Soft Reset #5: Michigan Conference

Soft Reset Show #5 features audio from the 5th Annual Michigan Handheld Computers in Education Conference held November 4, 2005. Tony and Mike discuss the conference and some things they learned while there. Listen for conference participants' reflections and ideas about the conference and using handhelds for learning. You'll also hear why a Fruit Roll Up seems to be a big deal to at least one student.

Show Notes:

• Andy Mann is the organizer for the Michigan Handheld Computers in Education Conference. Check out the photos from the conference.
• Tony's Tip: Take some time to go through the presenters' handouts from the conference. In particular, see Gayle Underwood's Handhelds with Special Needs handout.
• Mike's Tip: Subscribe to Google Alerts. Enter search terms like handhelds and grants, handhelds and conferences, ubiquitous computing, etc.
• Inspiration for Palm and Pocket PC has some great templates for use by even very young children.
• Quizzler can be used for a fun Tic-Tac-Toe game.
• RCET's Ubiquitous Computer Conference: Bridging Research & Practice is December 1 & 2, 2005 in Kent, Ohio.
• Email Tony and Mike with your questions in audio format to softresetpodcast@gmail.com.

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

Charging Basket

Let's continue our look at unique and cost-effective ways to organize and charge class sets of handhelds! Rolly Maiquez, Technology Teacher & Coordinator, and Cecille Nazareno, Middle School Teacher, at St. John's School in Guam have a low cost solution. Their charging basket keeps 22 handhelds and keyboards organized and it charges using one wall socket. It sits perfectly on an A/V cart! Here's the breakdown:

Laundry Basket - $3.50
Blue Utility Basket - $2.50
Utility Trays - $3.00
Power Surge Protector - $26.00
Y-Splitter Cables - $38.25
Total - $73.25

$73.25 is much cheaper than the $699 TC200 Tabletop Charging & Organize Station. For photos and more description of the Charging Basket Solution, click here.

Sudoku Everywhere!

Sudoku is a logic/puzzle game that has become very popular. The game is played on a 9 x 9 grid. Some of the grid's cells contain numbers. The object of the game is to fill all empty cells of the grid with digits 1 through 9. To solve the puzzle, every row, column, and 3 x 3 section must contain the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 once and only once. With a true Sudoku grid, there is only one solution for the puzzle. Try going through this illustrated Sudoku tutorial to learn more about game play.

It generally takes from 10 to 30 minutes to solve a puzzle, depending on your skill and experience. Sudoku puzzles can be found in many places. Along side crossword puzzles, many newspapers are publishing daily Sudoku puzzles. And, as you might guess, there are Sudoku games for handhelds and other computers!

For Palm, try out these two freeware applications: SuLite and Sudoku. I like SuLite because you can change the Display Options to use colored blocks, mathematical symbols, or letters instead of numbers on the grid. Sudoku will generate random puzzles for you (though it may take a while for the puzzles to be created). Sudoku is also in constant development and more features are being added with each version release.

For Windows Mobile, try Sudoku Solver, which can solve games or create new ones for you to solve yourself.

You can purchase Sudoku games for your handheld if you want extra features or a cleaner interface. Read PalmInfocenter's article about Sudoku from for Palm ($9.95 - Palm OS 5 only) or for Windows Mobile from Astraware.

You can even play Sudoku online right in your web browser here, here, and here (Flash Player required). Or, download a free version for Windows. There's even a free Dashboard widget for Mac OS 10.4.

Learn how to make your own Sudoku puzzles on paper for yourself or others to solve. Let's Make Sudoku: Elementary Course shows you step-by-step how to create a puzzle. The site says it's fun and easy. In fact, here's a PDF with four blank grids to help you out. I think students would really enjoy learning to make their own Sudoku puzzles.

Sudoku is a very addictive game, so whether you use paper, Palm, Windows Mobile, Windows, Mac, or the Web, have fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's a Sketchy animation I made for Thanksgiving:

I use this animation to demonstrate to students how to use eyebrow movement to show emotions. View more Sketchy animation examples here.

Podcasting Book: Kidcast

There's a new book for educators who are interested in podcasting with students. KidCast: Podcasting in the Classroom is by fellow Nebraskan Dan Schmit. According to the publisher, KidCast will get you and your students started with easy to follow directions to help you:

• Learn the basics of finding and listening to podcasts on the Internet.
• Organize your own podcast show.
• Find low-cost easy to use audio recording and mixing software.
• Create RSS feeds to allow others to subscribe to your show.
• Promote your podcast to build your listener base.

In addition, Dan has a companion podcast for the book. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.

There's another book from Dan Schmit that can help with podcasting. GarageBand Mechanics helps teachers use Apple's GarageBand by offering how-tos, tips, and curriculum centered projects for learning and implementing GarageBand in their classrooms. Have a look at a PDF excerpt from the book.

Homemade Document Camera Solution

Dale Ehrhart, education student extraordinaire, has fashioned his own "handheld cam" and is kind enough to share photos of it with us. Dale needed to show his handheld's screen for a class he is taking and he doesn't have access to a manufactured document camera. He created the solution you see pictured below. He used a milk crate, a stick, a plastic bowl, and some screws to make a contraption where he can position his camcorder above a handheld. The camcorder then outputs to a television. Pretty creative, I must say!

Dale says his wife had many glowing comments, including:

• "Did you put a hole in one of my plastic bowls?"
• "You're going to drag that thing around school?"
• "You're such a dork!"

I won't tell Dale's wife that if he has access to a Windows machine, he can use software like PDAReach or TapSmart HandShare free for 14 days and there's no hardware to buy. Using the handheld's USB cable, you connect your handheld and computer. The Palm's screen appears on the Windows computer's screen. Since what's on your handheld is also on the computer's screen, it can be projected just like you would a PowerPoint slide show. Unfortunately, neither of these solutions are Mac compatible.

Click a photo for a larger version. Notice Dropairs on the screen in the first photo? Dale has created several Pair Boards for Dropairs.

Michigan Conference: License Plates, Geeks, & Handouts

I had a great time at the 5th Annual Handheld Computers in Education Conference in Holland Michigan last week. You'll hear more about this conference in the next edition of Soft Reset.

I found it ironic because I snapped the photo you see at the right on the way to the Omaha airport bound for Michigan. I took the photo because I knew that at least a couple of the handheld users at the conference would have the same thought as me when seeing a license plate that contains PDB. Not many of the 150 listeners to my presentation laughed when my freshly taken digital photo appeared on the screen. However, Palm users should be familiar with files that end with the extension .pdb, which stands for Palm DataBase. The extension associates these files with Palm Desktop, much like .doc associates files with Microsoft Word and .ppt associated files with PowerPoint. Quizzler quizzes, eBooks, and Dropairs Pair Boards are files that use the .pdb extension. Anyhow, my excitement of seeing this license plate made me realize that I am a geek. Going the extra step and taking a photo of that plate only confirmed my suspicions of geekiness. I'm pretty sure all 150 participants laughed at my realization (but I think they knew my level of geekiness the second they met me).

The conference featured 32 breakout sessions. Whether you attended the conference or not, I encourage you to check out the online handouts, many of them are PDF files. There handouts page includes links to great information like Making Your Own eBooks for palmOne Handhelds and Surfing the Web on a Handheld from Mike Curtis, Using a Handheld as Part of Your Assistive Technology Toolkit from Gayle Minnick-Underwood, Free Must-Have Palm OS Handheld Applications for the Classroom by Christine Tomasino, and much more!

Laptops are cheap. Why handhelds? Comment!

The December Issue of PC World magazine contains the article Solid $500 Laptops. The magazine reviews three bargain laptops from major manufacturers. Although the laptops in the article are inexpensive, the average selling price for a laptop in August of this year was $1,100 (a few more times the cost of a single handheld). However, the average cost of laptops has been declining rapidly. In fact, because of low prices, laptops now outsell desktops! PC World notes that prices will continue to drop:

The cheapest notebooks could sink to the $400 range by the end of this year and may even drop as low as $300 by late 2006, according to various computer vendors, chip experts, and PC industry observers. In fact, as we went to press CompUSA was selling a Compaq laptop for $425 after $300 in various rebates.

"It used to be notebooks would sell for close to $600 only as a stunt," says Mark Margevicius, an analyst with Gartner Research. But now some laptops have sold for that price consistently, he says.

So my question for you is: Why buy handhelds for students when you can get a laptop for close to the same price? Please click the orange link below that reads Wednesday, November 02, 2005. Let's outline reasons why handheld computers are appropriate for education, knowing laptops are now on the cheap.

There are hundreds of us who read this blog regularly, so even if you've never left a comment before, let's have as many blog readers as possible join the discussion through commenting! You can even leave comments anonymously. And who knows, perhaps we'll read your comment on a future Soft Reset podcast!

New Additions to the Web

Here some additions to the Web you may want to check out!

Brian Schau has posted a page of MathAce testimonials from students in grades six through eight. There are some great comments, like this one from Melody:

I love the new MathAce. My grade has improved so much. I like it because it helps me alot. I know you have put so much time into this program, and I would like to think you for that. I have improved so much. I went from 61/65 now its 96/96. Knowing that you probably put a lot of time to make this for a bunch of kids is very cool, and I love this program.

MathAce is freeware for Palm handhelds that helps students practice their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Download it here.

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Western Illinois University is publishing Mobile Learning News. The November issue is online and is dedicated to me. Cool, huh? I answered some interview questions and you can read my responses in the issue. There's also plenty of links to handheld computing and other emerging technologies. I look forward to the future issues of Mobile Learning News that will feature handhelds in various curriculum areas.

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TechLearning posted the article PALMing Your Way Through the Educational Maze. Marty Mayer and Dina Mayne suggest that handhelds are a viable way to successfully negotiate many of the responsibilities of teachers. In fact, they have developed the catchy acronym for what handhelds can be used for: Professional development, Administrative tasks, Lessons, and Managing the classroom–PALM! Marty and Dina then explain the relationship of handheld computing and each of these areas. The Managing the Classroom section has a concise listing of some of the possibilities when students have handhelds and the Lessons section has links to some useful resources. (Notably absent from the Professional Development section is listening to podcasts and reading blogs.) To summarize the authors' thoughts, here's a quote that many handheld-using educators have found to be true:

A handheld device can minimize those tedious tasks that erode so many possible teachable moments and can maximize collaboration and cooperation between teacher and students as well as among students.

Getting Tuned In

The San Bernardino County Sun recently published the article Getting Tuned In. It tells about the use of iPods at Clement Middle School. The iPods are used to listen to recordings of literature instead of listening to them on tape or CD. The article mentions great uses and benefits of digital audio for learning. The school uses audio from the audible.com service, so they are paying for the recordings.

iPods are great, but it's important to note that everything mentioned in this article could also be done with Palm or Windows Mobile handhelds. Think about this: The iPod Shuffles used at Clement retail for $99 and do not even have a screen. For $129 (for the Palm Zire 31) plus the cost of an SD card, students could listen to digital audio while illustrating it, writing about it, taking notes or a quiz, or reading along all on their handhelds. For just a little more than $99, you can supply students with a fully-functional computer instead of having limited the use to digital audio.

The biggest advantage for using an iPod for digital audio is its seamless integration with iTunes. The moment you plug in the iPod, iTunes syncs podcasts and playlists to the device. It's not as seamless when using a Palm or Windows Mobile handheld computer. I prefer to use an SD card reader and copy the audio files from my desktop computer to the card. When I insert the card into my handheld, I can listen to the audio in pTunes, Real Player, or TCPMP. Read more about using your handheld as an MP3 player at K12Handhelds. And this is really handy: Mac users can use the free software SyncTunes to simplify the process of syncing mobile devices and memory cards to iTunes (Note: You won't be able to play songs you have purchased through the iTunes music store because they are copy-protected.)

Rest assured, whatever you use for listening, digital audio is a great tool for learning.

Soft Reset #4: Participatory Simulations

Soft Reset Show #4 is online! Soft Reset Show #4 is about participatory simulations for Palm Powered handhelds. First, Tony and Mike share some valuable beaming tips. Next, Mike describes the Cooties and Virus simulations and Tony tells about the Fish simulation. Also, discover why you might want to make a teepee for your handheld. All this and more in Show #4!

Show Notes:

• Debbie Lyles from Franklin Parish High School in Winnsboro, Louisiana introduces the show. Check her blog, Palm for Patriots.
• Skype is free Internet telephone software. You may hear Mike's recording stutter because of our Skype connection.
• Cooties from GoKnow.
• Read Tony's blog entry about Big Fish, Little Fish.
• MIT Simulations: Download the applications here and read the general instructions here. Read the Big Fish, Little Fish instructions here.
• Palm's Handheld Educator lesson: Eat or Be Eaten.
• Email Tony and Mike with your questions in audio format to softresetpodcast@gmail.com.

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

Bits & Pieces

The October edition of T.H.E. Journal features the article Tech + Imagination = Results by Cathy L. Barlow and Karen S. Wetherill. The piece is about a project at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington where a grant and partnerships have brought innovations like handheld computing into college and K-12 classrooms. The project has a focus on instruction, assessment, and learning.

Registration is now open for the Research Center for Educational Technology's Ubiquitous Computing Conference: Bridging Research and Practice. The conference is December 1 & 2, 2005. I'll be speaking at the conference on Thursday, December 1.

More Dropairs Pair Boards have been posted to Northglide's site, including 50 States Geography by Dale Ehrhart. This Pair Board has students identify states by their name and shape.

Many of you have been looking to purchase the Veo Photo Traveler camera for Palm. Veo no longer produces the camera, but you can get new Photo Traveler cameras for $9 each plus shipping from Surplus Computers. Originally retailing for $99, the Photo Traveler uses a Palm handheld's expansion slot and is compatible with certain models. Although not officially supported, I know that users have has success with newer handhelds like the Tungsten E and C handhelds.

With the new iPods that can play video, video podcasts are becoming more popular. Like regular podcasts, you don't need an iPod to view them. You'll need to copy the video file from iTunes to an expansion card. I use the free The Core Pocket Media Player to view videos on Palm handhelds.