Last week, I got a new toy… um, I mean, vital piece of equipment. An iPhone. More specifically, the iPhone 4 for Verizon. I spent that day personalizing it and finding as many free (or nearly-free) apps that could be of use.

First, I got a calendar that color-coded and would show me my schedule for both the day and the week: miCal, “the missing calendar”. So far, it’s been incredibly useful, easy to use, and nice on the eyes. It was totally worth the $1.99 to be able to see my whole week with color.

miCal

Next, I got something to log miles driven to, from, and between students. It took a lot of reading-up on apps before I found the one for me. Trip Cubby was a little expensive, but it does a lot. It saves frequent trips for ease of input, links trips to contacts, categorizes trips, I don’t have to input all data, I can put in miles or the odometer reading, and new trips start with the odometer reading from the previous trip. It’s easy and fast and I find myself actually willing to take the time to do it. Plus, it shows the sum of the “reimbursement,” which adds up fast at 50¢ per mile when over 80% of my students are in the Bethesda/Silver Spring/Potomac area, over 20 miles away.

Trip Cubby

I also found a 99¢ graphing calculator that looks a lot like the TI-83+, the graphing calculator most students and schools use. It’s called the RK-83 Scientific Graphing Calculator. It’s certainly a great alternative in case I have an emergency need for a graphing calculator, a last-minute student and I’m for some reason without my pink TI-84+ SI, or it runs out of batteries.

RK-83 Scientific Graphing Calculator

There’s a really cool free app called Graphbook that shows beautiful recolor-able mathematical pictures of fractals, such as the Julia set, topological items, such as a trefoil knots and shells, and other 2D and 3D graphical items.

Graphbook

I also picked up the free app Genius Scan, which turns pictures of documents into scans in .jpg or .pdf format. It even corrects for perspective. This will be very useful for student work and worksheets on the go, as well as borrowing the occasional recipe from a friend.

Genius Scan

But I also have to look like a professional math geek. The right wallpapers (background) and ringtones will go a long way towards that. The free Retina Wallpapers HD app had a wonderful filter that helped me find a chalkboard-type background for the home screen and a blue-and-yellow Mandelbrot set (fractal) for the lock screen.

wallpapers

The free Ringtone Maker app let me take up to 30 seconds of my favorite mathy songs from online downloads of Sesame Street and Maththeatre. Most of my notification tones for e-mail, Facebook, and texts are marimba-type sounds. They’re professional, with warm tones, yet they’re staccato and have a range of sounds, and I was a percussionist once-upon-a-time. But, right now, my ringtone is the end of Maththeatre‘s “L’Hopital,” from their extremely enjoyable debut album “Calculus: The Musical!” and is to the tune of Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”:

“Once upon a time I had trouble with math,
but now they all think that I am smart.
There’s nothing I can’t do,
I have Calculus in the heart.

“Once upon a time I was crying all night
but now I do my math in the dark.
There’s nothing I can say,
I have Calculus in the heart.”

I have to say, I love Matheatre!

Because of the size and the amount of space I’m using for audiobooks, I’m not using either the Kindle or iBooks app yet, but I have downloaded the Kindle app. We’ll see what happens over time. I also download the free apps for Amazon.com (to look up books), Audible.com (to download audio books), Facebook (to stay in contact with friends and family while staying up on some students’ lives, in case something might affect their mood for learning), and WeightWatchers (for the “well-rounded” tutor on the go).

other apps

Did I say “new toy”? I meant new phone. For business. Boring, boring, boring…

Okay, that’s the longest I can pretend disinterest. I’m getting a new techie-toy to carry around with me everywhere and use all the time! It’ll be AWESOME!

Today is the first day Verizon will let me get a new phone for the reduced renewed-contract price. But I had a dilemma: iPhone or Android? And which?

The most important constraint is time: I can’t wait 4-5 months to get a new phone. My BlackBerry is failing me every day – store reps and BlackBerry aficionados are amazed it lasted 19 months before it started to go wonky.

So, if I were to get an iPhone, it would be the Verizon iPhone 4. If I were to get an Android phone, it would be the HTC Thunderbolt, which is Verizon’s first 4G LTE phone (and I live and work in a 4G zone).

HTC ThunderBolt 4G-LTE and Apple iPhone 4

Since the iPhone is so very easily-used-by-the-common-person, frighteningly not unlike the iMac, it didn’t seem like the thing for a true geek to have. So I obsessed about whether to get the Thunderbolt over other models and then agonized over the ever-changing arrival date.

Then my iPod died. I have a purple iPod nano I use for the gym and travel and by my bed, but my lovely, large, iPod classic from 2005  stays in my car, recharging off the battery as I drive, playing lovely music and road-rage-deflating audiobooks. Every time I use my nano in my car, it somehow gets lost between my living room and my car. Last time, I found it in a winter boot. A new iPod classic is $249. Can’t afford that right now. Can’t even rationalize paying $125 for a refurbished, outdated iPod classic. <Sigh> But a cell phone, I’ll keep my hand on.

So I checked out the specs and comparisons of the iPhone 4 vs. HTC Thunderbolt, such as this graphic from skattertech:

Infographic: Droid Bionic vs. iPhone 4 vs. HTC Thunderbolt

I was still conflicted, so then I talked to my baby brother. My brilliant, techie, 24-year-old, baby brother who lives in LA, a software engineer in charge of the physics engine for a very popular war-type video game. In other words, the baby brother that is as authentic a techie as anybody could be. He has an iPhone. So I asked him and sent him the specs. His opinion was:

“I vote iPhone, especially if you want a music player and you want quick and easy. Processor speed doesn’t matter much because iOS is a lot faster than Android and more responsive. Removable battery doesn’t really matter either. You’ll get rid of the phone before then. iPhone app store spanks android as well”

Well, I didn’t expect that. Somehow I feel weird, passing myself as a lover of technology, but getting the same phone as The Masses. A Droid will at least make me seem like I get the latest trends when I can and don’t fear customizability but embrace its open-source richness. My husbands loves his Droid X and has no desire for a phone more like his much-loved iPad.

Then again, I want versatility and the ability to tinker in my computer. In my phone, I want it to work efficiently and reliably as a phone, text-messager, e-mailer, and PDA. Apps and customizability should be optional and easy, and will certainly be used only in a limited manner.

And there you have it. I was turned to the iPhone. And I’m picking it up today. Let’s hope I can still maintain my Geek Cred.

There are a few essentials I bring to tutor every student, especially for math or science tutoring. First of all, inside my bag is everything that would normally be in my handbag: cash wallet, card wallet, business card holder, lip gloss, hair brush, pill box, and my purple iPod nano. I put all this in various pockets so they don’t get in the way of the Business At Hand: tutoring. My pill box and business card holder are both objects of math geekery from kyledesigns.com.

Mathy Cardholder and Pillbox by KyleDesigns.com

I carry a handsome, well-made tote that is larger than 8.5″x11″ that has a lot of room. However, it can’t be too huge (I don’t want to lose everything and I’m only 5’3″) or too heavy on its own, and since it holds electronics and important documents, I prefer to have a zip closure for rainy days. My newest tote (a Marie laptop tote by Gift Craft) is structured, quilted and light, roomy (16″ x 20.5″ x 3.5″) with plenty of pockets, and has a black-and-white pattern I don’t hate, but I adore my leaf-green Brahmin Alden medium tote (which is 10″ x 15.5″ x 5″) and look forward to using it again in the spring.

Totes: Brahmin Alden medium tote and Marie by Gift Craft laptop tote

Connectivity is of primary importance. For that, I have a Garmin Nuvi 265WT and a BlackBerry Storm (which is dying and will be replaced by an HTC Thunderbolt in two weeks). I get traffic information, directions, and a predicted arrival time from my Garmin. It helps me change my route, find new students, and find the nearest gas station or Starbucks. It also has bluetooth so I can answer my phone without fumbling or voice dial if I hit traffic or am running early for a student that has a flexible start time. My smart phone is essential for keeping me in contact with students and my husband while I’m driving all over Maryland. It also helps me Google for local libraries, bookstores, and cafes if a location we originally decided on is not available (for example, the Olney library recently closed for renovation until Fall 2012, and a student needed to change the location from her home to some place near her school due to a forgotten after-school function). I am lost without either one of these two items. Literally.

Connectivity: Garmin Nuvi 265WT & BlackBerry Storm

Instead of relying solely on my BlackBerry, I carry an At-A-Glance monthly academic planner, 9″x11″, to write all my appointments. The box is small, but so is my time and energy. I also write appointments on the kitchen calendar and have alarms on my BlackBerry, but my monthly planner is the absolute authority.

At-A-Glance Monthly Academic Planner

In order to enter a building to talk with a teacher or get information, often it’s required that I wear my badge from my brief stint attempting to teach a pre-Algebra-II type of course to 30-student classes of very needy, jaded teenagers. Apparently, Anne Arundel County Schools still considers me one of their own, even though my fibromyalgia was not up to the challenge at all. As you may be able to tell, my badge holder is from kyledesigns.com, as well.

My Badge

Next, I carry a binder full of paper: lined paper and a half-dozen different kinds of graph paper I created. The lined paper is a full 8.5″x11″ and essential to avoid wasting time. The one graph paper that gets the most heavy use is a page that has three, 3.75″ square, coordinate grids (each quadrant is 10×10) on the right side with space for doing work on the left.

I also carry writing utensils. It may seem silly to name my preferences, but these are the basic tools of my trade and having dependable, solid instruments help me seem more dependable and solid. I prefer 0.7mm mechanical pencils that have a larger or cushioned grip and white eraser. If the pencil has a side-click dispenser (so erasing does not cause the pencil “lead” to get longer) and an extra-long twist-out eraser, so much the better. In addition, I carry erasers. Specifically, I prefer the mechanical stick that holds one giant, long, white eraser (like the kind found on the back of most mechanical pencils). I also carry a highlighter and a colored pencil, as well as pens. In pens, I also prefer a larger, cushioned grip and, although roller balls are nice, I’ve found the Bic Velocity to be very reliable (black, medium point). I use pen to write out notes or a problem for students, so they can write in pencil and clearly see a difference between their work and the original problem/notes.

Preferred: Pentel Twist-Erase 0.7mm Pencil, Pentel Click-Eraser, and Bic Velocity (medium point, black ink)

Rather than continuing to stick pencils in the little pocket that holds my phone or waste time rummaging around in my tote, I just got the cutest pencil case for them – I’m not a Hello Kitty fan, I’m a nerd and a fan of nerds and I just found this adorable. (For fun, I also bought the matching scarf.)

Hello Kitty Nerd Pencil Case (and Scarf)

Surprise, surprise! − I also carry a calculator. Actually, make that two calculators. At least. My main calculator is a TI-84 Plus Silver Edition graphing calculator. Most students and schools use a TI-83+ or TI-84+, and the buttons and functions are nearly identical. It is a must-have for all students in Pre-Algebra and above in helping students check their work, make larger conceptual connections, etc. (I’ll get into the pros and cons of calculator use at a later date.) I used my TI-85 through middle school, high school, and college (until its untimely demise after accidentally falling into my soup – calculators can survive plain water, but not broth or sugar-laced tea or any other liquid that may have crystallized flavoring dissolved in it). I purchased the calculator that had a pink faceplate and case because it makes it easier to spot in my purse and it is easier to recognize (although I do write my name on the back in Sharpie annually). My second calculator, which I generally keep in the car, is a TI-34II scientific calculator. It shows two lines and follows the order of operations. I use this with my younger students or for random “I-wonder-how-much-” musings at a traffic light. My third calculator I just received as a Christmas gift from my baby brother, Jay. He’s a big-time software engineer for a video game company now (I’m very proud of him), and he tries to stay on top of the latest. In this case, the latest is the Casio PRIZM fx-CG10 color graphing calculator. It shows dynamic graphs (for example, possible graphs for y = 3x² + 5x + c), systems of inequalities (each in a different color), and can do all sorts of other things. I’m still trying to figure it out. So, I carry it around to fiddle with if I have some free time (I try to run early whenever possible, even if I know the student won’t be home from until our appointment time).

My Calculators (L-R): TI-84+ Silver Edition graphing calculator, TI-34II scientific calculator, and Casio PRIZM fx-CG10 color graphing calculator

I tried to decide whether to carry other mathematical instruments: protractor, compass, ruler, etc. They seemed like things I’d easily break or lose. Then, I found the tin-cased “Staedler Mathematical Tools”, which includes mechanical pencil, pen, stick eraser, compass, compass pencil, pencil sharpener, 6″ plastic ruler, protractor and 2 triangles. They’re not perfect, but it’s compact, light, stays shut, and looks nice.

Staedler Mathematical Tools Kit

Finally, it’s really helpful to have reference textbooks. My car and home are filled with them. I buy them used from Amazon.com for roughly $5 each,  including shipping, and they’re hugely useful for visual explanations, practice problems, and just to back up hunches. However, they are also heavy. Which is why I love my Amazon Kindle and bring it to see every student. The publisher CK-12 offers free Kindle textbooks. They’re not perfect by any means. However, it is really great to have if we need an additional resource, especially for upper- and college-level math and science courses. I currently have 7 textbooks on my Kindle, along with useful (and fun) reading material so I can help students work on reading comprehension and games like EveryWord. I have a second generation, 6″ Kindle with Wi-Fi capability. The larger screen just seems too large to be as easily portable and the digital ink is easy on the eyes, although you do need an external light source (lamp/sun) to read it. A note about other, similar devices. I’m also not sure of whether other devices have as wide an availability of texts and books, or if they are in fact more flexible. Although the black-and-white version of the Nook uses the same digital ink as the original Kindle, the full-color Nook has an LCD screen like the iPad, which is harsher on the eyes. In other words, I just love my Kindle but I suggest you do your research before buying an e-reader.

Amazon Kindle, 6" screen, 2nd gen.

As a side note, hygiene is always an issue. I also make sure to keep tissues and antibacterial gel handy. Tissues must be at least 2-ply, and I get my antibacterial gel from Bath and Body Works in Fresh Market Apple (which smells light and fruity, not alcohol-rich or cloyingly sweet). If a student is sniffling, I wipe my nose and use the gel and offer each to my student. I also have very dry skin so I keep L’Occitane shea butter hand cream to keep my skin intact (it’s amazing) and band-aids nearby just in case. I always, always use one or the other, or both, before leaving my car.

Hygiene: Kleenex Tissues, Fresh Market Apple Anti-Bacterial Gel by Bath & Body Works, L'Occitaine shea butter hand cream, and Band-Aids

As I get new materials, or decide to rave about the functionality of a particular item, I will definitely be posting more about the contents of my tote.