Portable Media Expo - Installment 1

I just attended the first day of the Podcast and Portable Media Expo. I learned a lot, and though this wasn't an education-specific conference, a lot of the ideas presented had educational applications. This is this is the first post of several in which I'll share what I learned and ideas that grew out of this.

I'll start with a few overall impressions.... First, podcasting is still a very young (and immature) field. The technology is evolving quickly; most people are still learning the basics; and it's going to continue to change rapidly for the forseeable future. Second, podcasting for most is a labor of love and a hobby, not a way to make a living. Finally, there are still a lot of technical standards and conventions issues that need to be worked out. Things need to get a little "cleaner" for this to be appealing to the more mainstream non-techie crowd.

Now for some more specifics, starting with the opening key note sessions. The first key note was from Leo Laporte, noted author, radio and podcast host, and one of the conference's organizers. One of his big points, echoed by many others throughout the conference, was that Apple [iTunes and iPod] is not the only way to listen to podcasts. While he and others professed love for Apple and everything they've done for podcasting, he also said that the term podcasting is somewhat of a curse because it makes many think that the iPod is podcasting. In fact, the platform-independence of podcasting is one of its best features. Laporte suggested "netcasting" as a possible alternate term to get people thinking broader.

Laporte also emphasized that this is a NEW medium with new opportunities. He suggested that we seize those opportunities and not make the mistakes of old media. [This reminded me of the challenges we've faced in education in trying to move from a textbook-based curriculum to an effective use of technology. Many have simply put textbooks on CDs or online, rather than redesigning the curriculum to take full advantage of technology. I hope we don't do that with podcasting. An enhanced podcast of a textbook will not be much less boring than a print textbook. Sticking a mic or a video camera in a classroom will not make for the most engaging podcast learning experience. Let's get a little out of the box and use the technology to jump ahead.]

The next session was by Ron Moore, Executive Producer of Battlestar Galactica and host of its podcast. Moore talked about the use of podcasting as a reflective tool for post-production critical analysis. He said that he uses the podcast to reflect back on what went well in each episode and what didn't. [My thoughts: What a great way to use podcasting in education....as a professional development tool for teachers to reflect on their teaching practice. Or a podcast for learners to reflect on and synthesize/extend their learning. Of course, you could do this with a blog as well, but for some, just talking (and recording) is faster and a more natural way to reflect (especially if you use a tool like Audioblogger, which lets you record from any phone and then posts directly to a web page ). Using a podcast as a reflection tool is a good way to address different learning styles as well.]

More from this conference to come in future posts.

Printing without actually printing

I just attended a training on a very useful piece of software, Accelerated Writer, which we are going to be integrating with handhelds in a large middle school project I'm helping to coordinate.

The program requires a great deal of printing (like other Renaissance Learning products), and I found the ability to print directly to a PDF file (rather than actually having to print a physical paper printer) to be very useful. There are a lot of times that I want to see the printout results, but don't actually need the paper and printing to a PDF is the perfect solution.

As a part of the Open CD project, you can download the PDFCreator free of charge. Once you install it, PDFCreator will appear as one of your printers in all programs that print. To use it, just print, choose PDFCreator as your printer, and you'll get PDF file of the results.

This is also a good tool to use to email printouts to someone or to transfer them to a handheld or some other device.

Planning makes all the difference

I just got back from facilitating a professional development day with a small group of middle school teachers in Miami who recently began using handhelds with their students. It was the second day I'd spent with these teachers over the last few months.

Whenever I come back to work with teachers for a second or third day after they've been using handhelds with their students for a while, we start with a discussion of how things have been going. What have been the successes? What have been the challenges? Often, especially in middle schools, the conversation centers on classroom management challenges. At the school I just visited though, there were no classroom management issues that were troubling the teachers. Instead, they were having success and wanted to focus on new integration ideas.

Why was this school different? The answer is in planning. Here are some things this school did in the planning phases of their project that made a big difference there:

• They got the administrative staff involved early. The first basic training included administrators, who were also given handhelds to use. When I'm at a school and the administrators take time out of their busy schedules to stop and say hi or even sit in the workshop, I know that school has good support that will help make them successful.


• They planned for professional development. This included several days spread out through the year, giving teachers a chance to try things and then come back and ask questions and learn more.
  
• They started small, choosing just four teachers and about 25 students with whom to begin. This is a manageable size group. I find that using handhelds with a smaller group the first year often leads to success. And when a small group is successful, it's a lot easier to find funding to expand. (This school is conducting this as a pilot in hopes of expanding to a larger number of students.)


• They chose a group of enthusiastic teachers and students who had a high chance of success. Giving teachers a choice to participate in a project like this is a key to success. I am often surprised how many programs are set up at the district level with little or no consultation with the teachers who are going to be involved. This can be a recipe for disaster.


• They arranged for a self-contained classroom with a dedicated use implementation model for this pilot. Some of the biggest challenges with using any technology in the classroom are time and classroom management. This school made their handheld pilot a self-contained group with their teachers for each subject rotating into the handheld-using classroom. This means the kids have the handhelds all day; they can take them home; and all the infrastructure is set up and ready to go in their classroom. These all save time and make management easier. In many middle schools, handhelds are shared among several classes of kids. This on top of short class periods creates many challenges for teachers. If you can't afford one-to-one initially, limiting the program to a smaller number of kids is often a more effective way to go.


• They have a wonderful technology coordinator at the school site who is acting as the "champion" for this project. This not only give the teachers extra support, but it also gives the project a higher profile.

A little bit of smart planning goes a long way to building a successful technology program!

Happy Constitution Day!

If you haven't read the Constitution lately, today's a good day to do it. You might be surprised by what is and isn't in there.

Clicker!

Wow, this is great. I just downloaded a piece of software called Clicker. It lets you control certain applications on your desktop (like PowerPoint) with your handheld. It works with WiFi and Bluetooth and has a Mac version as well.

On the device side, there are clients for Palm, Windows Mobile, and even many types of cell phones. This is a very handy tool if you do a lot of presentations (and don't want one more gadget, like a remote). You can also use it to control iTunes or Windows Media Player, which makes it great for home entertainment uses.

Best of all, this was super-easy to set up. It just took me a few minutes to install it and get it running. It's pretty cheap too at $23.95.

PPC gradebook

I'm often asked about gradebook sofware for Pocket PC. Unfortunately, most of the well-known gradebook programs support Palm, but not Pocket PC. I just saw, though, that Excelsior (Pinnacle) now has its Pinnacle PDA software available for Pocket PC as well as Palm. (Note: This isn't new; I just hadn't seen the PPC version before now.)

If you use some other gradebook software on the desktop and want a Pocket PC/Windows Mobile version, make sure to let the publisher know. Believe it or not, they really do list to customers, and the bigger the potential market is, the more likely they are to do it.

Easing the backpack load is only one of the benefits!

Now here's an idea that makes a lot of sense...students in the Cote d'Azur region of France are being issued memory sticks to carry textbooks and homework back and forth to school. Now all they need is pocket-sized computers. :)

Free Constitution Resources

K12 Handhelds is pleased to make available these FREE electronic resources for Constitution Day*.

These resources include an interactive ebook with embedded review questions, a timeline, a linked glossary, and more; an annotated copy of the Constitution and its amendments; a collection of web resources on the Constitution, including the Constitution in Spanish and French; a quiz; and recorded narrations of the Constitution and its amendments! These resources can be used on Palm or Windows Mobile handhelds or on desktop or laptop computers.

This ebook is a good example of the kinds of things you can do with MobiPocket. This is a great ebook reader that supports high res graphics and works on Palm and Pocket PC. It also has the ability to include interactivity, such as self-checking questions, as you'll see in the Constitution ebook.

We just completed developing a whole series of middle school math ebooks in MobiPocket. They include explanations of how to do various of problems, followed by sample problem sets for students to work right in the book. This is a good way to deliver instruction in small chunks and then to assess mastery as students go through the material.

I see a lot of potential for these kinds of electronic resources -- once you have materials that are better than print and are correlated directly to the standards, then this kind of technology really makes sense!

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* September 17 is Constitution Day. Federal regulations mandate that all schools receiving federal funds hold an educational program related to the Constitution on September 17 each year.

Projecting your handheld screen

My last post about LCD projectors reminds me that I am often asked what is the best way to project your handheld screen (especially since the demise of the much-loved Margi Presenter-to-Go).

My current favorite solution to this involves special software that "mirrors" your handheld to a desktop or laptop computer, which you can then project. Here is the software I use:

Palm - HandShare

Pocket PC - Pocket Controller

This software is great for teaching students (or teachers) handheld applications, as well as for presentations. It's also great for screen shots or screen casting. (More to come on screen casting in a future post.)

Here is my desktop with two devices hooked up:

Projector/doc cam combo

The new TLP-XC2500U LCD projector from Toshiba combines a projector with an integrated document camera. It has 2500 lumens and is expected to cost about $1,500.

If there is one technology I'd like to see in every classroom, it's an LCD projector. There are so many instructionally useful things you can do with it. And this new model with a built-in document camera adds even more functionality.

Good MP3 player for schools

If you're looking for an inexpensive MP3 player, I love the Philips GoGear 1 GB player. It has two features that are great for schools: rechargeable batteries and a built-in voice recorder. It also has a very convenient retractable USB connection, so you don't need a cable to connect to your computer (which makes it useful as a USB drive as well). At $99, this is an affordable device for schools.