Teachers are still having difficulty logging onto the MacBooks from home. We can not access home internet as an admin password is required. However, we have been able to upgrade itunes to version 9 successfully on all three macs.
We have set some restrictions on the student itouch devices so that the following applications/programs are not accessible to the students:
Itunes
App store
You Tube
This was very time consuming as we had to go into each device and set the passcode and desired restrictions. Setting up 81 itouches to be ready to use has been quite and undertaking!
We are still trying to perfect syncing with the cart. Some applications do not sync correctly, so we have had to download directly to the itouch device one at a time over the wireless connection or by connecting directly to the MacBook. We have decided to allow the itouches to sync all when connected to the MacBook for syncing instead of selecting certain apps to sync one at a time. This has cut down on the time it takes immensely.
When the itouches arrived we had to so many updates to perfom, as well as register each one individually, that it has inhibited us from moving forward faster with our plan implementation. This has proven very frustrating to us as well as the students.
Monday, October 19, 2009
iTouch student survey
Also on September 17th we gave the fifth grade students a survey to find out how much they knew about using the itouch. Mrs. Meyer then analyzed the results to compare to end of the year survey.
Fifth Grade itouch Awareness Survey (Fall 2009)
1) Do you, or anyone in your family, own an itouch or iphone? Have you used an itouch or iphone before?
2) How do you turn on an itouch?
3) How do you select an app on the itouch?
4) Why do you think it is called an itouch?
5) Do all apps use the internet? Why or why not?
6) How do you move from “page” to “page” on an itouch?
7) Why do you think your teacher wants to use an itouch in her classroom?
8) Why do you want to use an itouch in your classroom?
74 students took the survey. The questions were analyzed very simply. The students’ answers were checked to see if they did in fact understand how to perform the action stated in the question. Yes or no as well as responses were recorded. This survey will be given again at the end of the year paying particular attention to question 7 and also posing new questions as to the student’s opinion on the effectiveness of the device used in the classroom setting.
Fifth Grade itouch Awareness Survey (Fall 2009)
1) Do you, or anyone in your family, own an itouch or iphone? Have you used an itouch or iphone before?
2) How do you turn on an itouch?
3) How do you select an app on the itouch?
4) Why do you think it is called an itouch?
5) Do all apps use the internet? Why or why not?
6) How do you move from “page” to “page” on an itouch?
7) Why do you think your teacher wants to use an itouch in her classroom?
8) Why do you want to use an itouch in your classroom?
74 students took the survey. The questions were analyzed very simply. The students’ answers were checked to see if they did in fact understand how to perform the action stated in the question. Yes or no as well as responses were recorded. This survey will be given again at the end of the year paying particular attention to question 7 and also posing new questions as to the student’s opinion on the effectiveness of the device used in the classroom setting.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Constitution Day - September 17, 2009
Our team decided that we would use the itouch devices in one classroom until the students become more comfortable accessing the apps and using the new technology. Mrs. Lewis volunteered to use her classtime to do this, beginning on Constitution Day. The itouches were loaded with USA free, which contains the actual image and written words of the Constitution. Mrs. Lewis devised a scavenger hunt asking the students to use the app to find facts about the Constitution.
The students were so excited to be able to finally use the itouch devices! The classes spent the first 30 minutes discussing the rules and expectations of using the itouch devices at school, and then had time to explore Safari to learn how to manipulate the different functions of the itouch. Then they were introduced to the USA free app and given time to use their research skills to find out about the Constitution. The next day the students were asking when the next time we would use itouch devices in class. They can not wait to try out more things and are such fast learners!
The students were so excited to be able to finally use the itouch devices! The classes spent the first 30 minutes discussing the rules and expectations of using the itouch devices at school, and then had time to explore Safari to learn how to manipulate the different functions of the itouch. Then they were introduced to the USA free app and given time to use their research skills to find out about the Constitution. The next day the students were asking when the next time we would use itouch devices in class. They can not wait to try out more things and are such fast learners!
Slow start in September
After being trained, we set out to register our itouch carts as well as load one application, USA factbook, on each device so that on Constitution Day the students could perform a scavenger hunt to learn about the Constitution. We had several issues syncing the devices. The devices seemed to sync effortlessly with the first application, but later when we tried to add several other applications- Word Warp, Math drill lite, Discovery Channel and Numbrix- the application would appear to sync but then when we touched the icon to run the app the app would flash and then revert to the home screen. We worked on this for several days before finally calling Karen to come out and help us. With her help, we discovered the macbooks were assigning each user their own itune library. Therefore, we decided to just have one teacher log in and do all syncing. This however did not fix the problem of the syncing. After a call to Apple and a subsequent email we may have found the answer. All devices have to be turned off and then synced. We are not sure why this works but for now we will take it! We have successfully synced 40 itouches with four applications, and the syncing process is getting easier! We have decided however to designate certain days "sync days" due to the time commitment needed to make sure they work. We want to ensure student time is not wasted troubleshooting the devices!
iTeach room/ Lightbulb lab- Based on Kevin Henkes’ book- Lilly and the Plastic Purple Purse : We have set up a project room in an extra fifth grade classroom. We chose 5 fifth graders to help illustrate the book using iMovie to show to the younger grades. We used a Flip camera to take digital stills of the book and have been working for 2 weeks on coordinating the audio to go with the slides. It has been a challenge aligning the audio with the book slides. The other fifth graders have chosen books for their book clubs and we plan on letting this first group of fifth graders “teach” the others how to make a “movie” of their book using iMovie.
Mentoring aspect of grant- We are waiting on the cases before we begin moving the devices about the school. We will report on this later.
iTeach room/ Lightbulb lab- Based on Kevin Henkes’ book- Lilly and the Plastic Purple Purse : We have set up a project room in an extra fifth grade classroom. We chose 5 fifth graders to help illustrate the book using iMovie to show to the younger grades. We used a Flip camera to take digital stills of the book and have been working for 2 weeks on coordinating the audio to go with the slides. It has been a challenge aligning the audio with the book slides. The other fifth graders have chosen books for their book clubs and we plan on letting this first group of fifth graders “teach” the others how to make a “movie” of their book using iMovie.
Mentoring aspect of grant- We are waiting on the cases before we begin moving the devices about the school. We will report on this later.
iTouch training - September 9, 2009
On September 8 we received the three macbooks and 81 itouch devices in 2 sync-carts. Tech services came and were very quick to set up the printers as well as get the macs up and running.
On September 9 the MWE fifth grade team members - Karyn Lewis, Carole Maniloff, Jenny Meyer, and Erika Wheeler- attended a workshop at Bunker Hill Elementary led by an Apple rep to teach us and other grant recipients, how to use the MacBooks and iTouch devices. This was a day long training in which we learned the basic layout of the Macbook as well as created a podcast on the itouch. Our team created a podcast that we planned to share with our parents at curriculum night. The training was beneficial. However we wished we would have had more time to play with the devices before (or during) the meeting with so that we could have generated more efficient questions.
At the end of the meeting, Karen Justl notified us of the district's plan to introduce google applications and student email accounts. We left feeling excited about our devices and ready to get started.
On September 22, MWE Curriculum Night, we shared the podcast we created from the training about our vision with the parents. We also let the parents “touch” the devices! It was exciting to see the parents playing with the the apps and seeing the educational possibilites of the itouch devices.
On September 9 the MWE fifth grade team members - Karyn Lewis, Carole Maniloff, Jenny Meyer, and Erika Wheeler- attended a workshop at Bunker Hill Elementary led by an Apple rep to teach us and other grant recipients, how to use the MacBooks and iTouch devices. This was a day long training in which we learned the basic layout of the Macbook as well as created a podcast on the itouch. Our team created a podcast that we planned to share with our parents at curriculum night. The training was beneficial. However we wished we would have had more time to play with the devices before (or during) the meeting with so that we could have generated more efficient questions.
At the end of the meeting, Karen Justl notified us of the district's plan to introduce google applications and student email accounts. We left feeling excited about our devices and ready to get started.
On September 22, MWE Curriculum Night, we shared the podcast we created from the training about our vision with the parents. We also let the parents “touch” the devices! It was exciting to see the parents playing with the the apps and seeing the educational possibilites of the itouch devices.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Power to Learn Grant Meeting - Aug 21, 2009
We met at Westchester Academy with several other grant recipient teams to discuss grant items such as Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) as related to our technology, Digital Citizenship, and to find out what other schools were doing as their projects. It was a relaxing atmosphere as lunch was provided and we were encouraged to discuss our vision for the coming year. Karen Justl spear-headed our discussions as we talked about our accomplishments and our obstacles. We left with 5 flip cameras which our team was very excited to explore. Our technology liaison is going to work on a spreadsheet so that we can track our devices and keep inventory. We look forward to the training Apple is going to provide us in September as we anxiously await the arrival of our other devices.
Transforming our space into a "Lightbulb Lab"
Over the summer, one member of our team transformed our extra fifth grade classroom into an exciting learning environment. She spent countless hours painting 2 walls navy blue, and our old, brown, wooden cabinets are now goldenrod yellow. She also added starry curtains to match. We will call it our "Lightbulb Lab", based on Kevin Henke's book Lilly and the Plastic Purse.
So, we have decided to involve our students in the creation of this room as well. We are going to read the book that inspired us to all the fifth grade classes, and ask them to design a lightbulb to hang in our "Lightning Lab" to represent all the new ideas that will be born there. We also want to involve some of the younger students we will touch as we work throughout the year. So we have decided to invite some classes to paint handprints on the walls around our white boards. We will alternate a fifth grader's hand with a primary student's hand, attached with a small lightbulb to represent that when two minds join together, great thinking will happen.
We have also purchased a lava lamp and a multi-bulb floor lamp to place in the room. An aide in our building made a bead curtain to hang in the room as well. We can't wait to add our technology so that we can spark many new ideas at Meadow Wood this year! We hope the creation of this space gives us a room where creativity, thinking, and learning as well as collaboration happens daily!
So, we have decided to involve our students in the creation of this room as well. We are going to read the book that inspired us to all the fifth grade classes, and ask them to design a lightbulb to hang in our "Lightning Lab" to represent all the new ideas that will be born there. We also want to involve some of the younger students we will touch as we work throughout the year. So we have decided to invite some classes to paint handprints on the walls around our white boards. We will alternate a fifth grader's hand with a primary student's hand, attached with a small lightbulb to represent that when two minds join together, great thinking will happen.
We have also purchased a lava lamp and a multi-bulb floor lamp to place in the room. An aide in our building made a bead curtain to hang in the room as well. We can't wait to add our technology so that we can spark many new ideas at Meadow Wood this year! We hope the creation of this space gives us a room where creativity, thinking, and learning as well as collaboration happens daily!
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