Setting+Up+iPod+Touches

=Setting Up iPod Touches=

Read First: Tony Vincent's Learning in Hand: iPod Touch Tips


 * 1) I was lucky that our district's technology department got our [[image:backofipod.jpg width="205" height="122" align="right"]]iPod Touches ready for us. They assigned slot numbers, barcoded them, cataloged them in Destiny, and attached all labels. Each iPod Touch is labeled on the back with its slot number (1-40) and district project number; a unique school barcode number, and an OETT Grant sticker. I put clear 3M book tape over the stickers, making sure not to cover up the camera aperture or controls.
 * 2) We have a MacBook Pro laptop dedicated for each iPod Touch Cart.
 * 3) My principal and I set up iTunes accounts for each cart. We stayed after school one evening to download free apps, so that each cart has the same free apps on it. When we purchase apps, we might put certain apps on only one cart, in order to save money.One cart is designated for grades PK-2, and the other is for grades 3-5.
 * 4) Each cart has the same free apps on it. If one cart has Touches available, the other grade levels may borrow them, if their cart is already reserved. They may not have the same paid apps on them.
 * 5) We set up the WiFi on each iPod Touch individually. One way to do this is to Click on Safari; when it asks you to Join a Network, select your school's WiFi and enter the Password. The other way is to go into Settings, General, About, Networks, and then join the network there.
 * 6) I set up a Wirenode account for our school: http://steed.wirenode.mobi .I added our school website and links to the orange and blue numbers from Tony Vincent's Learning in Hand website (see next tip)
 * 7) We decided to use Tony Vincent's orange numbers and blue numbers as images for the lock screens on our iPod Touches. For iPod Touch slot #1, I saved the image of the number 1, then set it as the wallpaper for the Lock Screen. That way, the slot number is on the back of the device, but it is also on the screen when the device is first turned on. This helps students to quickly check what number device they have. If the number photo gets deleted from the lock screen we can either go to Photos on the device and reset it, or we can go to the Steed Wirenode mobile app and quickly access the correct number image and save it to Photos again. (You could also have students make a picture in Doodle Buddy or some similar app, save that image, and set it as the Wallpaper for the Lock Screen.)
 * 8) I taped an orange Steed Charger diecut on the side of our PK-2nd grade cart, and a blue one on the 3-5th grade cart . These colors match the numbers on the lock screens. I try to color-coordinate whenever I can. It helps whoever is putting the iPod Touches back into the carts.
 * 9) I trained a group of 4th graders to put the Steed Wirenode site on the home row of the iPod Touches, and to set the appropriate color and slot number of the device as the Lock Screen wallpaper. There were 40 steps in this process, which I typed out for them, but once we went through it together a time or two, they happily showed off their tech skills for me. It took 2 recesses for a group of four 4th-graders to complete the procedure on all of our 80 devices.
 * 10) We offered our teachers lots of opportunities to use the iPod Touches before implementing them in the classroom. Many teachers checked one out for a few weeks to do lots of exploration with the apps. This helped them to know which apps to use and how to help kids navigate the apps.
 * 11) I created a quick slide show for our students on how to use the iPod Touches responsibly and added it to our grant website. The 3rd-5th grade teachers presented this Google Docs slide show with students before using the iPod Touches for the first time. For the younger students, I created a simpler slide show in Keynote on the iPad, and I showed it to them in the library before their class used the Touches.media type="custom" key="8276778" width="130" height="130" align="left"