Lesson Ideas for using the iPod Touch and it's Apps in the Classroom

In this section I will provide some ideas on how to use an iPod Touch in the classroom, along with, the apps that were outlined on the previous page Apps, apps, and more apps. Each idea is arranged by the app (some apps may overlap into more than one subject area) and with the subject the app and idea. 

 Dictionary.com: Specifically English, but all subjects - Teachers can use the Dictionary.com app as a starter each day. English teachers can use the app to have the students view the word of the day, which the teacher will then corporate into that day's lesson. For instance, today's word of the day is undercast. The students would use the iPod Touch and the app to view the word and the definition(s) and then the teacher would have an activity centered around the word. One possible activity is to have the students write a journal entry as an undercast. 

All subject teachers - Use the app as a compact and convenient dictionary and thesaurus. 

 NY Times: Specifically English, but all subjects - Teachers can have the students view an article right from the app, read the app, and then discuss the article or write a reflection on the article. Or students can browse the articles for an article they find appealing and then report back to the class on the topic of the article. 

 Wikipanion: Specifically English, but all subjects - The teacher and students can use the Wikipanion app as a quick and easy way to cross-reference a topic or to learn more about a topic without having to lug out books or take another trip up to the library. A great feature of Wikipanion is it's bookmarking feature. The bookmarking feature could allow for research to take place on a topic over different class periods. For instance, period 3 can start research on a given topic, bookmark the information that they have found, and then pass that information off to period 4 where they continue the research. This way the research takes place across more than one period, the students have the information and opinions of others not in their class, and provides an non-linear way to research. 

Teachers can also have students use Wikipanion to have them check on the validity of an entry. Students will have to use Wikipanion, along with other resources, to determine whether the Wiki entry is fact, opinion, fictional, or a little bit of everything. The students would have to report their findings and explain how they Wiki entry should be changed. 

 Stanza: English - Like Wikipanion, Stanza allows users to bookmark whatever they choose to bookmark, except Stanza works with literary works. So instead of bookmarking a Wiki entry in Wikipanion, users can bookmark a page a quote is on or an important passage of a literary work like "Hamlet". One way to use this app is for the teacher to bookmark specific quotes in a literary work. The students would then independently read the bookmarks the teacher placed and then discuss the theme or meaning behind the quotes. This would be a much quicker, easier, and more interactive way to use the material instead of flipping through book pages. 

 +  Combine the Stanza and Wikipanion apps and learners have a real intuitive and interactive way to research information on a topic. If students are reading The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn in Stanza and need to look up information on Mark Twain, now there is an easy way to do so. 

 iTranslate: Language - Foreign language teachers can use this app as more of a tool rather than a creative app in class. Students no longer have to carry around bulky translator dictionaries. Foreign language teachers can easily have their students look up new words and translate them. 

 Number Line: Math - Math teachers can use this app as an incentive in class. A teacher can setup a bracket style tournament with whomever scores the higher score in each game moves on in the bracket, much like the NCAA tournament. Prizes could possibly be won at different stages to really up the ante. Not only are the students learning about decimals, fractions, and percents, but they are having fun doing it. 

 Graphing Calculator: Math and some Science - The graphing calculator works very similarly to the graphing calculator made by Texas Instruments that virtual every student uses, however there is one key and great feature here that is not present in TI's models, the ability to take screenshots and email them. This would allow students to do much more "field work" and have an easy to save their graphs and models. This would also allow for an easier way to print out graphs. One way to have the students use the iPod Touch and app is to devise a lesson where they investigate something around the school, find their results, and email them to a certain email so they can all be posted online for viewing by everyone in the class. The next class is when the results will be reviewed. 

 Units: Math and Science - Units can be used across many subject areas. One way to use Units is by having the students look at world economies over a period of time. The students can track the United States' economy against the European Union's. The students can convert the currency rates each day and then plot the currency change in a graph. 

 NASA - The great thing about NASA's app is how well it relates to our middle school curriculum. Students can use the NASA app to view live dynamic results of many of the different missions that are taking place in real time. Teachers can have the students view the image of the day of the cosmos, view launch schedules for the students to then report on, or view live maps of where the ISS (International Space Station) is positioned of the Earth at that very moment and see the path of the ISS. This is something you do not get from a static textbook. The NASA app also allows students to view updates of news, images, and video directly from NASA as it is happening. This app can be used when the students created their Wiki on a space mission. 

 Exoplanet - Science teachers and students can use Exoplanet as a database app. Exoplanet can be used to create a matrix of comparing a planet to our planet. For instance, a teacher can have students fill out a data table with certain criteria and then compare that planet's criteria to our Earth. One interesting way to use the app is to find one's weight on each planet. 

 Discovery - Teachers can use the Discovery app as a research tool and as a daily starter tool. The Discovery app is filled with news and video clips from Discovery's shows. Teachers can take advantage of some of the more popular shows like Mythbusters or Worst Case Scenario to enhance a topic in class or as a way to ignite a discussion in class. For example, a teacher can have the students watch the Worst Case Scenario: Evading Toxic Gases episode individual on an iPod Touch. When the students are done watching it a class discussion can ensue, discussing whether this is possible and how we can avoid it are some talking points. 

 Google Earth - The Google Earth mobile app is just like the desktop version. Teachers can utilize the Google Earth app as a research tool to provide instant results on a certain point and to learn more about POI's (Points of Interest) around that point. 

 Photoshop - The Photoshop app allows users to edit photos and upload them to photoshop.com quickly and easily. Art teachers can utilize the app by having the students explore the school grounds with an iPod Touch, snap photos of what they find, edit/crop them, and them upload them for discussion to photoshop.com. This gives the students freedom to explore and the freedom to be creative. Students or the teacher can also snap photos of student work to be uploaded to photoshop.com so students, parents, and the community can see what is happening in the class and school. 

 Calorie Counting: Health and PE - Health and PE teachers can use the Calorie Counting app to have the students track how many calories they are taking in on a given day, whether too many calories are taken in, or whether too few calories are taken in. If too many calories are taken in the teacher and students can discuss and brainstorm ways on how to burn excess calories to make sure one is fit. 

 Restaurant Nutrition: Health and PE - Health and PE teachers can use the Restaurant Nutrition app to have students explore the nutritional value of their favorite restaurant meals. Students can select a meal they would choose at favorite restaurant. Students can then determine the total calories they consume in their meal, using the app. Students will find total fat grams, total grams of carbohydrate and grams of protein, sodium and sugars for their meal. The students can then work on ways to brainstorm and plot the healthiest restaurants in their area. Students could make a map with pin-drops outlining the healthiest places to eat. 

 +  Combine the Restaurant Nutrition and Calorie Counting apps to have the students see what they are eating when out to eat, whether it is nutritious, and what it would take to burn off the excess calories. The teacher and the students can think of ways to burn the calories throughout the day with regular exercise and come up ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle in and out of school.