Mr. Dreyer's Geoblography!

Ipod Touch Sonicpics Slideshow Assignment

admin — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 13:14:58 +0000

Recently my Foreign Policy class completed a slideshow on the Korean War using the app Sonicpics. The students received a list of events, people, and causes/outcomes of the Korean War and used sonicpics to create a timeline that described the major events with pictures and voice. The assignment took several days in class but I was pleasantly surprised by the products the students completed. Here is an example:

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Ipod Touch Diplomat Talking Head Assignment

admin — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 14:31:21 +0000

Here is an assignment we did in my International Relations class with the ipods. The assignment was to research a famous diplomat. I assigned students diplomats from a list but they were allowed to trade diplomats with someone else if they wanted to. I also gave the students guidelines and a rubric for the research. Students had to write a script in the first person that contained the following:

1. Name, place and date of birth, little bit about early life
2. Three important things the diplomat did during their life and how they affected people
3. One decision the diplomat regretted or would have liked to change in their life
4. One person the diplomat would compare themselves to
5. How the diplomat would like to be remembered

The students recorded the information using an app called "say what?" The students could import a picture of the diplomat with the app, draw a mouth on the picture, and then record the message. Here is a sample of student work:

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Ipod Comic Casus Belli Assignment

admin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:05:26 +0000

Here is an example of an assignment done with the stripdesigner comic book creator app on an ipod touch. The assignment was to describe the events that led up to a major war with a minimum of twelve pictures with titles and text. This student chose WWII.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Ipod Touch in Class Update 1/1/11

admin — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 19:55:46 +0000

I have been using ipods in my high school geography and international relations classes for almost half of the year now. A few apps that have been very useful are:

stripdesigner
cram
worldfactbook
cooliris

I use those four apps more than any other app. Stripdesigner is very interesting because students can make comic book strips. They can import pictures, add filters, and add text boxes. This is an app that really let's the students be creative and have fun. It is much more than an app that just finds or filters information from the web. On the down side the screen on an ipod is small so doing any sort of graphic design can be tedious. We have used a similar piece of software for the macs that has many more features but overall I give it a high score.

Cram is an app that allows you to make quizzes or tests and push them out to the students. The students take the quizzes and get a score. Since our education system is so concerned with scores on standardized tests this app is useful for skill and drill type activities. One problem is that the app saves the scores locally on the ipod but the teacher has no way of verifying a score unless they walk around and check every ipod. I have also used an app that connects to my moodle account where students can take tests and the scores can be saved but the app still have many bugs.

More updates to come soon.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

iBlogger app for iPod touch

admin — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 07:45:01 +0000

I just bought the iblogger app and added my blog so I can post messages0 from an iPod. The user interface is relatively easy to use and I am testing it to see how easy it would be for students to use for a portfolio assignment.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Ipod Touch in Class Update

admin — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:46:56 +0000

I have been using the ipod touches in class for several weeks and I wanted to post some of my observations, concerns, and ideas.

Observation #1 - Apps are Important - The ipod touch can do a lot without apps but good apps do make a difference. The challenge is to locate the good apps and use them in creative ways. We actually took a test on my moodle website using the ipod touch and a student said, "You know, the only thing those ipods are good for is the pharce project." The student was emphasizing the point that the ipod is more difficult to use than a computer if you are using it in a traditional way (websurfing, searching for info, typing). This student was actually one of the more proficient students in the use of the ipod by like water kids want to take the path of least resistance. So far I have used cram, world facts, google earth, tapatalk, pharce, and geomaster on a regular basis.

Observation #2 - It will take time for students to become proficient - Based on the level of experience using handheld devices some students were searching for information and creating things in a matter of minutes. Other students needed much more help. All students can still use more experience employing good search techniques. My role in all of this is to EMPHASIZE digital literacy and responsibility. The other day a student asked me a question and I replied, "You have the internet in front of you and a dictionary, good look for the answer."

Observation #3 - Cram is useful to help students review material but I still need to use it with good strategies. I had students prepare for sols by taking many quizzes. This helped but I think in the future I want to use a combination of teacher generated and student generated quizzes. Students should identify the ideas they are not familiar with and make questions based on those ideas then make a quiz. This will help students learn the ideas they are weak on rather than just rote memorization.

Observation #4 - No matter what we are doing students need to be accountable for their work. This means that students should have to make something and turn it in or post it to a blog. Even if that means they are generating one question or clarify ideas, they NEED TO BE ENGAGED. The moment I lose sight of this idea the students will use the ipods to surf the internet and do the wrong thing. I have already encountered this on a limited scale.

Observation #5 - All classes should use the ipod in some way but there should be defined times when to use the ipod and when to put it up for teacher led discussion.

More to come.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Berlin Wall Cold War Assignment

admin — Thu, 06 May 2010 08:51:34 +0000

Recently we studied the Berlin Wall in world history. The students had to look up one person who tried to escape from East Germany to West Germany and was killed in the process. When the students came to class they had to crawl through a super secret tunnel underneath the Berlin Wall to enter the classroom. When they entered the classroom they received a soda as a reward for entering West Berlin.

Original post blogged on b2evolution.

Cram App for Ipod

admin — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:09:45 +0000

I downloaded the cram app for my ipod touch and it is very handy. You can create quizzes directly on the ipod touch. However, it was much easier for me to buy the mac version of cram for $30. With the mac version you can create quizzes and then upload them via a test portal. Students with ipods can buy the cram app and then access the cram test portal. They have access to anyone who has uploaded a quiz and all quizlet files. One problem with the mac version of cram is that you cannot upload pictures to the test portal, but besides that it is working great. It will be interesting to see how the students like the app.

See some photos of cram below:

Original post blogged on b2evolution.