Class visit for iPod project launch

This past week had a number of highlights:

Tuesday night Ontario Meetup online session with Alec Couros
Discussions with school administrators about content filtering and system readiness for change
iPod Touch project launch
a presentation from @AnitaBK to our Board’s consultant staff regarding our new library program design
ongoing discussions with @ron_mill, @hniezen and @rebrouse about keeping the conversation alive, keep pushing the envelope

So much to blog about, and not enough available time to blog this past week. Why are days only 24 hours long???

Thursday, I had the opportunity to visit the classroom of @kimsten for the launch of the iPod project. This particular class has been issued a set of iPod Touch units to use on a 1:1 basis for the balance of the school year. The iPods will be used both at school and at home.

The students had been issued their iPods a day or two before the ‘launch’. With expectations reviewed, students were busy with their first assignment – check out the iTunes store to see what applications were available and which ones captured their interest.

I appreciated the opportunity to attend the session and feel the excitement in the room as students eagerly waited for their turn to demonstrate their application choice to the class with the document camera. As one might expect, many of the students had investigated the games section. I was impressed with the number of students that had also explored other areas of interest and were prepared to present these choices. Chatting informally with the students, they shared a broad range of interests in the applications including google earth, wordpress (for blogging), puzzle/problem solving, interactive whiteboard (shared drawing), creation tools for art and communication tools. Some students were already taking typing lists to capture the choices of other students with the iPod notes application.

I know this will be an interesting learning opportunity for the class, and I look forward to being involved as they travel this mobile learning journey. A few photos from my visit are displayed below.