iPhone in Education Blog
iPhone in Ed is a blog dedicated to educational uses of the iPhone and iPod Touch. You can see it at http://iphoneined.com/.
iPhone in Ed is a blog dedicated to educational uses of the iPhone and iPod Touch. You can see it at http://iphoneined.com/.
Blackboard has recently announced free software for the iPhone. For information see http://www.blackboard.com/Teaching-Learning/Learn-Resources/Whats-New/Learn-for-iPhone.aspx. The application allows you to get announcements, grades, and other course related information on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
The bad news is that this application only works with Blackboard Learn Release 9.0 so it won't work with the blackboard system currently in use at the University of Saskatchewan.
The good news is that the U of S intends to have a Blackboard Learn 9 system ready for people to pilot courses in by September 2009.
Google Books and Project Gutenberg both make books available for use on mobile devices. These are excellent resources for accessing classic literature and other public domain books.
Epocrates Rx is an excellent resource for students in the medical field (doctors, nurses, pharmacy etc.) including a drug handbook, drug interactions, pill identification, medical calculators, and access to latest news published in medical journals.
Be warned that this is an American program. Some of the drugs listed may be slightly different in Canada. The program requires that you register for a free account on the Epocrates web site.
You can find more information at http://www.epocrates.com/products/iphone.html
The "Random Pose" application (search for it in the App Store) is an excellent resource for art students. It contains over 19000 different reference poses for drawing study. Each image is of a male or female subject with the skin removed, showing the underlying musculature.
When you start the application, it shows a random pose. "Next' and "Previous" arrows allow you to move through the images until you find one you like. Use it as a source to draw from, or as a guide to show live models how you want them to pose.
The images come from the Posemaniacs web site. You can see it at http://posemaniacs.com/ along with a description of the iPhone / Touch app.
Brain Tutor 3D (search for it in the app store) is a great example of how the iPhone / Touch can be used as a teaching tool.
This free application lets you explore the brain. Select the structure in the brain you want to view. A description of the structure appears. You can then view a rotatable 3D model of the left or right hemisphere of the brain with the structure highlighted.
But it doesn't stop there. Select the "head" icon and you can see a 3D head. Selecting options lets you rotate the head and position it on your screen. But the best option is the "cut away" view. Select that, then slide your thumb across the screen. This will take you layer by layer through the brain using MRI scans which I assume came from the "Visible Human Project". You can select cross sections from front to back, side to side, or top to bottom.
Not only is this educational, but it makes excellent use of the iPhone / Touch user interface.
If you haven't heard of the TED talks, you should immediately go into the app store, search for "TED", and download the app.
The TED Talks are lectures by various experts at the Technology Entertainment and Design conference held each year in Long Beach California. In their own words "Inspired talks by the world's leading thinkers and doers". At first it was just a way to spread the conference proceedings to a wider audience. But the talks, under the banner of "ideas worth spreading" have become a useful resource in its own right for all educators and scholars. Now, with this useful application, you can enjoy TED talks right on your iPhone / Touch.
For more information about TED visit http://www.ted.com/.
Some people have shown interest in using iPhone technology to access course materials in Blackboard and PAWS. It turns out that the Safari web browser will work for most things in Blackboard and PAWS, but not all things.
This is an interesting article. The US Army has developed an application for soldiers to use in the field. It gives a menu of typical battlefield phrases like "Get Down" which it will then translate for you, so the solder knows how to say the phrase in the target language.
There are many different translation programs avaiilable for the iPhone and Touch. Many of which are free. Most rely on access to web-based translation services like Google Translations. But some provide a translation dictionary that will work even if you are away from wifi or cell-phone coverage.
For more details see http://gizmodo.com/5119027/us-army-uses-ipod-touch-for-translation-on-the-field
The University of Saskatchewan has been using classroom response (clicker) technology for several years. Now one vendor, Turning Technologies, has released an application that lets you use your iPhone or Touch as a clicker instead of buying an actual clicker.
This only works when instructors are using the web-based clicker-hosting software to gather clicker information. At this time, the U of S has not licensed that technology. We are still using the older radio frequency technology that requires actual clicker hardware. So don't go out and buy an iPod Touch for this because you won't be able to use it on campus ... yet. ITS is investigating the new technology.
Also, you still have to pay to register you iPhone as a clicker. While the initial registration is cheaper than buying a clicker, you must renew this registration every year. So in the long run, it is more expensive than purchasing a clicker.
For more information see http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/01/06/turning-tech-brings-classroom-response-system-to-iphone-ipod-touch.aspx
This article says "An Australian pilot program in which teenagers used iPods for school work has increased attendance and increased enthusiasm for homework."
For details see http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4816966a28.html
Ohio State University is distributing iPod Touches to all students with a medical software programs installed. For more information, see http://medicine.osu.edu/feature03/.
This article discusses how Abilene Christian University has given 1000 freshman students a new iPod Touch or iPhone as part of their pilot mobile learning project. For more details see http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/101308-abilene.html?hpg1=bn