Showing posts with label iPad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iPad. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

iPad Apps for Teachers: Cloud Storage

As I said in my last post, I was asked to recommend some iPad apps for teachers. Here is part two of six: Cloud storage.

Cloud Storage


clouds by Extra Medium
clouds, a photo by Extra Medium on Flickr.
Dropbox: 
Dropbox is supported by many other iPad apps, so it is almost an essential way to move files between devices. Click on the share button on an app and Dropbox will probably be offered as one of the options.

Google Drive:
This app is a bit clunky but is useful if people already make use of Google Drive.

WebDAV:
Allows you to connect to and synchronise with network drives. It worked well in my previous workplace and was the preferred way of storing documents because you could sync with network copies of documents thereby minimising the risk of ending up with multiple, slightly different, versions of the same thing. I could also use WebDAV to mount drives on my home computer, so this was an easy way to transfer stuff between my home computer and my iPad.

iRDP:
If your school doesn’t have WebDAV support (see above) this Remote Desktop client for the iPad  may provide a (slightly awkward) way to access school network drives.



What other storage and transfer tools would you recommend? And, what is the best way to share documents with pupils, parents or fellow teachers?

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

iPad Apps for Teachers: Note Taking

I was asked recently to recommend some iPad apps fpr teachers. It was suggested I aim for five or six apps but I git a bit carried away and suggested umpteen instead. I thought it was worth reproducing in this blog to see if anyone disagreed with my choices or if they had any to add that I missed.

Teacher's Desk by mortsan
Teacher's Desk, a photo by mortsan on Flickr.
The list was divided into six sections, so I'll do this over six blog posts. The first category was note taking.

Note Taking

Keynote:
Both for teachers presenting but also as a great tool for pupils to communicate their knowledge and understanding using text, graphics video etc.

Notes Plus:
I would go for this rather than Pages. You can word process on the iPad with Pages but I think that is not the iPad's main strength. The iPad is an ideal tool for note taking though and Notes Plus is a package that I’ve used and find impressive. There is an in-app upgrade to add handwriting recognition but I’ve never done this so don’t know if it is any good!

uPad:
An alternative to Notes Plus. I have never used this app but I saw a friend use it to take notes at a conference and it looked impressive. Pulling in screen shots and webpages to annotate as well as adding handwritten notes to pdf documents.

PDF Expert:
Annotate on multi-page pdfs. Good synchronisation with a variety of cloud storage services means you don’t end up with one version on your iPad a a different version on your desktop.

PDF Printer:
Converts other documents to pdfs. Good companion program for PDF Expert and other similar note taking apps.

Evernote:
Syncs across multiple devices including desktops. Variety of note types supported. Limited Optical Character Recognition supported (e.g. photograph a business card and Evernote can extract the contact details so you can copy them into your contacts list).

So, what do you think? Is there anything obvious I've missed? Is there anything I've listed that doesn't deserve to be there?

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

TeachMeet Tablet - Using the iPad to support Learners with Additional Support Needs

Craig Mill - Using the iPad to support Learners with Additional Support Needs 
{Live capture but with later edits and additions.}

Craig Mill - CALL Centre Edinburgh
CC 2013 by-nc-sa
Photo by David Muir
Seven ideas in seven minutes. A whistle-stop tour through how the iPad supports learners with additional support needs.

Talked first about CALL Centre and some of the resources they make available, for example, iPads for Communication Access Literacy and Learning, a free downloadable eBook. A new eBook for supporting children with dyslexia on its way.

Safari browser on iPad has a Reader button to make the text of a page easier to access, as Craig said, “It unclutters it all”. When using Reader, you can change the font size as well as access all the built in iPad tools such as define, copy, speak etc.

Other built in tools make the iPad a great device for pupils with Additional Support Needs. Shortcut to accessibility functions is to triple click on the home button. He demonstrated VoiceOver with a screen curtain on. VoiceOver has transformed the lives of many visually impaired people. He also demonstrated the zoom feature. Assistive Touch makes the volume controls, screenshots, and gestures such as pinch can be made accessible. There are also a growing number of accessories, such as wheelchair mounts, keyboard guards, mouth sticks, switch access tools, etc.

As he ran out of time, he switched to demonstrating, and saying a brief word about, a range of apps. These included:
…And more that I probably missed!

Watch the unedited video of TeachMeet - Craig's section runs from about 12:00 to 22:00. (A ten minute mega presentation!)

Friday, March 22, 2013

IPad Academy

Steve Molyneux (iPad Academy CEO)

student_ipad_school - 233 by flickingerbrad
student_ipad_school - 233, a photo
by flickingerbrad on Flickr.
Started with a history of education. Argued that the industrialised model of education was about automating rather than innovating. He says we are now in the age of the individual with mobile and personal devices. Need to move beyond just automating what has gone before.

Mobile devices are taking over. {From earlier session, Edinburgh predict there will be more mobile devices than PCs in schools by Christmas 2013.} What is preventing use of mobile devices in schools? Partly fear. We want to know we can control. We also want to know they can access and make use of appropriate content.

Do we (as teachers) need to understand the technology in order for children to use it to learn? Sugata Mitra's Hole in The Wall work suggests not necessarily.

Duality equation: ((r+c)/x)t=innovation
Means research plus collaboration when interpreted by a person over time leads to innovation.
In education, it tends not to be called "innovation" - rather. it is called "cheating".

Guttenberg 1.0 - it's just a sheet of paper. But it's what you do with it that makes a difference. Do we write music on it? Do we make an origami model? Do we write an essay...?

Guttenberg 2.0 - it's just a sheet of glass. But how do we use it? Don't look for apps to teach reading. You're a teacher - look for a game and see how you can use that. {Reminded me of Tim Ryland using Myst.}

How do we enhance learner experience and increase learner engagement at the same time? Need to do more than replace existing methods. Move from Exchange, to Enrich, to enhance, to extend and finally empower. Should aim to empower learners - allow the user to not just consume content but to create and distribute it. The tipping point, where things really change is when we change our teaching and start to extend the learning. In the SAMR model, it's at the Modification stage, when we start to do new things, things that couldn't be done before that the tipping point happens.

Examples given of using mind map to plan essay, ComicLife to storyboard. Best example was an eighty-four year old Latin teacher who found an entertainment app that allows you to take a picture and make it into a postcard. {This app perhaps? --DDM} Pupils might be told they were a soldier on Hadrian's Wall and were writing a letter home - had to find picture and create a stamp with the right emperor as well as write in Latin.

Digital story telling. For example, create an eBook after a field trip where audio and video are embedded. Web links are also easy to create. I Can Animate used to animate - example shown was the Calypso video. Or creating a trailer using iMovie - example given was where the classroom was flipped and the children researched the Great Fire and then am a film trailer about it.

GreenScreen FX lets you do chroma key in real time. Mixing technologies - using QR Codes. Every book in the library has two QR codes: one takes them to a blog where they write a review and one to a comprehension test.

Also trialled screen-recorder to highlight and comment on pupils work on the iPad. Pupils we happy for the video marking to be shared with the class. {Used Explain Everything... I think. -- DDM}

NearPod app let's you share a presentation to individual devices rather than to a screen. Software alerts teacher when pupil goes off topic. Can share pupils work/answer.

Mobile platforms are on the rise. Like a high speed train: some are on board, some a on station platforms and will board train soon but some are on the tracks and will be hit!

Need to re-engineer education. Need to give pupils the skills that will let them enhance their learning. Provide a learning environment that matches the functionality of their social environment.

Needs a paradigm shift in classroom practice.

Need to use the tool appropriately.

How do you manage the change?
Need vision to avoid confusion.
Need skills to avoid anxiety.
Need incentives to avoid resistance.
Need resources to avoid frustration.
Need planning to avoid chaos.

Guttenberg 2.0 - Just getting started!

Professional Development

Gillian Penny - Apple Professional Development

Teacher Development in a Post PC Era
Buying the technology is the easy part. Making a difference to pupil education is tricky!

Apple are keen that good use is made of their technology so they have developed material. Hands on workshops that address school needs. Designed to enable educators to transform teaching and learning. Taught by educators not sales team.

Three pillars: pedagogy; content; and technology - the technology shouldn't be bolted on or added extra but part of the process.

Professional Development will be negotiated and personalised for schools by educators. Some money from iPad sales is given to support this education process.


CALL Centre

Paul Nisbet described how CALL centre and SFL more generally have made use of 1:1 technology for years.

Challenge1:
"Let me see, let me see; is not the leaf turn'd down Where I left reading? Here it is, I think." by nikkorsnapper
A photo by nikkorsnapper on Flickr.
Pointed out that there are issues about getting access to electronic versions of Scottish text books. Gave the example of a boy who could not access textbooks and they discovered he needed 28 textbooks but none were available electronically. By approaching publishers, they were able to get electronic versions of seven. The rest they had to scan. Of the list of Scottish texts identified for English, none were available electronically.

Challenge 2: Training
What do newly qualified teachers identify as their biggest needs? Number 1 is ICT and number 3 is SFL!

Challenge 3: Accessible ICT
In general, using school equipment is made very difficult because they can't even do something as basic as adjusting the mouse speed because the control panel is locked down. Basics such as text to speech with a Scottish voice (free to schools) is missing. Getting specialist software installed is very difficult.

Challenge 4: Difference
Quality of work is clearly better but pupils may choose not to use because they don't want to be seen as different. For example, in some schools the AlphaSmart device has been re-christened the AlphaThick.

Use of 1:1 devices such as iPads help. They are considered cool. They can be personalised. They are a practical solution - small, light and easy to use. (Apparently iPhone is the most popular smartphone with the visually impaired because can be accessed using the built in tools.) Built in camera and microphone provides great opportunities - especially when we look at a broader definition of literacy.

Less difference - More inclusion.

For SLF, the iPad is a low cost solution - especially with Procurement Scotland prices. ReadWrite Gold for iPad is relatively cheap compared to PC version.

If all students are all using digital resources, more likely that the materials will become available in digital format.

The pace of technological change does cause problems. How do you recommend the best solution when that technology changes on a daily basis. Although 1:1 makes many things easier, there are still accessibility problems and so one size does not fit all and you can easily find yourself back in creating differences.

Edinburgh Digital Learning Team

Jenni Robertson talked about what they did to support the development and deployment of 1:1 model. They set up a blog, Digital Learning Team, to support teachers in the authority. Some great videos (created with VideoScribe) for example: The getting to know the iPad series.


Promote SAMR Model to show enhancement rather than just replace old ways.

{Jenni was hugely enthusiastic, very knowledgable and the blog is a great resource! Really annoyed that I didn't take more notes because this was a really good session. Not sure why I didn't. I guess I was enjoying it too much. -- DDM}

Developing Teachers in a Post PC Era

Anna Love - Apple

The future of books by Johan Larsson
The future of books, a photo
by Johan Larsson on Flickr.
Technology and education - the technology supports and underpins, it's not the focus

2009 - 8.5 million people using mobile technology. By 2011 - 17.6 million mobile users.

Internet use on phone 44% to77% from 2010 to 2011
{May have got years wrong but think percentages are right. -- DDM}
"If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow" 
-- John Dewey
Enabling personalised learning. Children want instant information. Can be more self-directed. Can develop Independent learning. Students need to be able to personalise and take ownership of material. They live in a connected world.

As educators we need to consider the devices, the content and the personalisation. Devices exist and pupils are already using. ITunesU and iBooks already make vast quantities of content available for free. How do we construct courses? How do we enable learners to benefit from this content? How do we personalise it to their needs?

It is all about excellent learning and teaching.

All sorts of positive benefits can accrue. For example, device deployment can lead to closer home/school links. Schools can add content to iTunesU.

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Fun On Friday #136: Emoji

I encouraging my students to blog but have fallen behind myself. Clearly I need to practice what I preach.

So, I know it's not Friday, but here's something fun I just discovered recently: Emoji - a character set of emoticons that originated in Japan and are beginning to settle down into an Internationally agreed standard.

How did I stumble across this? Well, I've known for some time that my iPad and iPhone can use different keyboard layouts but what I only just discovered is that one of those keyboard layouts is emoji.





This means I can type a range of emoticons directly into anything that can take text. Of course, I'm not sure how it will look outside the iPad. Apparently, it is built into most Japanese handsets, and as a result, many other handsets too including iPhones and Windows phones.

So have a look around in the settings of your devices and email programs to see if you can do emoji too.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Evaluating the iPad

We bought an iPad to see what it can do. Can it find a place in schools or is it a gimmick that will go the way of the Newton? At the moment, I see it being most useful in schools as a data collection pad and as a textbook replacement device. (Opinions are subject to change after prolonged exposure.)


iPad Helmet
Originally uploaded by Joe_murphy
The idea is that a number of people will get to play with it, both primary and secondary, and as many subject area specialists that want a look. We've been trying to specify a range of apps to show off what it can do. I'm going to list here what we've added so far and I'd welcome your comments and suggestions. What have we missed? Have we included anything we shouldn't have?

I have deliberately skewed things towards free apps - this is deliberate! Cheaper is better and free is best!


The Basics (and the paid for apps!)

If it is to be used in schools, the obvious place to start is with the iWorks suite of apps: Keynote; Numbers; and Pages (£5.99 each). It seemed obvious to add Documents To Go (£4.99) to allow the easy distribution and editing of existing documents. Finally, in the "obvious" section, we've added The Elements (£7.99) because it is gorgeous.


Reading/Literacy

We've obviously added a bundle of free/public domain eBooks but we've added a few more literacy related apps.

Maths/Science

Other Subjects

Interesting Stuff

Note Takers

Looking at the list above, we're light on a number of subjects, including Music and Computing. Any suggestions on how we should plug the gap? Also, I want some games on there. Any suggestions from the Game Based Learning contingent?

Looking forward to seeing what people come up with

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Programming for the rest of us

I would write about Apple's new iPad but I suspect the Internet is already bursting at the seams with iPad prattle. It appears to have been greeted with awe, derision and confusion in roughly equal measure. Whether it turns out to be an iPod style success or a Newton style best-forgotten - its launch has certainly caused a stir!

However, I was intrigued by Mark Pentleton's pre-launch speculations. I would love to see an HyperCard style development environment for any Apple product! TileStack is good (see Fun on Friday #23: A blast from the past) but is just slightly too tricky in use for the "rest of us". It's been a while since I've played with TileStack though, and I notice that you can now use it to develop iPhone apps... I think I need to go back for another play!

As I commented to Mark, I think Scratch, while looking nothing like HyperCard, is the best example of programming for the rest of us out there currently. However, what's missing is some sort of Scratch player for the iPhone/iPad. I had a bit of a poke about but couldn't find anything, oeven any indication tht they were thnking about creating one.

So, in the meantime, if want to make an app, I guess I'll have to have another look at TileStack... uness you have a better sugestion.