I saw a two-year old kid (in diapers, in a stroller), using an iPod Touch today. Not just looking at it, but browsing menus and interacting. This is a revolution, guys.

Seth Godin.

It is a revolution. What itouchs are doing for education, PRE K – 12 is staggering. I’d love to have you watch my 4 1/2 year old playing (learning) on her itouch. Podcasts by Sesame Street (and 30 other great creators), Games about letters, colors, words, counting for a buck. The vocabulary is amazing when amazing is what you put in front of them.

The same extraordinary learning happens with high school kids. If you can, get your student an itouch, load it up with apps – the educational kind – along with a couple “fun apps.” If you don’t have a student in your house, buy it for the kid you mentor.

This is a game changer.

We’ve been creating short instructional videos for our students to view for remediation, review, learning (when they miss class) and to help gain a better handle on the academic English. It does have incredible impact on student achievement.

Adding the iPad to the mix, or an iTouch in every student’s hand is going to revolutionize the way class is taught.  Here’s what is on my test iPad, we’ll be messing with this next fall, measuring academic impact the best we can, asking students for feedback, and seeing if it changes spending habits.

Here are the “apps” as of now.

• link to Classzone
• link to Podcasts (those instructional videos)
• PI83
• Moodle

Any others?

When I meet someone new, go to a seminar, read a book, interact with the world, I often google “them.” The “them” could be the car seat I’m looking to purchase, the person who is presenting (in the room), the new employee, the company who is going to be coming to the house to give me a quote on a new air conditioner.

Do you think college recruiters are any different? Employers? It feels like part of our job as educators is to create opportunities for students to share their greatness in a way that helps them get the next job / college acceptance / fellowship.

High Tech High is one portfolio I’ve run across this morning.

Won’t it be great to send the students to the next “great place” with a portfolio in thier pockets?

Using Google Apps, you can create a form, that

• collects feedback
• creates a sign up sheet
• brainstorms ideas
• collects homework answers
• gets input on the latest process/building change

You don’t have to wait until your organization officially adopts Google Apps, you can use your own Google account to do the job.

In these rapidly changing times, sometimes just creating a way for people to submit ideas, give feedback, or measure response feeds our web 2.0 need. These don’t have to be created by outside organizations, they can be done by the people within your group today. Thoughtfully, yet without 5 meetings to plan the plan.

Classrooms are the same way, kids like to be asked, and listened to. This doesn’t always have to happen in class it can happen outside of class – offer up time for everyone to think about it, or offer up ideas quietly. Although, sometimes the thoughtfully written feedback is the most powerful.

We have a great playgroup in our neighborhood. We’re even on Facebook (closed group, sorry). Setting up the permissions as friends only has helped us share planning, plan dates, include new people as they move in, keep those who are moving away connected.

The place where my kids go to preschool has a Facebook group as well. The other day it reminded me that the deadline for ordering scholastic books was coming up, so online I went to order a couple really great books for my kids. Pretty sure I wouldn’t have done that with the flyer that I’d already recycled.

What are you doing with Facebook groups? Bringing people together? Adding value to a service you provide? It isn’t just for the kids anymore.

Think back to before iPods. Remember? How many of you had an mp3 player?? Didn’t the invention of the iPod create an industry, change an industry? It doesn’t mean you HAVE to purchase an iPod, just that most of your music is digital.

I firmly believe that the iPad will do the same revolutionary change to textbooks and books in general. Imagine how great it will be to go into iTunes U, download your book and have up to date text . audio . video . interactive assessments on your device within minutes. The price of the textbook goes down as the publishers no longer have to print, rather use dashcode to create apps out of the already online content. If there are textbook publishers out there, contact me, I’m more than willing to be the beta site for this to happen at the high school level.

Lots of people are writing about what is missing from the device. I don’t think that really matters, things will change, Apple will add features. We’ll figure out why they left off a feature, and LOVE that they did. Yes, I’ve had some of the Apple kool-aide. But really, who doesn’t think they change the way we …

The revolution has started, I’m ready to participate.

Got this resource from a former student. It is really great when the student becomes the teacher, and the teacher the student. I have to admit, in many ways that happened long before graduation with this particular guy.

I think you’ll love this web site, for the organizing you need to do with groups. I’d love to say anytime is good, but the reality is, it isn’t always as good as we’d like it to be.