How the iPod Touch is useful both in and outside of the classroom

The iPod Touch is a fabulous way to incorporate Web 2.0 into the classroom in a safe, user friendly, and economical way. The iPod Touch is similar to an iPod in that it can play on demand music, movies, TV shows, etc. However this is a powerful tool to connect the user to fun, knowledge, people, organizations, stores and so much more. Since it works on any wireless network connection, the iPod Touch really can provide knowledge and socialization at the user’s fingertips. It has a touch screen that is easy to navigate for any level of technology user. These great applications can be used inside the classroom and are also useful for college students trying to acclimate to their new surroundings.

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 [↩]

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Filed Under: Teaching
Tagged: coenews, facebook, Google, iPhone, iTouch, iTunes, Twitter, Web 2.0