Two weeks ago I made a visit to a local elementary school where we have air dropped 40 ipod touch devices for a mathematics and a language arts teacher to use. Until I get all permissions in place, I can only talk about the experience in general terms. A couple things I can say regarding how overwhelmed I was by the creativity and investment of teachers and students are these.

"Look, the ipods are sprouting!"

First, the photo of the “ipod planter” demonstrates how these two teachers are taking a challenge head on to make sure the devices are easily accessible - in this case to alleviate having to push a rather heavy, cumbersome cart around the teachers have built what I call an ‘ipod planter”. The solution not only makes it easy for kids to access the devices, but gives them a warm, cozy place to rest in between uses.

Second, I was completely unprepared by how natural the children act when using the ipods for an educational exercise. On the day I visited, the language arts teachers asked the kids to check out their ipods from the “planter” and give me a tour of how and what they use them for. Some kids were playing a networked, turn-taking game that included a chat feature, Mancala FS5 (Free).

Some kids were playing chess. Some kids were playing typing and other educational focused games. The highlight of the day was when the kids shared the collaborative podcast they had created under the direction of the teacher. I understand that these activities may not sound particularly innovative to some of those who have more experience along these lines, but I suppose the surprise for me was realizing just how “uneventful” this all was to students and teacher. That is, having the ipods and being fluent in use was part of their normal school day. Though this is merely an anecdote for now, I am still very enthusiastic about the possibilities of using and developing for this rather impressive mobile internet device.

Once I get permissions in place, and our project web site is up and running, I’ll provide more concrete details on where we are now on in the process and where we plan to go in the coming months.