Dave Winer points to a post by Mark Pilgrim which details how to use a program called Handbrake to rip a DVD to a video iPod. This and the recent announcement that TivoToGo will export content to the iPod and the PlayStation Portable makes a portable video player look more interesting. These announcements, and a recent visit to an electronics store have me thinking of devices such as the iPod and the Sony PSP and how I could be use them in my work at Lewis Elementary.
I have read that the new video iPod records audio at a much better rate than the older models. At Lewis we have been using an older iPod and a Griffin iTalk to record audio for use in movies, podcasts, slide shows and such, but the bit rate is not the best. Also I've been reading about programs such as iPresent It, which can convert your PowerPoint, PDF and Keynote presentations into slideshows that are synced with your iPod. Instead of lugging the laptop to the next PTA meeting, I could just plug in my iPod... The video features of the new iPod would allow me to have copies of student movies and such with me for those all important elevator pitches about the use of technology in education. Am thinking this and the audio recording should be enough to justify getting one...
I've also been looking closely at the Sony PSP as a tool for students and am impressed with it. The PSP has built in wi-fi and a web browser. I was playing around with one and thought that for $250, this was quite an impressive device. The screen is beautiful and the ability to browse the web makes it worthwhile even if you don't play games or watch movies... but when you throw in both those features it is really impressive. Next time I get my hands on one, I'm gonna check out sites like Writely and see how they perform... There are also add on keyboards for the PSP, so am thinking that for a bit over $250 this is quite a device for education. Maybe I'll order a few for school and we can start our own 1 to 1 initiative...