desktop. From the desktop, the user can upload the contents to the livescribe website and share it with anyone they choose, in addition to making it a completely public upload.  From here, the students can listen to the presentation, print out a PDF copy of the notes, and take ownership of their own learning. The OLED display on the pen is great because you can really see the menu screen and it is easy to navigate the menus using the Navigation button at the bottom of the dot paper. The pen also comes with some fun too, such as a piano, movies, and a translator tool.  When you write a word and tap it while in translator mode, it will translate that English word into any number of languages. The best news about the pen and its software is that it is both Mac and PC friendly!

I purchased this pen for multiple reasons.  First of all, it is a great way for students all being responsible for taking good notes and putting the responsibility of the learning from the teacher onto the students.  Each day’s notes are taken in class and a student is responsible for taking the notes with the pen and the Pulse notebook.

Afterwards, they can take the notebook copy and place it in their binder. This way, the student taking notes with the Smartpen does not miss out on their own copy of the notes for the day.  After class, I will take the pen back and upload its contents to my computer.  Once uploaded on the Livescribe desktop, I can then upload it to the Livescribe server.  After entering all of the students’ email addresses, they all have access to my site on Livescribe online.  Students can view a movie of the notes with audio or they can download and print a PDF copy of the notes taken that day.  Another great reason for the pen is that since it links audio and what you write, it does not only just work with words, but you can draw diagrams and pictures too!  You can label different parts of a picture and add your own audio that is recorded right along with the lesson.   Since the audio and the writing go together, then one can draw a picture and the lecture describing the drawing will go right along with it. This adds a great way for a student to study for a quiz, test, or just better understand the knowledge imparted to them.

This type of access is great for numerous reasons.  First and foremost, it improves accessibility to class notes and course information.  I already use my website to update PDFs of worksheets and class information, but not notes.  In my class, we take a great deal of notes and many times, success in chemistry is hard for students who have trouble taking notes or who do not take notes for whatever reason.  When a student is gone or when someone needs to check their notes, it is hard to ensure that they got everything covered in class on a particular day without an actual recording. By posting my notes with the audio online, it makes it easier to access for students.

In conducting research about this technology, I did run into some cons. One of the obvious cons is that in order for the pen to link to audio, the pen needs to be used with the dot paper. But if you have your own color printer, you can print the dot paper for free. Another con that I have yet to solve is how to link the PDF to the audio file. The audio files can be converted into aac files, but I have yet to try to download the audio files from classes into iTunes as mp3 files. Even with these cons, the Smartpen is still a good investment into the classes that you teach!

Resources:

• Pulse Smartpen – Never Miss a Word
• MacWorld Expo Best of Show – Pulse Smartpen
• PC World – Livescribe Pulse Smartpen

Enjoy refreshments and visit with our authors. Some books will be available for immediate sale. Others can be ordered through the UMSL Bookstore.

For Info: Lisa Kite at 314-516-5004

Counseling & Family Therapy

Counseling Ethics and Decision Making

By: R. Rocco Cottone and Villi Tarvydas  | Buy at Amazon.com
Counseling & Family Therapy | Merrill/Prentice-Hall | January, 2007

This book guides helping professionals, using the theme of decision-making as an anchor for the discussion of ethics in professional practice. Providing a thorough presentation of ethical principles and standards, the authors conscientiously examine ethical issues as they manifest themselves within several specialty areas (couple and family, school, mental health, career, group, rehab, additions, etc.) and use compelling case studies to illustrate the connection between ethical decision-making models and ethical practice. This revision includes additional coverage of multicultural issues, references the new 2005 American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics, and includes the highly-praised compendium of ethical codes.

Handbook for Counseling International Students in United States

By: Mark Pope and Hemla Singaravelu | Buy at Amazon.com
Counseling & Family Therapy | American Counseling Association | January, 2007

A unique contribution to the professional literature at the nexus of counseling and international studies.

Professional Counseling 101: Building a Strong Professional Identity

By: Mark Pope | Buy at Amazon.com
Counseling & Family Therapy | American Counseling Association | January, 2006

A collection of essays from Dr. Pope’s term as American Counseling Association President

Golden Anniversaries: The Seven Secrets of Successful Marriage

By: Charles D. Schmitz and Elizabeth A. Schmitz | Buy at Amazon.com
Counseling & Family Therapy | Briarcliff Publishing | February, 2008

As a candid glimpse into the lives of successfully married couples, this book provides a uniquely positive perspective on what makes marriages survive and thrive. What you learn from this wonderfully unique and powerful book is that you can save, improve or enhance your marriage if you listen to the advice of couples with 15,000 years of collective wisdom. Using poignant, real life stories to uncover the Seven Secrets for Successful Marriage, this book captures the essence of more than 25 years of interviews with successfully married couples in the U.S.A. and around the world. And you will love the results!

The central point of their research is that successful love and relationships are an accumulation of the little things. The little things matter! It isn t enough to just think about the little things or just talk about the little things. You have to just DO the little things every day! That’s what makes love and relationships last! If you understand and implement the simple ideas presented in this book, you will be well on your way to having a successful and long-lasting marriage.

You cannot learn or understand success by studying failure. That s a fact! Drs. Charles and Elizabeth Schmitz understood this notion more than 25 years ago when they began their research. By interviewing couples with successful marriages lasting from 30 to 60 years they learned a lot about successful marriage. They discovered the Seven Secrets of Successful Marriage by gathering data from hundreds of interviews with long-time happily married couples and their own extraordinarily successful 41-year marriage.

When you read their exceptional book you will understand that studying successful marriage is a prerequisite to understanding why most marriages succeed and some fail! This book gives you the power to make your marriage a success so you can celebrate your Golden Anniversaries together. Love well!

Simple Things Matter in Love and Marriage

By: Charles D. Schmitz and Elizabeth A. Schmitz | Buy at Amazon.com
Counseling & Family Therapy | Briarcliff Publishing | October, 2009

Capturing the essence of over 26 years of interviews with successfully married couples in the USA and around the world, Simple Things Matter in Love and Marriage demonstrates that first and foremost no love has blossomed or been sustained without doing the simple things. Big things don t matter until you have mastered the art of doing the simple things day in and day out in your relationship.

This powerful book answers the seven most often asked questions about love and marriage. It provides readers with practical advice about making love last for a lifetime from the multiple award-winning authors, Drs. Charles and Elizabeth Schmitz of Golden Anniversaries: The Seven Secrets of Successful Marriage.

Building a Love that Lasts: The Seven Surprising Secrets of Successful Marriage

By: Charles D. Schmitz and Elizabeth A. Schmitz  | Buy at Amazon.com
Counseling & Family Therapy | Jossey-Bass/Wiley | In Press – Release 1/11/2010

Drs. Charles and Elizabeth Schmitz’s award-winning book reveals how to sustain a long-term loving marriage. In addition to exploring the seven key ingredients that define a successful marriage—togetherness, truthfulness, respect and kindness, staying fit, joint finances, tactile communication, and surprise and unpredictability—the authors have included hundreds of insightful and practical interviews with happy couples.

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Educational Roots of Political Crises in Egypt

By: Judith L. Cochran | Buy at Amazon.com
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies | Lexington Books | June, 2008

This new book treats an issue of vital importance to Egypt’s future and offers a trenchant critique of the educational policies and procedures of the Egyptian government and the oversight role played up to now by the U. S. government… Arthur Goldschmidt, Pennsylvania State University

Contemporary Egypt and its connections to antiquity are not always well understood. This book explores Egypt’s political, economic, social and cultural leadership from the remarkable civilization of the past to the unique socialistic/capitalistic educational conglomerate of today. Judith Cochran details the outcomes of more than thirty years of enormous foreign aid allocated to education particularly from the World Bank and the United States, in never-before-documented descriptions. Foreign and Egyptian developments of education enables readers familiar with some aspects of politics of the Middle East to make predictions about the future of the region.

Fight-Free Schools: Creating a School Culture that Promotes Achievement

By: Margaret R. Dolan | Buy at Amazon.com
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies | Rising Sun Publishers | January, 2007

Highlights importance of a positive and safe school environment for promoting achievement.

Leadership As Service: A New Model for Higher Education in a New Century

By: Kent Farnsworth | Buy at Amazon.com
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies | Praeger/The American Council on Education | January, 2007

This provocative and readable discussion of leadership in higher education argues that leadership is essentially an act of service; that the more responsible the leadership position, the greater the responsibility to serve. Weaving together the Servant Leadership philosophy of Robert Greenleaf with the management principles of Mary Parker Follett, Farnsworth presents a model for 21st-century educational leadership that calls upon college administrators to see themselves as “servants first.” He argues that the voices and interests of many of education’s key stakeholders–students, employers, and society as a whole–have been marginalized by a consolidation of power in the faculty, requiring a bold new approach to leadership that refocuses service to these important, but underrepresented constituents.

Farnsworth argues that colleges and universities have yielded too much power to special interests within the academy. The result has been a shift in resources to elaborate facilities and overblown graduate and research agendas, eroding the rigor and integrity of the undergraduate curriculum. “Leadership as Service” outlines a new, service-driven agenda of higher education and describes the characteristics of those who will successfully lead in the new century.

Fieldbook for Community College Online Instructors

By: Kent Farnsworth | Buy at Amazon.com
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies | American Association of Community Colleges | January, 2006

In this practical, user-friendly, and comprehensive guide, two experienced online instructors explain the history and methodology of distance learning and cover everything an online instructor needs to know—from designing a course, to using technology, to assessing students. Throughout the book, the authors demonstrate how to use Web-based instruction to motivate students and produce exciting learning outcomes and offer teaching tips from seasoned online instructors, Internet resources, and numerous sample teaching materials. The Fieldbook is designed as a primer for instructors already teaching online, as well as those interested in pursuing online teaching.

Teaching and Learning/Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Teaching Children Who Struggle with Mathematics: A Systematic Approach to Analysis and Correction

By: Helene Sherman, Llyod Richardson and George Yard | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning/Educational Leadership and Policy Studies | Pearson/Prentice Hall | January, 2009

Supplement for Mathematics Methods courses. Rich with case studies and assorted examples, this brief, targeted text is dedicated to helping future teachers address the cognitive needs of children in Grades 1-6 who do not understand mathematical concepts and/or are not as skillful as they should be with those concepts. The authors present a systematic, three-step approach to assess students’ math strengths and weaknesses and plan instruction accordingly. This involves: 1) using the Data Analysis Sheet (DAS) to assess and record learners’ skills and error patterns; 2) complete a Mathematics Improvement Plan (MIP) with specific instructional approaches to improve skills students need; and, 3) set up the activities and intervention strategies to improve student performance. This approach allows teachers to meet individual needs.

Teaching Learners Who Struggle with Mathematics: Systematic Intervention and Remediation

By: Helene Sherman, Llyod Richardson and George Yard | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning/Educational Leadership and Policy Studies | Pearson/Prentice Hall | January, 2009

Rich with case studies and assorted examples, this brief, targeted book is dedicated to the cognitive needs of children in Grades 1-6 who do not understand mathematical concepts and/or are not as skillful as they should be with those concepts. Covering place value, addition and subtraction of whole numbers, multiplication, division, rational numbers, decimal fractions, and problem solving, the book presents a systematic, three-step approach to assess students’ math strengths and weaknesses and plan instruction accordingly. For elementary school educators, special education teachers and counselors.

Teaching and Learning

Lyndon B. Johnson and Modern America

By: Kevin Fernlund | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning | University of Oklahoma Press | 2009

Born in a farmhouse in the Texas Hill Country, Lyndon Baines Johnson brought a western sensibility to the White House. Building on recent studies that have delved into Johnson’s Texas roots, Kevin J. Fernlund has written a brief, lively biography of the thirty-sixth president that better shows how his home state molded his early years–and how the one-time Houston schoolteacher eventually became a Texas tornado twisting across the state’s and soon the nation’s political landscape.

Lyndon B. Johnson and Modern America offers a concise look at LBJ that shows how his career coincided with the ascendancy of American liberalism within a Cold War context. In particular, Fernlund extends recent observations regarding Johnson’s important role in regional transformation at a time when the South and West became full partners in the American economy. In examining LBJ’s promotion of the space program and his disastrous decision to escalate the war in Vietnam, Fernlund shows how these and other Johnson administration policies affected the American West. He describes how Johnson’s liberal agenda for the West became subverted by illiberal wars with enemies foreign and domestic, exposing the limits of liberalism and fostering the region’s nascent conservatism. He also compares Johnson’s commitment to social justice with that of his arch nemesis Ho Chi Minh, providing new insight for readers and an intriguing springboard for classroom discussion.

Although subsequent presidents also hailed from the West, Fernlund argues that Johnson was our last truly western chief executive. This new approach to LBJ offers a novel reading of an important Texan, his huge circles of influence, and his lasting impact on the American scene.

Archery: Steps to Success (3rd edition)

By: Kathleen Haywood and Catherine Lewis | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning | Human Kinetics | 2006

Master all of the archery skills essential to shooting straight and true. Archery: Steps to Success provides in-depth, progressive instruction with accompanying illustrations for each phase of the shot—sighting and aiming, shooting form, and anchoring—for all forms of archery.

Build a solid skill base; learn the details of choosing, fitting, and tuning equipment; and then refine your technique and sharpen your mental skills. By practicing the 91 drills and using the scoring systems to gauge your progress, you’ll develop consistent technique and shot patterns in no time.

Whatever the target, this manual will help you hit the mark. As part of the popular Steps to Success Sports Series (more than 1 million copies sold!), Archery: Steps to Success hits the bull’s-eye when it comes to expert instruction on the sport.

Life Span Motor Development (5th edition)

By: Kathleen Haywood and Nancy Getchell | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning | Human Kinetics | 2009

Life Span Motor Development, Fifth Edition, is the only introductory textbook to use the model of constraints (or dynamical systems) approach in discussing reasons for changes in movement throughout the life span. This fully updated edition encourages students to observe and examine how the interactions of the individual, environment, and task affect changes in a person’s movements. The principles of motor development are presented in a clear and accessible manner so that even readers with minimal movement science background will comprehend the material. Life Span Motor Development, Fifth Edition, will give readers the foundation for continued study and real-world practice.

Comprehensive Urban Education

By: Patricia B. Kopetz, Anthony Lease and Bonnie Warren-Kring | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning | Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA | 2006

This text presents a compassionate view of teaching in an urban setting with practical suggestions, recommendations, and examples for powerful and effective teaching aimed at improving student academic performance. Each chapter explores major considerations related to educating students of diverse cultures typical of urban classroom settings. Preservice teachers are able to better understand the complex social, academic, emotional, and economic factors that define today’s urban classrooms. The needs of urban schools–their students, teachers, community supporters, and stakeholders–are identified and various strategies are explored.

Designing Socially Just Learning Communities: Critical Literacy Education Across the Lifespan

By: Rebecca Rogers and Mary Ann Kramer |  Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning | Routledge | 2009

Designing Socially Just Learning Communities models an innovative form of professional development for educators and researchers who are seeking ways to transform educational practices. The teachers- practices and actions in their classrooms and as members of the teacher research group will speak loudly to policy-makers, researchers, and activists who wish to work alongside them.

Adult Education Teachers: Developing Critical Literacy Practice

By: Rebecca Rogers and Mary Ann Kramer | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning | Lawrence Erlbaum Associates | 2008

This book examines the literacy practices of exemplary adult education teachers working within critical literacy frameworks. It provides an in-depth look at the complexity of adult literacy education through the lenses of these teachers. An understanding of this complexity helps teachers design literacy practices in classrooms on a daily basis. This is an important book for there is considerable pedagogical and political attention focused on adult literacy education at this time. As the field of adult education continues to grapple with issues of teacher professionalization/certification, it adds a much needed teacher perspective.

A Beginning Teaching Portfolio Handbook: Documenting and Reflecting on Your Professional Growth and Abilities

By: Kim Hyunsook Song, Bill R. Foster and Michael L. Walker | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning | Merrill-Prentice Hall | 2006

A Beginning Teaching Portfolio Handbook is a practical, how-to guide to building a convincing teaching portfolio from collection to submission. . This book is developed to help teachers and pre-service teachers develop portfolios that align with and demonstrate INTASC principles. Each INTASC principle receives its own chapter, and particular attention is given to helping teachers articulate how specific artifacts demonstrate mastery of each INTASC principle. K-12 In-service and Pre-Service Teachers.

A Fatal Drifting Apart: Democratic Social Knowledge and Chicago Reform

By: Laura M. Westhoff | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning | The Ohio State University Press | 2007

The eyes of the country frequently turned to Chicago during the 1890s as the Windy City struggled with the promises and challenges of urban democracy. Americans of all classes feared the social dislocations and economic divisions of urbanization and industrialization, and the effects of political corruption and massive immigration on democratic politics. Yet many reformers were hopeful that new forms of social knowledge and urban reform could reinvigorate democracy. They saw the moment as one of great possibility.

A Fatal Drifting Apart: Democratic Social Knowledge and Chicago Reform explores the efforts of diverse groups within Chicago during the Progressive Era. This backdrop of industrialization, emerging classes, and ethnic and racial pluralism frequently riven with class conflict set the stage on which Chicago reformers took up the seemingly impossible challenge of enacting democracy. Laura M. Westhoff examines historic events and well-known individuals of the period and brings them together in an unusual framework that offers a new perspective on the reorientation of knowledge, civic identity, and democratic culture at the dawn of the twentieth century, which she terms democratic social knowledge. The book raises important questions that continue to resonate: In a democracy, who has the power to define social problems and offer solutions, and whose experience and knowledge are seen as legitimate?

True Competition: Guide to Pursuing Excellence in Sport & Society

By: David Shields and Brenda Bredemeier | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning | Human Kinetics | February, 2009

True Competition: A Guide to Pursuing Excellence in Sport and Society offers a blueprint for maximizing the potential of competition to foster excellence and enjoyment. It provides a novel perspective on competition that challenges traditional beliefs through a research-backed defense that–up until now–has been lacking. With this text, readers will learn the differences between positive and negative competition, and they will discover how to implement change in their organizations, teams, and individual practices.

Becoming a Middle Level Teacher: The Student Focused Teaching of Early Adolescents

By: Cathy Vatterott | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning | McGraw-Hill | August 15, 2006

Becoming A Middle Level Teacher outlines an approach to student focused instruction that can provide greater academic success for the most students, and at the same time, assist early adolescents in navigating the difficult transition of puberty. The text revolves around four recurring themes:

• A critical link exists between developmental needs and learning.
• Relationships are key to motivation, which is key to learning.
• Middle school students are entitled to be involved in decisions that affect their learning.
• Implementing student focused instruction is both challenging and rewarding for teachers.

With over 50 successful learning activities in language arts, social studies, science, math, art, music, and physical education from 20 practicing middle school teachers, the text is rich with examples of actual programs and practices from several outstanding middle schools.

Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs

By: Cathy Vatterott | Buy at Amazon.com
Teaching and Learning | Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) | July 20, 2009

At last, a book that forever solves the debate over whether homework is an essential component of rigorous schooling or a harmful practice. Veteran teacher, trainer, professor, consultant, and author Cathy Vatterott distills her years of experience with all kinds of schools into a balanced approach that ensures homework leads to more opportunities for learning and teaching without turning off parents and students.

Educational Psychology, Research and Evaluation

The Course Syllabus: A Learning-Centered Approach

By: Margaret W. Cohen, Judith Grunert O’Brien, Barbara J. Millis and Robert M. Diamond | Buy at Amazon.com
Educational Psychology, Research and Evaluation | Jossey-Bass | March 1, 2008

When it was first published in 1997, The Course Syllabus became the gold standard reference for both new and experienced college faculty. Like the first edition, this book is based on a learner-centered approach. Because faculty members are now deeply committed to engaging students in learning, the syllabus has evolved into a useful, if lengthy, document. Today’s syllabus provides details about course objectives, requirements and expectations, and also includes information about teaching philosophies, specific activities and the rationale for their use, and tools essential to student success.

Lawrence Kohlberg: Die Psychologie der Lebensspanne [Psychology of Life-span Development]

Edited by: Wolfgang Althof, D. Garz as co-Editor
Educational Psychology, Research and Evaluation | Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp | 2007

A collection of Dr. Lawrence Kohlberg’s articles regarding Moral Development that were never published in English.

What is SharePoint?

SharePoint is a collaboration tool created by Microsoft. It is a web-based interface that can be used within teams or groups to share and edit documents amongst each other.  The College of Education currently uses an installation of SharePoint maintained by UM Saint Louis’ Information Technology Services (ITS) to centrally host documents for program assessment.

How do I access a SharePoint collection?

If you would like to gain access to the HLC collection, please contact Jennifer Hope at jmht75@umsl.edu or Michael Bahr at bahrmi@umsl.edu for assistance.

Once you have permission, browse to: http://spdev.umsl.edu/sites/gshlc and login using your UMSL SSO (Gateway ID).

Please note: Whenever you are asked to enter your username and password, your username should be followed by @umsl.edu.

SharePoint keeps asking me to re-enter my SSO.  What’s wrong?

Internet Explorer (IE) uses a different module for authentication than other web browsers such as FireFox, Chrome and Safari.  Unfortunately, this causes users some headaches.  Internet Explorer users that have this problem are asked to complete the following steps to add UMSL’s SharePoint server to to your Local Intranet Zone.  Please note: This step only has to be done once, and is only required for the computer that will be used most often to access SharePoint. After these steps are completed, you should no longer have to type in your username and password to access SharePoint documents!

Adding UMSL's SharePoint server to IE's Trusted Local intranet sites will save you time and frustration.

1. Click Tools on the menu bar, then Internet Options
2. Click the Security Tab
3. Click the Local intranet icon
4. Click the Sites button
5. Click the Advanced button
6. Enter http://spdev.umsl.edu/ in the box at the top
7. Click Add
8. Repeat steps 7-8 for https://spdev.umsl.edu
9. Click Close, and then OK to any remaining dialog boxes.

How do I download a document within a collection?

To download directly from a collection's listing, click on the icon for each item.

SharePoint behaves differently depending on the browser you use.  In some browsers, clicking on the Name of the document will begin the download process, in others it will take you to the Details page.  Clicking on the Type icon to the left of the title will consistently begin the download process.  The icon may be that of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, or occasionally, simply the word Icon. Once clicked, you will be prompted with a familiar save or open the file dialog, depending on the browser.

How do I edit an existing document or upload a new document onto SharePoint?

Currently, it is not possible to edit the documents that are available in the HLC collection. If you have any comments regarding these documents and their content, please feel free to contact Jennifer Hope at jmht75@umsl.edu or Michael Bahr at bahrmi@umsl.edu.

Web 2.0 has significantly changed the way our society socializes. These social networking sites are quite popular for catching up with long lost friends, help on homework assignments, or updates on the daily news, articles, stores, and organizations. Twitter is a great tool for linking a user to the outside world in a flash. Many teachers are starting to Twitter the homework assignments daily to their classes. The St. Louis County Library, for example is on Twitter and when a user subscribes to the library on twitter, they then get the advantage finding out of new arrivals, updates, classes/conferences, etc. all available from the library. Twitter is also available for the iPhone/iPod Touch via the free application, Twitteriffic. Twitteriffic is a great app for the iPhone that can be used both inside and outside of the educational world. Twitter is a great way to catch a professor with a question, post the status of a project or what a student is working on at any given time. It is also a great forum to post ideas, discussion, and comments on people’s thoughts and feelings. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is also on Twitter and sends messages, or tweets, to keep the subscriber updated on local, national, and global news. A downside to this is user subscriptions to games such as FarmVille, Lil Blue Cove and others. These games and interactive spaces are not viewable on the iPod Touch as of yet. What is great about twitteriffic on the iPod Touch, is that these updates are available 24/7 as long as the user has access to wireless internet. With the iPhone, the user can always have access to these updates and such via wireless connection or the 3G network.

Another great and very successful social networking tool is Facebook. There is a free Facebook application for the iPod Touch and it is very simple to use. Students can create a Facebook page and subscribe, or join all kinds of groups and mingle with others from all over the world. What is really nice about Facebook is the security features. The user can lock his page down so no one can see it, so all can see it, or anywhere in between. The user can then choose to post anything about himself/herself on the page, including address, phone number, email address, place of business, occupation, music preferences, etc. The possibilities are endless. To make connections with others on the site, you can “friend” them. The search capabilities are very well thought out and easily accessible. A user can search for anyone in any number of ways.  Teachers and professors can post homework assignments, updates on trips, websites, links, or homework help. Students can create groups for all kinds of activities or school clubs, and post updates right on the site; users can also message updates to all those who joined the group. Once updated, a message is sent to all of the group members indicating the updates right on their Facebook page.

Another great feature about the iPod Touch is that it can be used for everyday life as well. According the description in the iTunes Music Store, AroundMe “shows [the user] a complete list of all the businesses in the category you have tapped on along with the distance from where you are.” ¹ It helps quickly identify buildings and businesses in the users’ surroundings. There is also a search feature that can look up a business, find it on a map, and provide directions from the users current location.

Another free application that is great for teachers is the FirstClass application. Many school districts use FirstClass as the district mail client. Since there is now a FirstClass application for the iPod Touch, teachers and other district faculty and staff can check and send email 24/7. Working just as it does on the computer, the FirstClass app can do everything from send a simple email to one or multiple people, to download pictures and read PDF document right on the device. This app promotes district communication and parent relations by being able to get in touch with parents whenever needed.

MightyDocs is a great and free way for users to view Google docs on their iPod Touch. Though this app does not come with the ability to alter the documents, some applications that incur a fee come with the features that enable the user to edit doc at will. MightyDocs is a great way to stay informed of any changes to docs that are in progress.

These are just a few ideas on how the iPod Touch is useful both in and outside of the classroom. The use of the iPod Touch continues to grow in and outside the classroom. How do you use it?

Footnotes

1. Unknown Author, “Around Me,” iTunes Store, October 11, 2009