Since this whole blogging thing started with my new iPod touch I thought that it would be fitting to make my final post for week one of “James Michie…a 21st Century Educator” an update on my progress learning to use it, the apps I’ve added/deleted and my first game download.
The image above is my current set of apps and the layout that I am currently working with, since my last post I have done the following.
- I realised that apart from “Tasks” there was no major benefit to me having each Google feature as a separate button – I can access them all from within the “Google Mobile App” and once I am in I usually leave them loaded up so that I can simply return to them at leisure within Safari.
- Instapaper is even more useful to me now that I have access to it on a mobile device. I have been reading even more, increasing my productivity and in turn filling up more of the free space in my “brain-attic“.
- Having moved from WordPress to Blogger I have installed but not used the “BlogPressLite App” – it has gained mixed reviews but I will try it out sometime in the near future.
- I have read two whole books, downloaded with “Stanza“.
- I have used the Notes App twice when asked to go pick up some odds n’ ends from the shops.
- I have gotten somewhat annoyed by the fact that if I check my mail using the Mail App that it leaves a copy of the message in the All Mail folder after I have deleted it from the Inbox.
- I have watched bits of programmes on both BBC iPlayer and through “TVCatchUp“. Although, I have not settled with myself the idea of watching a whole show on such a small screen – after all I am at home and have a 17” Macbook Pro that serves my online viewing pleasure very well.
- I deleted “Wikipanion” after I realised that learning the touch-screen finger swipes to move, zoom in/out, select all, copy+paste was not that hard, using Wikipedia on Safari was not that difficult after all.
- I am going to stick with “TweetDeck” – it is working as well for me on the iPod as it is on my desktop.
- Finally, I downloaded my first iPod touch game. I have not really played a computer game since university so this was a treat. My first computer when I was just five years old was a “ZX Spectrum 128k” (the one with the built in tape deck) – its bread and butter was platform games. So I went for “Ghosts’n Zombies” a single player-platform game with plenty of shooting, lots of bleeps and squeeps and nice cartoon-styled graphics. It makes good use of iPod touch’s “accelerometer” and I have enjoyed playing it – while it’s a new game to me and the input method is very different to using a joystick or joypad it was an almost nostalgic experience.
Well, that is all for this week. I have enjoyed exploring and learning to use my new iPod. Being back at school next week will give me the opportunity to push one or two of its features further inside the classroom and during meetings. It is my hope that it goes someway to furthering my efforts to be paper-free! I can’t really call myself “…a 21st Century Educator” if I’m still reliant on pen and paper, now can I?
If you really want to make a good effort to go paperless then have a look at Evernote. Desktop, cloud and iPhone integration. And it's free.
Thanks for the recommendation, you are the second person to do so. I have used the desktop and cloud apps before but did not make as much use of it as I thought I would but I might give it another go and try out the iPod app.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Have a good weekend!