Is 8GB Sufficient in an iPod?

I'm often asked how much memory should an iPod for classroom use have. In the typical classroom, the 120GB iPod classic is overkill. Whenever I can, I ask to see classroom iPods to check how much storage is actually used. In most cases, it's one or two gigabytes. Now, in classrooms that are using iPods to store dozens of videos from TeacherTube, YouTube, and United Streaming, several gigabytes are used. In almost all cases, 8GB is going to be plenty. The 8GB iPod nano retails for $150.

What about the iPod touch? The lowest-priced touch is $230 with 8GB of storage. Besides storing audio and video, that 8GB also has to have room for all of those wonderful software applications from the App Store. I have my iPod touch loaded up with hundreds of songs (1.7 days worth), several podcasts, 1.9 hours of high quality video, and 571 photos. Besides all that media, I have 89 apps installed.

As you can see from the Capacity Graphs above, I still have plenty of room on my iPod touch. And surprising to me is that although I have it loaded with 7 screens of apps, they only take up 604MB. That's an average of 6.8MB per app. And since you can only load up to 9 screens of apps (for a total of 148), a touch full of apps only needs about 1GB (1,006MB) reserved for that. That leaves 6GB remaining for media, which I think is plenty for classroom use. For personal use, 6GB may not be enough to hold your entire music collection--but I'm talking school use.

Unlike many handhelds and MP3 players, iPods don't have an expansion slot. So when you purchase an iPod, you have to make sure you get the right amount of memory. If you don't get enough gigabytes, you will have to carefully manage what gets put on the iPod through iTunes. If you get too capacity, you end up overpaying (a 16GB iPod touch is $300 and 32GB is $400).

If you want to see how full your iPod is, connect it to your computer. In Tunes, click the iPod in the Devices sidebar. On the Summary tab, scroll down to the bottom of the screen. You'll see a Capacity Graph like mine above. Click the graph to change among number, size, and length of items.

Comments

[Jim Dornberg]

Thanks for that info. It was something I had wondered about. I dropped not so subtle hints that I wanted one for Christmas, but no one followed through. I'm watching (and hoping) for another free gift card offer at BB or CC.

My son has an Archos with 60GB that he really likes, but for me, I'd rather have the convenience of iTunes and the cool apps written for the touch.

[Angela]

Tony,

I am a fan of your blog, and I see that most of your postings revolve around Apple products such as the iPod and iTouch. I am wondering how you feel about non-Apple products, specifically smartphones? Have you seen smartphones utilized in classrooms successfully? I am an Instructional Technology grad student, and many of our readings have focused on the use of smartphones in the classroom. In fact, some of the readings have alluded to the fact that they are a more viable route towards one-to-one computing than netbooks.

Thanks for your input,
Angie

[Tony Vincent]

Angie,

I have been posting quite a bit about the iPod touch/iPhone lately because I think it is the handheld device most suited for the K-12 classroom. That device used to be a Palm handheld, but now I'm very excited about iPod touch.

I have worked with hundreds of teachers to bring Palm and Windows Mobile handhelds into their classrooms. While in K-12 we're not excited about phones per se, but we are excited about portable, inexpensive computers. Non-phone handhelds in the past have been cheaper than smartphones. So the handhelds I worked with were not phones. And that's also a reason why I'm excited about the iPod touch--it's like a smartphone without the phone.

I'm certainly a proponent for using whatever device to allow students to access the web, collect data, write notes, study, and interact. I know teachers have a problem when they invite phones into the classroom because they have all different kinds and capabilities. Though, as the technology evolves, they are beginning to universally access the web and certain applications.

It seems you do not like Apple products, and with good reason. Apple tends to lock down what an end-user can do. So, no, the iPod touch doesn't have a camera, can't record video, and can't play Flash content. I feel that what it lacks in features it makes up in usability and stability. Those go a long way in the classroom. If it isn't super easy to use and fairly trouble-free, teachers won't even bother. Even the simple Palm OS is often too complicated for what teachers have the time and patience to learn.

My biggest complaint against the iPod touch in classrooms is that there is no support for an external keyboard. I want students to be able to write more than a sentence. Writing more than a sentence on that touchscreen is not fun or fast. Many smartphones offer an ability to use an external keyboard, or at least come with a thumb keyboard.

The biggest thing iPod touch has going for it are the apps. No other platform has the variety and selection of apps like the iPod touch/iPhone. Over 20,000 apps is about the same number of apps that it took the Palm OS 10 years to reach.

Honestly, I don't write much about other smartphones because the phone I have is an iPhone and I stick to writing about what I know. :-) Also, I'm not hearing about schools buying class sets of smartphones--but I am hearing about more and more schools buying class sets of iPod touches.

Angie, your grad work sounds like lots of fun! I enjoy instructional technology for the same season that makes it frustrating: it is continually evolving.