Term 2! What did we do?

I can't believe I've just posted a comment about term 3 and haven't discussed what we did in term 2 yet. Even worse I can't even remember. Well let's see, oh yes there was Alice(programming software). It worked very well actually only 250Mb. After downloading once it was easy to pop on the USB/phone and install on the EeePC's. It ran very well too and we were able to export the finished work as a web page. I have to admit we did find the screen view a bit small though, particularly the editors area and world view window when you were building the programme (okay for viewing though). We also had to keep moving the instruction boxes about on the screen to enable us to click the 'next' instruction button. Alice comes with excellent tutorials and if you haven't given it a go yet on your EeePC it's worth a play with.

Alanpt just sent me these links via a previous post to Scratch(programming) apparently it's available for linux now (I can't wait to try this out too -I hope it works on the EeePC). Thanx Alan.

notesmine
tcppodcast
scratch

We ran Alice from the file manager rather than placing a dedicated short cut, with its own icon, on the main page, as we found out that when you upgrade the machine you lose any icons and shortcuts you have placed on the machine.
Because of this I also made the decision not to place any of the other programmes I'd trialed on my machine (audacity, kino, winff etc) on the students machines. Besides wanting to keep the machines standard because it's so much easier to reset them to factory settings, if anything goes wrong, I'm still struggling with the concept of movie making on the computer as I really want to be able to do this via the web using mobile phones not video cameras as all the kids just don't have these. Plus I have to admit I've found my 4GB machine really does make video editing hard work.

Em now what else have we been doing? Oh I know our Super Hero Fiction stories. We used Openoffice for this opendocument to write the stories and opendraw to produce the comic pages (it's amazing how creative you can get with a webcam and a paint program - you can make normal everyday students into superheros and even make them fly). Good work from the kids but could someone please tell me why we didn't use Google documents to write the main story. I know I'm still not too confident about using the internet for too many web2 programs because of our slow internet bandwidth but Googledocs doesn't take up that much bandwidth -does it, besides if I have to send and receive another email I'll scream. Not to mention the confusion between which file is the latest version when sending drafts too and from students to be corrected.

In fact we used a lot of the proprietary software on the Asus this term(must of been the novelty). A whole range of the openoffice software for our Social Studies projects and Openpresentation for our assemblies too. Well I can definitely say I've been there done that time for web2 now, roll on that fast internet connection, time to get my head firmly stuck in the clouds.

Google Docs

I used Google Docs for the first time with my class last week. Nothing new I know but I just hadn't got round to using it with my students. I've used it personally on several occasions collaborating on documents with 2 or 3 other people but have to admit, I was still a bit skeptical in terms of how truly scalable it would be, in particular I wasn't sure it would accommodate a whole class entering data at once. But I'd no need to worry had I! It was wonderful. To see all the different coloured tabs as students simultaneously entered their data really put a smile on my face.
I'd previously searched high and low to find the killer collaborative tool, which could be used for assessment purposes, but I just couldn't find what I was looking for. Well now I've found it I don't think I'll be going back.

It was actually a Google Spreadsheet that I'd set up to grade and comment on our class speeches. I set up an individual sheet for each member of the class/speech with the marking criteria on the top and class names (including mine) down the side. Then as we listened to the speeches we entered our marks/comment for each student next to our names on each students individual sheet. I had to laugh at the students who'd already given themselves full marks even before they'd delivered their speech. And those coloured tabs also caught a few out as they tried to alter my marks (good try kids). Collectively all together the information was very informative and allowed me to pick the top three speeches to go forward to the syndicate final based not only on my opinion but the classes too.

Google Docs really is that killer assessment app I've been looking for.

Three Things

Three things the iphone will need to have before I buy one are...
I'm not talking about the obvious things that the majority of New Zealanders are complaining about at the moment i.e a cheap price and a decent data plan but the much more important things to me and Education 1) a camera capable of recording video (let's be honest a phones a phone, it's not really until you add a camera/video recording facilities that it becomes a useful tool for education). 2) A flash enabled browser. The second most important feature that changes a normal everyday phone into an Educational tool is no doubt a decent browser. Why wouldn't one want one with flash? 3) HSDPA capabilities so that I can use my phone as a modem to connect to my lap top (well because that's what I do).
Oh well looks like I might be waiting a while then.
It's made me realise one thing though as I first suspected the iphone is not revolutionary not any more revolutionary that is than my P990i and a whole heap of other phones which are much more educationary (Educationally capable that is). So the question is if we're here for the learning revolution do we need to bring our iphones with us. What three things will an iphone need to have before you or your students buy one I wonder?

Now the hype is over

Having decided that I won't be buying an iphone before Christmas and with the rose tinted glasses definitely back in their case I realised that I had been caught up in the whole hype. I picked up my p990 (with broken jog dial) and thought what would I have gained from buying an iphone?

The Browser - Then I realised I had opera mini (which simulates the safari browser). But then I also read a review on www.stuff.co.nz and the reviewer mentioned that to load their home page on 3G took around 30-40 seconds. Opera mini does the same in around 10-20s! That' with 3G, now here is the other criticism that is also appearing in the forums. The iphone will only be on 3G in the major centres because it does not support the 2100Mhz that Vodafone use for 3G outside of these centres. Apparently Telecom NZ will have a country wide 850Mhz, which means the iphone (if they choose to sell it) will be on 3G everywhere. Telecom NZ will role their new network out from November 2008.

GPS - Who cares, I've got google maps as an install on mine and that's good enough to find places and get directions to them.

Erm and that's it. In terms of what I've got that the iphone doesn't have, well MMS (but you know my views on that one), blue tooth support and more importantly video support. Not for video calling, but for those impromptu times that you want to record something. This I do use a lot at school to capture things, for assessment or just to review later.

This should not be seen as a criticism of the iphone, I still think that it changed the worlds (well maybe not here because of Vodafone pricing) view of mobile data and the mobile web, but sometimes you get caught up with it all and become blinded to what you really believe in. If somebody asked me if they should buy the iphone I would have to now say no. I had said to a number of people, wait for the iphone, assuming it would be reasonably priced and with a good data plan. This has not happened and I just can't have an iphone myself and tell others don't get one. I believe in the mobile web for everybody and the iphone just doesn't quite meet that criteria, well at least not today anyway!

The answer is NO!

Vodafone have just demonstrated that they have a monopoly on the iphone in this country. There has been an uproar on the pricing they have applied. The $199 deal involves shelling out $250 a month. I won't go into the details as they are available at www.vodafone.co.nz/iphone/. Read them and weep, they are amongst the worst in the world. But there are plenty of forums that you can go to for a taste of what we think. What it comes down to is hype and I got caught in it. When you actually look at it without the rose tinted glasses, it is a phone with an ipod attached with a great browser. I'm going to wait until Christmas and see what the new N96 is like and then see if I still want one. Vodafone knew they had limited numbers of iphones and could easily sell them, but to me they missed a great opportunity to kick start mobile data and browsing use in this country (as it did in the US) and instead wanted to further line the pockets of it's UK investors and executives. I just can't ever forgive them for that!

Will I or won't I buy an Iphone?

Well the wait is nearly over. Vodafone have said the Iphone will be available from NZD199 on a two year contract. The details will be available from 10am today. I've been really satisfied with my P990 for the last 18 months until the jog dial broke. If the Iphone had not been upgraded to 3G I would have gone for a N95. I know the Iphone doesn't have everything, such as PXT (who cares it's a dying technology), video calling (another gimick technology which needs both parties in 3G coverage and kills your battery) and blue tooth headphone support to name a few. But, for me it's the browser that sells it for me. As you know I love opera mini ( which mimics the Iphone Safari browser) and the one web approach. That combined with the applications and upgrades that the Apple store provides is the turning .point. I now have to see if I can get one on Friday, which if you believe all the hype could be more difficult than expected. Mines a 16Gb black one please Vodafone! If I'm successful I will be back blogging on a regular basis giving you the warts and all view on the Iphone and it's potential for educational use.

One Term On

As term two has already started I feel it is really important to reflect on our first term with our Asus Eee PC's. I'm pleased to say that the novelty has definitely not worn off. In fact the enthusiasm for using the device has grown rather than declined. The biggest skeptics of the machines are now it's biggest advocates. Those whom preferred to write rather than type can now see the benefits of being able to reshape and edit their work. Those whom preferred to draw on paper are developing their creativity using the inbuilt Drawing and Paint programs. And those whom preferred to use their larger Windows based machines at home see the compactness of the Eee PC as a real convenience.

From a teaching perspective I am really impressed with the inbuilt Open Office Suite of software which offers everything that Microsoft Office does.
Mozilla Firefox and inbuilt connectivity to the internet is superb which enables seamless connection to our school Moodle and Elgg sites.
The web cam is a very useful and a well utilised piece of hardware.
The machines seem to be very durable and robust however a few screws have come loose and we have lost one keypad. Screen size is no longer an issue, solved by using zoom and the 'fn' ALT' option. Processing and storage capabilities are acceptable, if machines are kept clean and tidy.

Over all the Asus Eee PC is an excellent machine for it's sub $500 NZ price tag which enables creativity and the development of 21st century skills.

However, I have found there are a few things the machines can't do. Apparently Shockwave doesn't work on the Linux operating system, which means that there are a few interactive maths and language games we can't use. There also seems to be a bit of an issue uploading to some Web2 programs. I think this is due to a combination of low processor speed of the Asus, low internet bandwidth at school and lack of Linux compatibility with some Web2 program but I can't really be sure at this moment in time so I'll have to wait and see what happens when we improve our internet speed at school. Storage capacity is limited with the 4GB hard drive capability but I have been able to load and run additional software onto my machine including Gimp, Alice, and Google Earth. Obviously you are restricted to Linux Xandros compatible software which does limit your choices and while Alice is a viable option to Scratch (Windows based) for developing programming skills their seems to be nothing comparable to Garageband (Mac based) for music development

I've also been unable to print to our colour printer as apparently the printer doesn't have a Linux driver. And finally one that annoys the technician, when you upgrade software it upgrades the desk top icon file so any buttons and icons you have installed have to be reinstalled again but well you can't have everything can you ? not for $500 anyway.