Travis Allen's Blog

iPads, the King of Classroom Distractions?

2010-09-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of someone say computers, phones, and gaming devices are a distraction to our students while they're in class? With technology integrating more and more in tho the classroom new challenges and worries are brought to teachers battling for their students attention. The question is, how do we handle these distractions and how is it different from previous distractions? Here is a student perspective on just such a thing.

During my world literature class Thursday I brought a pencil for the first time this semester so I could sign the role. When I started losing interest in the lecture I began doodling on the desk. (I erased it!)

Here is an image of my amazing doodle.

Even with my iPad fully loaded with entertaining games sitting on my desk, I grabbed my pencil and began destroying school property. It wasn't because I wanted to draw, or because I needed to show off my amazing doodle skills. I was bored. And when I am bored, I will entertain myself with almost anything I can find. My iPad is equally responsible for distracting me. I am guilty of playing solitaire during class on more then one occasion.

Here is a picture of me about to win solitaire

My point? No matter what is in front of me, if I lose interest in a lecture or don't feel like paying attention I will find something to entertain me. It is the student's responsibility to pay attention and giving them access to technology is not going to change a student's attention span. It will simply replace passing notes, doodling on desks, and playing paper football. It is up to the teachers to keep us engaged and have us using technology like the iPad in a productive way. At least playing solitaire on my iPad doesn't destroy school property. =P

What distracts you while your in class? I would love to know. Or if you are a teacher, what do you find distracts your students the most? Please leave a comment!

Interview With Travis: Learn More About iSchool Initiative

2010-07-12T00:33:00.000-07:00

I recently did a interview via Skype for Barbara Lindsey, an employee at the University of Connecticut, and Kevin Gaugler of Marist College, about my company and how it was conceived. I thought I would share the interview with you guys for anyone who is interested in hearing me talk about iSchool Initiative. So here it is. Hope you guys enjoy it!

Full story can be read here: http://www.worldatways.com/2010/07/06/casta-ways-an-interview-with-travis-allen/

"For Travis Allen the gift of an iPhone for Christmas in 2009 quickly became much more than the increasingly common rite of passage coveted by many American tweens and teens. As you’ll hear in this interview, the iPhone profoundly changed how Travis experienced himself as a learner. At the time, Travis was just seventeen.

We first became aware of Travis through a video he posted to YouTube while still a high school senior, that as of today, has well over 18,000 views. In the video, Travis outlines his vision of mobile learning which he calls the iSchool Initiative. One year later and Travis has turned his iSchool Initiative into a non-profit organization that includes:

a student team that tests, evaluates and recommends educational applications for mobile devices
an iSchool community that connects learners and educators around the world who share a common interest in the educational potential of mobile technologies
a Facebook group and newsletter that posts events and project updates
and a website that pulls everything together"

Click Here to Play Interview

Click Here to Read Full Story...

Feel free to let me know what you think. I am open for discussion.

Digital with Apple, QR Codes with Delta!

2010-06-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I attended and presented at a training seminar with Apple in Tampa, Florida on digital learning. During my trip, I had the opportunity to connect with some great people who are really making a difference in education.

Among some of these people, I met an ambitious teacher living and breathing the 21st century classroom. Megan Allen is Florida’s 2010 Teacher of the Year and uses iPod Touches with her elementary students with great results. To learn more about Megan and her class, visit her website: http://www.redheadedteacher.com/Megan_Allen/Welcome.html

I also met Sharyn Gabriel, a middle school principal, was also a presenter with a lot to show. In the short two years since she became principle, she has changed her middle school, engaging students and pushing them to do their best. Together, she and her school banded together and made a very catchy music video on reading books.

It’s inspiring people like this who make me believe that what iSchool Initiative advocates is possible and that people out there are willing and ready to make the change.

On another note, I’d like to share a great experience I had at the airport with my iPhone. The Atlanta airport now has completely paperless tickets! How does it work? With the use of QRCodes. QRCodes are similar to a barcode, but can link you to a website through a picture. Click here to learn more about QRCodes.

Delta is using this technology to make life easier and better for the frequent flyer. While you are checking in and getting your ticket, either at a kiosk or online, they now give you the option to have your ticket sent to your smart phone. You get all of your flight information and a QRCode on top, which security can then scan rather than scanning a paper ticket. This is great for an iPhone user like me and it’s great to see companies starting to embrace new technology. Here is what the ticket looks like on an iPhone.

I thought this was a really neat innovation, and if you are ever flying Delta see if they offer these new and efficient tickets!

Hope you all are enjoying a great summer, feel free to comment and ask any questions!

First Impressions of The iPad

2010-05-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

With the release of the iPad last month, my iSchool Initiative team and I dove in head first, discovering the new possibilities the iPad brought to education. After using my iPad in class I have to say there is a tremendous difference between the iPad and iPod/iPhone. With new apps, a screen with more visuals, and a full size keyboard, I now feel like the technology is finally here to transform education for the better.

For those of you who don’t know, I take my iPad (used to be my iPhone) and only my iPad to all my college courses. This post is to help explain some of the different ways I have been using my iPad.The first thing most people ask me is, “What apps do you use to take notes” and, “How do you do it?” There are two main ways I take notes, depending on the type of lecture. Here are examples of those two.

Cranberry flashcards - This application allows students to make intuitive flashcards. One of the great parts about this applications is that it is also web based and can be pulled up in any device with Internet access, also allowing you take make the flashcards on a computer instead, if you so choose.

In my political science class, I build flashcards as the lecture is going on, rather than taking traditional notes. This saves me the time of later converting my notes into flashcards to study. I can then study for my test anytime, anywhere and with flashcards. This app has been incredibly useful and has improved my test scores significantly.

Sundry notes - This app is better when you want to take more traditional notes. It combines text notes with images, drawings, audio, imbedding from google and wikipidia, and much more all in to one page.I use this application in my history class and absolutely love being able to combine multiple things into one page.

For example, when talking about the industrial age in class, I was able to type in my notes, insert images from google of what we were talking about, insert a wiki definition of a subject I knew little about, draw arrows connecting things, and a recording of part of the lecture. Overall, it’s been very valuable when it comes to cram sessions.

Another question I get asked a lot is, “How do you stay organized using your iPad?” I use one of my favorite college apps for that, called iStudiez pro. This is by far one of the best organizational apps for students. First you plug in your semester classes and times. Once that’s set up, you can easily add homework assignments, exams and projects with due dates that you can set to alert you days in advance. Because of this app, I now have no excuse to not turn in an assignment and I haven't missed one since.

These are just three of the many apps I have started using with the iPad. Follow my blog post and follow me on twitter to here about more apps I use in the classroom. Don't forget to retweet this post!

I want to know what apps you have started using on the iPad. Please post comments and tell me all about them.

A Writing Lab In My Pocket

2010-04-02T13:54:00.001-07:00

The iSchool Initiative has recently partnered with a company called Niles Technology Group, an app developing company that helps students with essays.

They go beyond just providing an informative app and provide a whole writing lab in the palm of your hand. They have apps on over 40 essay types and apps specifically for ESL (English as a second language). I wanted to go over one of their apps in paticular, the historical essay writing app.

I recently had a historical informative essay due in my English class and decided to use there app for my paper. Each essay app has different levels you can buy. The lite version simply gives you helping info about writing your paper. But if you buy the full version you get writing assistance and paper editing. If you hit a road block you can email them and within 24 hours they will assist you.

I began writing my paper using thier historical essay app as a refrence and then sent my paper in to be reviewed. What they sent back was above and beyond what I expected, with tips to improve my writing, raising questions I should concider in my paper and on top of it all, they helped my paper with grammer and structure.

(Image of actual email)

Overall, I was extremely pleased with my experience with their essay app and believe it is worth the money to have a writing lab in my pocket.

New iSchool Community for Schools!

2010-03-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

My nonprofit, the iSchool Initiative, has just launched a new social network community. It is designed to facilitate collaborative discussions among students, educators, schools, and app developers to help them incorporate technology into the classroom.

I wanted to share with everyone some of the many different things this community will accomplish, as well as get everyone’s feedback. Our Community Offers:

An organized forum for discussion
Social media basics, such as personal profile pages, blogs, groups, and videosGroup and private chat
Promotion give aways with new iSchool Initiative Apps
The ability to work on a one-to-one basis with our iSchool Initiative Team members
Opportunities to communicate with our iSchool App Developers about creating educational apps or other general questions
And much more!

This is all done with the goal of helping schools focus on discovering more ways to incorporate technology into their school system. With this community, my team hopes that you will join us in further bringing technology to the classroom.

Join, invite, comment, and participate. You make our community!

The iPad, Opening New Doors for Educators

2010-01-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

As I am sure everybody knows, Apple showed us the long rumored "iPad" yesterday.

I can't quite express how amazed I was when I saw this. As my team and I watched the following video, we were excited with the technological and educational possibilities that the iPad presents.

As John Ive said "I don't have to change myself to fit the product, it fits me." I'm looking forward to exploring this myself and truly seeing how versatile it is.

The little details are what really caught my attention, even something as small as how the album springs to life at the touch of a finger.

What I am really looking forward to though, are the new and creative ways people will use this technology. For example, the applications. The calendar has been completely redesigned into something that looks to be an easy-to-use, highly graphic agenda. I believe the iPad will change peoples' opinion of mobile devices and applications, from thinking of them as a gaming, music and video platform, to a fully capable device with amazing unrealized potential and the tools to educate.

How do I see the iPad and applications being used in classrooms?

Imagine easy to read textbooks, interactive assignments, accessible lectures, notes and video straight to your iPad, and paperless schools.I can't wait to see what new and improved educational applications this device will bring.

What will the iSchool Initiative be doing with the iPad?

To the best of our ability, we are going to research the full potential the iPad will bring to the classroom. What works, what doesn't work, what can be improved, and problems schools may run into. As we gather this information, we will constantly be providing tools for schools, students and app developers to collaborate with each other and learn the best ways of implementing this technology.

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As with any new device, there are critics. Many people have commented that it is just an over-sized iPhone, but I personally don't think they see the real value of the iPad and its use of apps. The larger screen opens a new gateway for educators to explore, making learning more involved and easier than ever.

Comments and opinions are appreciated.

The World at Your Fingertips... No Wait, The Universe at Your Fingertips!

2010-01-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

Who wouldn't want the World, let alone the Universe, at their fingertips?

Today, I have two new apps for you that allow you to do just that! You can explore the galaxy, or, if you think you might feel homesick, your own home planet!

GeoMaster - $0.99

I can't exactly take credit for finding this one. It was, in fact, my girlfriend, Hannah Mitchell. Hannah is a bit...lost when it comes to geography. So, in order to avoid my constant jabs at her lack of geographical know-how, she turned to her iPod Touch.

Via the App Store, she found GeoMaster, which makes learning geography into a timed, competitive game. GeoMaster calculates your time. The more accurate you are, the better your time will be.

Before long, she was flying through the game and could locate more countries, cities and states than I could! Me being a competitive soul, this didn't sit well, so I set about using GeoMaster to sharpen my map skills as well.

Star Walk - $4.99

This app is for those of us that feel the need to travel a bit beyond our atmosphere. With the touch of a finger, you can be zooming your way through the galaxy in an instant. The intuitive controls and awesome sound effects make this app a must have.

When you click on a planet, you have a wealth of information at your fingertips, ranging from surface temperature to the planet's radius compared to the Earth's.

And for some of our even more adventurous travelers, you can even travel through time. Star Walk allows you to see the position of the planets and phases of the moon at any point of time in the past, as well as hundreds of years in the future.

Happy travels!

Apps for Disney World!

2010-01-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

Over the holiday break I had the fortunate opportunity to go to Disney World with my family and girlfriend. (my brothers girlfriend as well) In total, we were 8 happy campers (Most of the time) ready to explore the magical world of Disney.

(My sister took the picture)

Both my parents have iPhones, and so we were quick to find all the applications we would use in Disney. With 3 simple apps we were able to plan our vacation, navigate the parks, and ride every attraction we wanted to before the days end. Here are the three apps we used:

Park Hours tells you the time the parks open and close that day. It also tells you current events for each park. A great app to plan your time at Disney and get the most of it. - $0.99

Main Menu Events for the day

Wait Times was the ultimate time saver. It tells you an estimated wait time for each line that is updated frequently. How does it work? Other iPhone users submit the wait time while they are waiting in line! What a genius idea, iPhone users working together! - $0.99

Wait Time in Minutes How you Submit a Wait Time

Walt Disney World Maps is a favorite of mine and slightly more costly. It gives you interactive maps of each of the parks and also shows YOUR location via GPS. If you have ever been to Disney you probably know how helpful this can be to navigate yourself around. - $3.99

Overview of map GPS capabilities (the blue circle)

Brief description of each ride Check off where you've been

Having access to these apps allowed my family to stress less on the preparation and navigatation, and focus more on the important things. Yet another reason why I love my iPhone!

More blog posts soon. New college semester here I come!

About The Author

2009-12-26T11:29:00.000-08:00

Name: Travis Allen

Position: Founder of The iSchool Initiative

Education: Currently a student at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Why I made this blog: It began with my parents getting me an iPhone for Christmas one year ago. I, like many others, enjoyed the endless list of applications on it and shortly after, began looking into educational apps to help me in High school. I soon realized the amazing capabilities this device would have in education.

From that point on, I was a Mobile Learner.

I wanted every student to realize the unlocked potential and decided to share my opinion through a video, called the iSchool Initiative.

As I watched my video grow in views, I realized I wanted to do more and so I formed a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing technology solutions to the classroom. I created a website, https://www.ischoolinitiative.com/ , and began spreading my idea global. Now, with over 10,000 views, 800 facebook members, 400 people signed up for newsletters, and 6 employees, I begin the next steps to unite students, teachers, app developers, etc. to create a real 21st century education.

Now, as a college student, my iPhone has been an essential key to school life. People find it hard to believe,

but I bring only my iPhone to class!

This blog is here to for me to talk about the different ways I use my iPhone in class and life, instead of paper, pencils, labtops, etc.

What this blog will discuss:

How I survive college with only an iPhone, and some great apps, and how you can too.
My favorite applications I use in school and out of school.
Why I strive for a 21st century education through mobile learning.
Talk about my ventures through the iSchool Initiative and the people I have met.
Tips and advice for other students to become a Mobile Learner.