iDentical iPods: Getting Ready for Next School-Year

  I'm a little particular with the iPods we use during Technology. Because I have students ranging from 4 years old through 5th grade using them,  I've found the organization of folders to be very helpful. The problem though is having 30 iPods synced identically (apps sorted into folders as you see fit). The benefits of this are having the ability to quickly direct students where an app is located (especially in the primary grades) and demonstrating how students can manage their own iPods.
   So the problem still exists: how do we get 30 iPods to look identical? Its actually not a big problem, though the solution is time consuming. Basically, it involves setting one iPod exactly like you want the rest to look like, syncing it to your laptop, letting it backup, then restoring every other iPod to that backup. Here are the steps:

1) Sync 1 iPod with the computer it normally syncs with.
2) Organize that iPod the way you want the entire set to look (hold down on an app until it wiggles. Move one app on top of another to create a folder. Name that folder and hit the home button or create new folders)
3) Plug it back into the computer and allow it to backup and sync.
4) Unplug that iPod and plug in the remaining iPods (if you have access to a charging cart/case use that - if not, you'll have to repeat steps 5-8 for each additional iPod)
5) Right-Click (two finger tap on Mac) on the next iPod in the iTunes sidebar. Select Restore from Backup.
6) From the selection panel, find and select the last backup of the iPod you used in steps 1-3.
7) Click restore.
8) When iTunes completes its restore process, rename that iPod in the iTunes sidebar.  I use Mobile Cart 02, Mobile Cart 03, etc...(click once on the iPod to select, then click a second time to rename). The iPod will now have its unique name but look just like iPod 1.
9) Repeat this process for each iPod.

 Another quick tip for staying organized with iPods that look the same is giving them a numerical lock-screen wallpaper. Tony Vincent (Learning in Hand blogger and mobile tech extraordinaire)  has a number of photo sets with numbers specifically for this:
http://learninginhand.com/blog/wallpaper-ipod-touch-with-numbers.html
1)Create a photo album in iPhoto or in a folder in Windows for the Number Wallpapers.
2) in iTunes with your iPods plugged in, select Pictures from each iPod's menu. Locate the album and allow it to sync to each iPod.
3) On the iPod itself, locate the newly synced photo album, select the iPod's number and set it as the Lock Screen wallpaper.

Facebook, a School-Year Later

   So a back at the beginning of the school-year I wrote an entry about our school and district beginning an initiative to post on Facebook as a communication tool. I created attendance area pages (South Carolina schools are organized by county. Attendance areas contain a high-school, one to two middle schools, and several elementary schools) and each school was asked to have a Facebook page. Our school took that a step further: our principal encouraged teachers or grade-levels to set up pages as well for communication purposes. They could even use those pages in place of an end-of-the-week newsletter so long as a post was made by Friday. I can't speak for the individual teacher pages or grade-level pages, but our school page has been quite successful. The image of the graphs  is our weekly reach: basically how many people see our page, share something, how many friends of friends of ours can see the pages, etc. While we have about 777 "likes" we have a total weekly reach of close to 3,000. Basically that means that a lot of our "likers" are sharing our stories or their comments on our stories are showing up on their friends timelines. That also means a lot of good publicity and community building through our Facebook page.
     When this initiative first came up a lot of folks were concerned about community members using it as a sounding board to complain about whatever they had to complain about. We've actually seen the opposite. We've seen more questions resolved by the community itself than our page admins. For example, someone posted a question about an event time. Very soon after two other people posted responses completely clearing up the confusion before we even got to respond.
     What our school pages have done is amplify the support and corroboration that already existed within our community. It gives it a common area to converse, leave comments, and share their support. It also supports our "Green" initiatives as we get to cut down on printed newsletters (newsletters do get sent home to those without internet who opt to receive them). It also creates a clear, quick line of communication between teachers, administration, and parents.
     We have three admins of our school FB page and we all keep pretty close tabs on what goes on with comments. We have pretty tight reins on the pages meaning that only admins can make original posts and upload photos/videos. We also keep our comments "compact" meaning that a viewer has to "expand selection" prior to seeing the comment thread. This keeps any "unruly users'" posts from being seen right away without us moderating first. Our principal has really taken the lead on this: posting; moderating; and updating.  She also reviews the comments and really only keeps ones that pertain to school and not personal issues (which doesn't happen much).
    So overall its been a highly positive experience. The communication between our school and the community has opened wider and it gives us the opportunity to quickly relay what has been going on behind our doors. If you're toying with the idea of a school or classroom pages, I would highly recommend it.