Online Resources
"iPod touch. Touching student lives in the classroom." ALI Exhibit
This teacher-created website on the Apple Learing Interchange overviews some great uses of the iPod touch in the classroom including many great examples for using most of the built-in apps & media delivery features of the iPod touch, much like those discussed and demonstrated in our presentation.
Getting Started with iPod touch
This downloadable PDF booklet from the Mobile Learning section of Apple.com offers some outstanding insight and ideas in how the iPod touch can be most effectively for teaching & learning.
Final Cut Film Fest podcasts
podcasts of spartandesign.org
These are examples of the media delivery pieces that are used by the presenters with their studetns in their classes. These are the kinds of media files that can be either pre-loaded onto iPod for instructional purposes OR that students can download onto their own devices for reinforce their learning on their own!
Download PDF of site content
PARASYNC multiple iPod charge and sync dock
This portable unit, which is used in New Hartford Central Schools, makes it possible to sync mutiple iPod devices at one time using a single USB connection.
Bretford PowerSync Cart™ for iPod touch Mobile Lab
This locking rolling cart, which is used in Oneida Central Schools, makes it possible to sync, store, and transport mutiple iPod touches with ease.
Griffin Technology: SmartTalk Microphone & Headphone Adapter
These microphones, which are used with New Hartford High's iPod touch classroom set, add voice recording capabiliies to the iPod touch while letting you use your own iPod earbuds or headphones for listening.
Recommended Apps
This is the list of apps we discussed in our presentation which we recommend for students using iPod touches in the technology education classroom. (Links on the icons and app names below connect directly to their purchase/download page on the App Store in iTunes.)
Board FeetThis handy app quickly calculates the total board feet based on the lumber dimensions that are entered. This app is useful for anyone needing to compute lumber quantities as part of a purchase or in accurately preparing a materials list.
Carpenter's Helper ProThis powerful calculator is perfect for those students fabricating structures of all kinds. Most noteable is the Quick-Guide feature where you can calculate Stair, Roof & Floor/Wall projects automatically after you have filled in just a few of the known parameters!
Pi CubedThis unique calculator lets you solve mathematical expressions as they would be written on a piece of paper! It includes over 150 built-in equations from electrical engineering to fluid mechanics that are perfect for the technology student in many courses.
Metals and Materials Weight CalculatorGood reference tool for students needing the specifics information about the weights of metals and plastic. The app allows the user to compute the single and total weight of common materials while also providing useful engineering information such as Area, Inertias and Radius of Gyration.
SteelAnother reference app (by the same developer as app above) for students needing the specifics of structural steel components. The app contains the steel shapes appearing in Version 13 of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) libraries and can easily be sorted and accessed in a variety of ways.
I.D. WoodTurns your mobile device into a virtual guidebook to woods from around the world with full screen samples and detailed information for over 60 different woods. Categories allow for quickly finding woods of a particular use, durability or sustainable status.
Bolt and NutAllows one to determine wrench size needed for a bolt or nut using an onscreen image of a nut that can be scaled with the flick on a finger! The app also includes a threading guide to determine the threads per inch or thread pitch as well as reference guides for screw drive, head, and bolt markings.
SizeMeTurns your iPod touch into a set of digital calipers. Coupled with an intuitive user interface that affords users effortless touch-and-drag resizing, SizeMe also features a database for saving and recalling saved measurements.
iHandy CarpenterThis robust and useful app adds the functionality of five carpenter tools to your iPod touch: a plumb bob, a surface level, a bubble level bar, a steel protractor, and a steel ruler. Each modules can be customized and calibrated as need on the fly.
ClinometerTurns the iPod touch into a precise slope measurement tool for simple tasks like aligning a frame and more sophisticated ones such as finding an arbitrary slope. Best of all, it can use two devices to measure angles: one as a display, the other as a remote measurement device!
TexterLets students send text messages to any other user on your WiFi network, avoiding firewall and proxies issues often closing/blocking chat software in schools! Just pick a conversation partner in the list and immediately start sending messages back and forth!
Swap ItAllows the exchange of pasteboard contents between two iPod touches or iPhones. With Swap It, students can work collaboratively by transferring text, URLs, images, Web Archives and anything else the pasteboard can hold between their devices!
COM:LinkWhen equipped with an external microphone, this app transforms the iPod Touch into a high-tech walkie talkie. Students can communicate with each other using Bluetooth Peer to Peer Voice Chat from dozens of feet away!
cadTouch R2Complete-featured mobile CAD solution for the iPod touch that lets you draw with ease and precision including lines, polylines, rectangles, curves and sketches. In addition, you also send your drawings instantly via e-mail or FTP.
SketchBook Mobile XFree professional-grade paint & drawing application by AutoDesk which features the same paint engine as their renowned SketchBook Pro software. This app delivers sophisticated brushes and fluid pencils that make sketching easy with your iPod touch!
SketchesTurns the iPod touch an excellent sketch pad with robust sharing features. Great for annotating photos or drawing quickly, this app is useful in almost any technology or design class for jotting down and sharing drawings on the go!
Photoshop.com MobileFree app by world design leader Adobe that lets you easily edit & share your photos using simple gestures directly on your iPhone. This app is the go anywhere companion to Photoshop.com, Adobe's free online photo sharing resource, where you can upload & store 2GB of your photos online!
Flickr SearchSimple, no-frills app that is one of the best ways to download stock photos on your iPod touch. Allows you to search Flickr using thumbnail view to quickly browse results & detail view where you can pinch, zoom, and swipe just like the native Photos app!
SculptMaster 3DGives students the ability to quickly sketch objects in 3D. Great for roughing out ideas before formal drawing. Files can be emailed as JPGs or .OBJ files for editing on a variety of desktop design programs!
iTracerAllows the iPod touch to become a 3D modeling and rendering device. Rendered images can be sent in full quality PNG by an email attachment, saved to photos library as JPG, or even exported by email as attached 3DS file for use with many popular 3D desktop modeling programs!
For more information after the conference, please feel free to contact us using the links below:
Mike Amante - New Hartford Central Schools, New Hartford, NY
Ryan Orilio - Oneida High School, Oneida, NY
