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First is teacher communication and setting up training for teachers: I am finding you can never communicate too much or offer enough trainings. You also need to get an iPod in the teachers' hands first. They need to see its value before they will buy into its power as an educational tool. Even then be ready for resistance. (I am VERY fortunate to be a part of one of the most forward thinking special education departments in the state if not the nation. I am also blessed to have superior leadership at all levels of our administration.) I will talk more about our training and implementation in later posts.
Second is the iPod: You need to decide what size. Currently, I have purchased the 8 gig for most students and teachers. This allowed me to afford them for teachers. I also don't think it's a bad thing for students to manage their space. I did purchase some 32 gig for specialty teachers and students with vision and communication disabilities, since the 8 gig DOES NOT have accessibility tools. I have found some apps for our low-incidence special education population that require graphics to create custom AAC (augmentative/alternative) boards and requires the larger storage size for pictures.
Cost: 8gig iPod $199
Sync Station: I love the Parat Solutions sync station. It’s light and portable and holds up to 20 iPods. I made sure I got the ones that would fit a case. Caution here though. My cases didn’t come in time and had to put them in without a case for a week. With the extra space students and teachers bent a couple sync prongs. You also need to make sure the case you get isn’t too big. See below for which one I like.
You really cannot do a large scale iPod movement without this. You also need a Mac to use to sync it becasue the USB port on Macs supports 20 iPods syncing at a time. With my Windows machinces I top out at 4 at a time before I lock up.
http://www.paratsolutions.com/parasync.html
Cost: approx: $890 with shipping
Cases:I decided on Incipio’s Ultra Light Feather case. It has a good feel, snaps on easily, comes in a variety of colors and comes with 2 screen guards (these cost $2-4 per guard normally). They are easy to snap on and off (if you know the trick- take your thumbs on either side of the bottom part by the sync port and pop it off)
http://www.myincipio.com
Cost: 11.99 per case (bulk purchase otherwise they are 19.99) by calling the company I got them for 11.99 when I bought at least 200. They have other price breaks, too.
USB Charger: Students won’t be able to sync their iPod at home and to minimize iPod wipeouts we are buying one per student iPod. Radio Shack again gave us a GREAT deal at half cost $10. Screen Guards: Incipio's are good and when I run out of the ones that came with the case I will probably wheel and deal to get a good price. I predict guards will need to be replace at least once a year. Microphones:A must have for many apps, but hard to find in bulk. Unfortunately, only the 32 and 64gig iPods come with the Mic in the headphones. I also didn’t necessarily want it tied to the headphone, which in all likelihood would need replacing within a year. So, I really like the mini mic. I can usually find them if I look hard for $6-7 each. Watch out for the shipping though. I realize these can also be lost easily, but we are going to use a carry case that has just the right size zipper pocket. If you search Amazon for “mini mic iPod” you’ll get various ones. Here’s the last place I bought them:
http://www.amazon.com/Price-CablesToBuy-Microphone-iPhone-classic/dp/B00277EMQ2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1259205963&sr=8-3
Cost: $6-7 each
A Mac: (if there are none available already)Our district is a Windows district so this was and is a big deal. Sync stations don’t like Window’s USB ports. Parat told me this and I didn’t believe them. They said a Windows would likely lock up when you try to sync more than 3-5 at a time. So, I tested it on 3 different Windows machines from Dell, Gateway and HP. Dang, they were right. So, I ordered one MacBook and sure enough I could sync all 20 at once with only occasional problems (that were usually tied to operator impatience). Now you don’t need one per sync station. I will have one at each school that will have move from station to station. Haven’t got that far yet.
iTunes Cards-to purchase appsApprox $500 per iTunes Accountto get you started. The Top 50 Apps is under $150. If a small school you can get by with 1 iTunes account. Remember though once you purchase the App it can go on all the iPods registered under that account. I’ll cover the iTunes management process in another blog post.
Laser Asset Tagging:Since I didn’t get these from Apple I didn’t get the free engraving. Our traditional school asset tags made the iPods look yucky. So we investigated laser engraving ourselves. I went to our local Trophy shop and they just happen to have a laser engraver that did the trick (we did check to make sure it would harm or negate the warranty first). We engraved right above the apple.cost: $1.25 to $2.00 per iPod
Optional iTems
iPod Touch Stylus (Option) but a big deal for those with fine motor problems, large fingers or long fingernail.
If you search Amazon for "iPod Touch Stylus" you'll get a number of choices. Here's one:
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Impression-SGH-A877-Eternity-SGH-T929/dp/B002BBJMO6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1260580694&sr=8-1Always watch the shipping cost on these things. The above link is not bad.
Cost: $3.12 + $2.98 shipping for 3 of them.
3-Ring Zipper Pencil Pouch- A must if you are letting students carry them around. This not only secures them from flying off a stack of books but it also makes it less likely to walk off. We got luck and found some at a reasonable price and they are EXCELLENT quality (Bazic 3-ring Pencil Pouch)
$27 for a case of 24
http://www.amazon.com/Bazic-3-Ring-Pencil-Window-803-24/dp/B00275ED2W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1260582579&sr=1-1-catcorr
iPod Mounts: A must for students with fine mount difficulty and for those in wheel chair. A GREAT option for younger students at a center or when they are sharing. It cuts down on the tug of war. There are a variety but here are my favorites. Most are under $30. If you plan to get several, contact the manufacture directly and see if they’ll give you a deal. Ped3 gave me a retailers price and is one of the best.
PED3: The first one here is great. Make sure you are getting the RIGHT one. They have different ones for the iPod and iPhone, and for ones with cases and without. Cost: $36.00
http://thoughtout.biz/store/index.php?l=product_list&c=11
In Your Face: My NEW Favorite for those in wheelchairs. I just got done working with one of my students and he was ecstatic. He’s tried others and this one allows him to keep his workspace free and can easily adjust it. It has a wide sturdy clamp and a strong adjustable holder. It sports a ball and socket joint that makes it easy to rotate for those landscape apps. The , but is short enough to still be sturdy. This is a winner!
Cost $29.95
http://www.inyourfaceusa.com/
Second is the iPod: You need to decide what size. Currently, I have purchased the 8 gig for most students and teachers. This allowed me to afford them for teachers. I also don't think it's a bad thing for students to manage their space. I did purchase some 32 gig for specialty teachers and students with vision and communication disabilities, since the 8 gig DOES NOT have accessibility tools. I have found some apps for our low-incidence special education population that require graphics to create custom AAC (augmentative/alternative) boards and requires the larger storage size for pictures.
Cost: 8gig iPod $199
Sync Station: I love the Parat Solutions sync station. It’s light and portable and holds up to 20 iPods. I made sure I got the ones that would fit a case. Caution here though. My cases didn’t come in time and had to put them in without a case for a week. With the extra space students and teachers bent a couple sync prongs. You also need to make sure the case you get isn’t too big. See below for which one I like.
You really cannot do a large scale iPod movement without this. You also need a Mac to use to sync it becasue the USB port on Macs supports 20 iPods syncing at a time. With my Windows machinces I top out at 4 at a time before I lock up.
http://www.paratsolutions.com/parasync.html
Cost: approx: $890 with shipping
Cases:I decided on Incipio’s Ultra Light Feather case. It has a good feel, snaps on easily, comes in a variety of colors and comes with 2 screen guards (these cost $2-4 per guard normally). They are easy to snap on and off (if you know the trick- take your thumbs on either side of the bottom part by the sync port and pop it off)
http://www.myincipio.com
Cost: 11.99 per case (bulk purchase otherwise they are 19.99) by calling the company I got them for 11.99 when I bought at least 200. They have other price breaks, too.
USB Charger: Students won’t be able to sync their iPod at home and to minimize iPod wipeouts we are buying one per student iPod. Radio Shack again gave us a GREAT deal at half cost $10. Screen Guards: Incipio's are good and when I run out of the ones that came with the case I will probably wheel and deal to get a good price. I predict guards will need to be replace at least once a year. Microphones:A must have for many apps, but hard to find in bulk. Unfortunately, only the 32 and 64gig iPods come with the Mic in the headphones. I also didn’t necessarily want it tied to the headphone, which in all likelihood would need replacing within a year. So, I really like the mini mic. I can usually find them if I look hard for $6-7 each. Watch out for the shipping though. I realize these can also be lost easily, but we are going to use a carry case that has just the right size zipper pocket. If you search Amazon for “mini mic iPod” you’ll get various ones. Here’s the last place I bought them:
http://www.amazon.com/Price-CablesToBuy-Microphone-iPhone-classic/dp/B00277EMQ2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1259205963&sr=8-3
Cost: $6-7 each
A Mac: (if there are none available already)Our district is a Windows district so this was and is a big deal. Sync stations don’t like Window’s USB ports. Parat told me this and I didn’t believe them. They said a Windows would likely lock up when you try to sync more than 3-5 at a time. So, I tested it on 3 different Windows machines from Dell, Gateway and HP. Dang, they were right. So, I ordered one MacBook and sure enough I could sync all 20 at once with only occasional problems (that were usually tied to operator impatience). Now you don’t need one per sync station. I will have one at each school that will have move from station to station. Haven’t got that far yet.
iTunes Cards-to purchase appsApprox $500 per iTunes Accountto get you started. The Top 50 Apps is under $150. If a small school you can get by with 1 iTunes account. Remember though once you purchase the App it can go on all the iPods registered under that account. I’ll cover the iTunes management process in another blog post.
Laser Asset Tagging:Since I didn’t get these from Apple I didn’t get the free engraving. Our traditional school asset tags made the iPods look yucky. So we investigated laser engraving ourselves. I went to our local Trophy shop and they just happen to have a laser engraver that did the trick (we did check to make sure it would harm or negate the warranty first). We engraved right above the apple.cost: $1.25 to $2.00 per iPod
Optional iTems
iPod Touch Stylus (Option) but a big deal for those with fine motor problems, large fingers or long fingernail.
If you search Amazon for "iPod Touch Stylus" you'll get a number of choices. Here's one:
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Impression-SGH-A877-Eternity-SGH-T929/dp/B002BBJMO6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1260580694&sr=8-1Always watch the shipping cost on these things. The above link is not bad.
Cost: $3.12 + $2.98 shipping for 3 of them.
3-Ring Zipper Pencil Pouch- A must if you are letting students carry them around. This not only secures them from flying off a stack of books but it also makes it less likely to walk off. We got luck and found some at a reasonable price and they are EXCELLENT quality (Bazic 3-ring Pencil Pouch)
$27 for a case of 24
http://www.amazon.com/Bazic-3-Ring-Pencil-Window-803-24/dp/B00275ED2W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1260582579&sr=1-1-catcorr
iPod Mounts: A must for students with fine mount difficulty and for those in wheel chair. A GREAT option for younger students at a center or when they are sharing. It cuts down on the tug of war. There are a variety but here are my favorites. Most are under $30. If you plan to get several, contact the manufacture directly and see if they’ll give you a deal. Ped3 gave me a retailers price and is one of the best.
PED3: The first one here is great. Make sure you are getting the RIGHT one. They have different ones for the iPod and iPhone, and for ones with cases and without. Cost: $36.00
http://thoughtout.biz/store/index.php?l=product_list&c=11
In Your Face: My NEW Favorite for those in wheelchairs. I just got done working with one of my students and he was ecstatic. He’s tried others and this one allows him to keep his workspace free and can easily adjust it. It has a wide sturdy clamp and a strong adjustable holder. It sports a ball and socket joint that makes it easy to rotate for those landscape apps. The , but is short enough to still be sturdy. This is a winner!
Cost $29.95
http://www.inyourfaceusa.com/
