iPod Learning Simulation

Activity: Animal Survival

The best way to sink your fingers into mobile learningis to take an iPod Touch or an iPhone and carry out the following assignment, step by step, as if you were a student. This little lesson uses applications that are built-in the to device, so you won't need to download any software. Once you've done the assignment, we'll talk about what it means. I thank Paul Tarantiles of Apple Computer for coming up with this lesson idea.

If you went to the zoo, and brought one of the animals home with you, would it survive? Why?

You will use your iPod to answer this question. As you proceed, you will be using the following resources:

• The web site of the zoo (to choose your animal)
• Various online web references (to better understand your animal's needs)
• The iPod Weather application (to investigate the conditions at each site)
• The iPod Calculator application (to compute differences in habitat measurements)
• The iPod Notes application (to record your findings)
• The iPod Photos application (to save pictures of your animal and the various site habitats)
• The iPod Camera (to take pictures of your animal)

Your objective is to deliver a short illustrated report of your findings.

Proceed as follows. You'll need to be connected to the internet with the iPod's wireless for this to work.

1. Choose an animal. For help with this, you may use the Safari web browser application on your iPod to connect to your favorite zoo. Or to the national zoo in Washington, DC.
2. From the zoo and other web sites, find the answers to these questions:
   • Where does the animal live? (What is its native habitat?)
   • What is the environment like in that habitat right now? (e.g., temperature)
   • What does the animal eat? (What is its diet?)
3. Take notes as you go along, using the Notes application on your iPod. (To copy text, tap and hold until you see the Copy button, then drag the blue dots to expand the selection. To paste text, tap and hold until you see the Paste button.)
4. Gather an image for each fact, by tapping and holding the image until you see the Save Image button. (The images you save go into the Photos application on your iPod.)
5. Compute the percentage difference in temperature between the animal's native habitat, and your home, using the Calculator application on your iPod.
6. Take a picture of a colleague posing as your favorite animal, using the Camera on your iPod. (The pictures you take go into the Photos application on your iPod.)
7. Be prepared to deliver a brief oral report of your findings, illustrated with images from your photo collection.

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