Mobile technology is everywhere. Whether you are in a city or village you will find people listening to mp3’s, texting to friends or updating Facebook pages on their iPhones. People camp out for hours in coffee shops and fast food restaurants to use the free wi-fi to check email, watch a show or conduct business. But what about the classroom?

Most schools in Ontario have rules that prohibit students from using their cellphones or other mobile technology on school property. Instead of banning the use of this technology, is it possible to incorporate it into classrooms? When you begin to consider this it is easy to identify a lot of challenges which include student access to technology (not every family can afford an iPhone), access to wi-fi (not every school is equipped with sufficient access) and security (imagine managing all the computers in a school as well as every student’s iTouch or iPad).

The iPod User Group (Canby School District from Oregon) hosts a blog that is open to the public and explores all of these issues within the context of K-12.  Members in this group post blogs of their action research projects, classroom activities and share their experiences supporting academic achievement for students with iPods and iPads. 

The discussions and articles are very practical with detailed instructions and screenshots to help explain and troubleshoot challenges. Are you wondering how you would physically manage all of the iPods in a classroom? Check out the article “Building iPad Sync Carts: DIY & MacGyver“. Curious about the connection between curriculum and mobile technology? Read how you can use “Voice Memos and Smart Playlists for Reading Fluency and Assessment“. Better yet, take a look at how Grade 6 Math Teacher Gale Hipp has implemented a set of iPod touch as math tools in her Innovation Grant Summary.