Soft Reset #20: Netbooks in Fort Smith

It's a pet peeve of mine when podcasters note how long it's been since their last episode. Though, in this case, I think it is worth noting that after two years, there's finally a new episode of Soft Reset! Episode #20 is features a discussion with teachers who are putting the latest technology trend to work in their classrooms: netbooks. Netbooks are small and affordable notebook computers that have screens between 7 and 10 inches in size. While they don't have a CD drive, they do have Wi-Fi, USB ports, batteries, display ports--really everything you'd expect in a laptop.

Fort Smith Public Schools has nearly 20 classrooms using Eee PC netbooks. George Lieux, technology professional development specialist, gathered up nine classroom teachers to talk with me about their use of the mini laptops. I speak with these elementary, middle, and high school teachers who all share valuable classroom management tips as well as great curriculum integration ideas. If you are thinking about getting class sets of netbooks, you have got to listen to this episode!

Show Notes:

• These Fort Smith teachers are all using class sets of Eee PC 1000HAs.
• Their netbooks have 6-cell batteries, which last for an entire school day.
• Instead of purchasing Microsoft Office, they are using OpenOffice, free software.
• Besides OpenOffice, a Web browser was the most used application by students.
• Third graders had to pass tests about Internet safety and copyright before using the netbooks.
• It's useful to have all students face their desks in the same direction so the teacher can see everyone's computer screens at once.
• Headphones get all tangled when stored each day. One teacher finally placed numbered hooks on the wall, one for each headset. No more tangles!
• Where the netbooks are being used by more than one student it is help to create a Windows XP account for each of those students.
• The greatest challenge for these teachers is managing a classroom with so many different computer skill levels.
• We used GoToMeeting to connect and record. Unfortunately there are some audio issues, but you should be able to hear most everything just fine.

Enjoy the show! Click an icon below to listen or subscribe.

Soft Reset #19: Dale's Applications

Soft Reset #19 has been posted! In this episode of the podcast, Dale Ehrhart joins Tony and Mike. He is a preservice teacher who has taught himself how to program for the Palm Operating System. He shares his insights into programming and tells about some of the over one-dozen software applications he's developed, including Double Digit Multiplication, Observe, Change Counter, and Jumbler.
Show Notes:

• Tony's Tip: When downloading from your browser, you may have to change the extension of the software download by taking off the ".txt" extension.
• Mike's Tip: Programs that involve more than one part can be tricky to beam.
• Dale's Applications can be downloaded here. Keep checking this page for new software and videos!
• The videos on Dale's page are hosted on the free and filtered service TeacherTube.
• CamStudio: Free Windows screen recording software.
• Tony's blog posting about using HandDBase for observations.
• Programming Software: Small BASIC, Basic 4 PPC, PDA Toolbox (for Palm), Palm OS Developer's Page.
• Email Dale with application ideas: dehrha02@yahoo.com.
• Visit Soft Reset's Discussion Forum to discuss the show
• Email Tony and Mike at softresetpodcast@gmail.com.

This is a sample what it looks like in the programming environment.

Enjoy the show! Click an icon below to listen or subscribe.

More and More Podcasts

I've posted a new special episode of Soft Reset: Pod People #5. Like Pod People #1, #2, #3, and #4, Pod People #5 is filled with segments by educators who participated in one of my podcasting workshops. Because time was short, the segments were hastily recorded but they contain some great information. The first half of Pod People #5 has five segments, each reviewing a different podcast. The second half is filled with tips that participants learned about listening to and creating podcasts.

Looking for new educational podcasts? Scholastic Instructor Magazine listed ten of their favorite podcasts in their March/April 2007 edition. The list includes Wild Animal Chronicles, Children's Fun Storytime, Poem of the Day, and The Science Show for Kids. I'm proud to say that second on the list is Radio WillowWeb, the podcast for kids and by kids that I developed for Willowdale Elementary School.

Another resource for educational podcasts is Karen Fasimpaur's new show, Karen's Educational Mashups. She describes it on her blog:

This podcast is a compilation of excerpts from podcasts and other free audio and video content of interest to educators. Shows will air twice a month, and each show will focus on a different topic. Some will be focused on content for students, while others will feature professional development content for administrators and teachers. Our first show is on history-related content. The second show will be aimed at library media specialists (and everyone who loves books).

With over 1,000 educational podcasts listed in iTunes, Karen's podcast is a great way to learn about podcasts. Another way to learn about more podcasts and podcasting is fellow Nebraskan Dan Schmit's KidCast: Podcasting in the Classroom podcast. Currently Dan's podcast is sponsoring the 2007 KidCast Podcasting Awards. The contest is divided into categories that focus on specific types of educational podcasting. The deadline is April 30th and results will be announced May 15th. To enter, fill out the form on this page.

Remember, you don't need an iPod to listen to podcasts. You can listen right in your browser, iTunes, or other portable player. The video, Uncle Seth - You Don't Need an iPod, (posted on YouTube in September 2006) makes that point very clear with a catchy song.

Soft Reset #18: Quizzler

Soft Reset #18 is online! The episode is about Quizzler, software that works with Palm handhelds, Pocket PCs, Windows, Macintosh, iPods, and the web—so just about everyone can put Quizzler to good use. John Covele, the developer of Quizzler, joins Tony and Mike to tell about Quizzler's new features.

Show Notes:

• Tony's Tip: When making eBooks and quizzes for handhelds, keep all of the files you used to create your content. You never know when you need to make changes to the original.
• Mike's Tip: Rename Palm .prc files to indicate different versions of applications. Also, backup your files online for free at at AOL's Xdrive.
• Palm users can make quizzes on their handhelds using Quizzler 4. Here's a handout to help.
• Learn about Quizzler 5's new features.
• Quizzler Maker for Mac & Windows. Create quizzes with 10 questions or less for free. Export quizzes to Palm handhelds, Pocket PCs, iPods, and the web pages. Here's a screenshot.
• Quizzler Pro Website from Pocket Mobility, Inc.
• Quizzler Server: Collect scores wirelessly & turn your handhelds into a set of clickers.
• Free Quizzler Quiz Library.
• Download Quizzler software.
• Visit Soft Reset's Discussion Forum to discuss the show!
• Leave a voicemail for us to play on the show! 206-333-1942
• Email Tony and Mike at softresetpodcast@gmail.com.

Enjoy the show! Click an icon below to listen or subscribe.

Soft Reset #17: Mobile Internet

Soft Reset #17: Mobile Internet is now online. There are a growing number of tools to make the Mobile Internet a friendlier place. In Soft Reset #17 Tony and Mike discuss using the Web on handheld computers and mobile phones. Searching, blogs, news feeds, bookmarks, and homepages are the topics. Although the focus is WiFi connections, accessing the Internet through Bluetooth is also addressed. Be sure to listen for the intro and outro voice--it's someone that knows Mike very well.

Show Notes:

• Tony's Tip: WiFi connections eat up battery life. Turn it off when not in use.
• Mike's Tip: Don't have a WiFi enabled handheld? There are WiFi expansion options for most handhelds.
• The Mobile Internet is a collective term for websites and services that are formatted for the smaller screens of mobile devices, like cell phones and handhelds.
• eSchool News ETS Poll.
• Thunderhawk and NetFront browsers ($).
• Wapedia.org, the mobile version of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia anyone can edit.
• Mobile Answers.com - Dictionary, Encyclopedia, and much more.
• Enter a web address and let Google format the page for a mobile device: www.google.com/xhtml.
• Search blog posts with mobile.technorati.com.
• Skweezer.net also formats any site to a handheld-friendly format.
• Bloglines RSS aggregator has a mobile version.
• Use TinyUrl.com to make long web addresses much shorter.
• Mob5.com let you set up a free handheld-friendly homepage, complete with text, images, and links. Go to mob5.com/softreset on your handheld for mobile web links.
• Winksite.com also lets you set up a mobile homepage. Winksite has more features, including RSS feeds, forums, chat, and surveys. However, it doesn't let you include images or text formatting like Mob5.com does. Go to winksite.com/vincent/hand on your handheld for the mobile version of Learning in Hand.
• Bluetooth Access Point Review.
• Visit Soft Reset's Discussion Forum to discuss the show!
• Leave a voicemail for us to play on the show! 206-333-1942
• Email Tony and Mike at softresetpodcast@gmail.com.

Enjoy the show! Click an icon below to listen or subscribe.

Soft Reset #16: Q & A

Soft Reset #16: Q & A is now online. Tony and Mike answer email questions about common and not-so-common issues with Palm handhelds and Pocket PCs. Then listen to summer conference-goers explain what they learned about handheld computing.

Show Notes:

• Tony's Tip: When you have questions about handhelds, online discussion forums are a great place to visit. For technical questions, try the Brighthand, Pocket PC Magazine, and PalmInfocenter forums.
• Mike's Tip: Check Palm and Windows Mobile knowledge bases before calling tech support. Cite the knowledge base number to speed your time on the phone.
• Tony and Mike don't know any software filters for the Internet for Wi-Fi enabled handhelds.
• Concept Mapping Software: PiCoMap (Palm & Windows Mobile), Inspiration (Palm & Windows Mobile), and Idea Pad (Palm only)
• Sketchy is a great program for making animations. Can you make a text box larger?
• Listen to short audio clips recorded with Tony's Palm TX from two conferences this summer: SuccessLink's 4th Annual Handheld Conference and the Mid-Atlantic Handheld Conference.
• Visit Soft Reset's Discussion Forum to discuss the show!
• Leave a voicemail for us to play on the show! 206-333-1942
• Email Tony and Mike at softresetpodcast@gmail.com.

Enjoy the show! Click an icon below to listen or subscribe.

Soft Reset #15: National Computing Conference

Soft Reset Episode #15 is here! Tony and Mike attended the 2006 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in San Diego. They discuss a variety of things they noticed and learned from the conference. Running time is 52 minutes.

Show Notes:

• Mike's Tip: TCPMP is The Core Pocket Media Player for Palm and Pocket PC. It can play just about every video and audio format. TCPMP is free. Mike has a handout for TCPMP in this file.
• Tony's Tip: Watch videos on a Palm instead of a video iPod. Here is a PowerPoint about converting DVDs into a format for TCPMP.
• Tony blogged about sessions he attended at NECC.
• eBook Studio and Plucker were used in Mike's workshop.
• GXB Interactive makes games for GameBoys.
• GoKnow released research on the effectiveness of handhelds in math and science. Episode #10 of Soft Reset address research.
• Beret Applications will be releasing "Grammar Time" this fall.
• Outrageously huge Best Buy bags were everywhere.
• Fourier System's Nova 5000 is a "learning appliance."
• ISTE's Special Interest Group for Handheld Computing.
• Everyone is invited to contribute to Our City Podcast. Here's a wiki page about the podcasting workshop Tony participated in.
• iPods were hot at NECC. Tony doctored up a photo of a poster to express his feelings of iPods vs. Palm/Windows Mobile handhelds.
• 2007's NECC will be in Atlanta.
• Poster Session: Teacher Candidates Get HANDy with Handhelds.
• Poster Session: Problem-Based Learning in Online Learning Environments.
• Visit Soft Reset's Discussion Forum to discuss the show!
• Leave a voicemail for us to play on the show! 206-333-1942
• Email Tony and Mike at softresetpodcast@gmail.com.

Enjoy the show! Click an icon below to listen or subscribe. Tags: necc06 necc

Soft Reset #14: Science

Soft Reset Episode #14 is now available! Tony and Mike share probeware, spreadsheets, participatory simulations, and reference programs for Palm and Windows Mobile that help with science instruction. Your hosts also share applications that teachers use for other subjects, but can also be used for learning science. The episode ends with audio from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Be sure to listen for the harsh consequence if a student in Miss Prince's school loses a stylus!

Show Notes:

• Mike's Tip: Select more than one file to beam at once in Windows Mobile by tapping the Control key on the onscreen keyboard or by holding down the center button the five-way navigator while you tap the items you want to select. Use the shareware application BeamPro to beam more than one application on a Palm handheld.
• Tony's Tip: There are visual cues in the Palm Operating System to help you know where to tap. For instance, tapping the triangle icon usually activates a pop-up menu. Tapping inside of a box surrounded by a dotted line allows you to change whatever in the middle of that box. Tapping the "i" with a circle around it bring up a help or information screen. Windows Mobile doesn't have these kind of visual cues. To see if there is a context menu on a Pocket PC, tap and hold your stylus on the screen to see if anything pops up.
• Probeware: For Pocket PC & For Palm.
• Spreadsheets are great places to record data. The new Excel Mobile allows graphing on the handheld itself. For Palm, the bundled version of Documents To Go does not include graphing capabilities. Upgrading to the premium version opens up this possibility (at a price).
• Soft Reset Show #4: Participatory Simulations.
• Live Long & Prosper Participatory Simulation from MIT and a lesson plan for it.
• Geney is great, but doesn't work well with Palm OS 5. Palm's current handhelds run Palm OS 5.
• References on your handheld: Moon Phase (Palm) and ChemTable (Palm) or Packed Periodic Table (Windows Mobile).
• StyleTap lets you run Palm programs on a Pocket PC.
• Ecological Footprint Calculator (EFC for short) for Palm.
• Space Weight for Palm. Considering making a spreadsheet that can calculate weight on other planets. Use this page to help you.
• GoKnow's Sketchy contest science winners.
• Makes quizzes with the free Quizzler program for Palm or Windows Mobile.
• Use Contacts or the Address Book application to record vocabulary words.
• Beam students a Science-Question-of-the-Day. Beam the answers the following day with a new question.
• More applications for Palm and Windows Mobile.
• Mike brings us audio from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Click for some photos. Here's the contract Miss Prince uses along with other usage agreements.
• Visit Soft Reset's Discussion Forum to discuss the show!
• Leave a voicemail for us to play on the show! 206-333-1942
• Email Tony and Mike at softresetpodcast@gmail.com.

Enjoy the show! Click an icon below to listen or subscribe.