US Dante Class Part 2

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Charles Quirin

Configuring the Bluetooth keyboard:

From the Home screen, choose Settings > General > Bluetooth and turn Bluetooth on. iPad searches for nearby Bluetooth accessories.

Choose the Bluetooth accessory. Type the passcode displayed on the iPad on the keyboard and then return.

 

Download the PDF books:

Open GoodReader on your iPad.

Select Web Downloads -> Browse the Web

Go to https://www.collegiateschool.org/podium

Log into Connect to select and Load the Dante class page.

Under Downloads press on each of the PDF books and select Download Linked File. The files will download automatically in the background to check on the status navigate back to My Documents. If these downloads fail you can also download the files via the MP3s link.

Download the MP3 files:

Under the Links section of the class page select MP3s and press the Follow the Link option. Press on a file and select Download Linked Files for each file you wish to download. You can download multiple files at the same time and return to download more in the future.

In GoodReader you can find these files in the Downloads folder once that have successfully completed downloading.

Move the files to iCloud:

Move the PDF files to the iCloud folder so all notes and changes made to the PDF files can be backed up and synced with iCloud in the event you encounter issues with your iPad.

Select the Downloads folder in My Documents. Press Manage Files on the right toolbar. Place a check next to all the PDF documents and press Move. Select the iCloud location and press Move X items here. Navigate back to My Documents and select iCloud to view the documents.

 

Search for a word in GoodReader:

Open a document. Click the search button on the bottom toolbar. Type the word and click search. Press the up and down search button to navigate search results.

Enter a note in GoodReader:

Press on a word until a menu pops up on the screen. Select the Comment bubble button. Select Save to this file. Write your note and press Save. Note that you can select a single word or more.

For more instruction on GoodReader check out: http://www.goodiware.com/gr-man.html

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US Dante iPad Class

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Charles Quirin

Fill out the following survey: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dE03TFFPcFJ3dHJVS082eXk5TXRNaGc6MQ

Update Password -  Settings -> Passcode Lock

Configure email -Turn off notifications

Create iTunes Account:  If you don’t already have an iTunes account, you will need to do the following:
- Attempt to buy a free app like Evernote or OverTheAir. When it asks for what credit card you’ll be using, select none.
- iTunes still requires a billing address so you can use your address or the school’s: 260 West 78th Street, New York, NY

Configure iCloud – Settings -> iCloud:
- Turn off Contacts, Mail, Calendar, and reminders.
- Make sure “Find my iPad” is on.

Homework:
Download the following apps via the emailed purchase codes/links; Goodreader, Pages, and Keynote.

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Ipad a Story

Posted on November 3, 2011 by mhutchinson

As I began to investigate ipad apps for story writing to introduce to the faculty, I realized they fell into two groups.  There are those that allow you to create your own story and use images, sound, and text in your own way. Then there are apps that guide you through the story making process with the help of steps, scenery, and props (often that are rather commercial and rather cutesey). Here are the ones we are going to investigate and use with our students.

Group 1: Open-ended ipad apps to tell stories using your images

StoryKit  Meant as an app to read stories, it has the capability for you to create stories. You can use photos or draw your own illustrations and write and record text.Here is a slideshare on Storykit with an example of a story.

Sonic Pics Another easy to navigate app that uses a series of photos with a recorded text.  Read how Maria Caplin has used this app in this post.

Storyrobe An app that uses photos and your recording and turns them into a video.  See some on this blog from a school in the UK.

Here is a wonderful screencast showing Wesley Fryer demoing all the last three apps.

Strip Designer  I have used this with boys in grades 1-4 and absolutely love it. The app is easy to use and the results were incredibly creative. Here is a slideshare from Lucas Gillispe.

Story Buddy Some good updates have improved this app.

 

Group 2: Create a story using our “stuff” apps

Toontastic A truly intuitive and engaging app for all ages K-4.  Here is Kathy Burdick’s review and a post about using Toontastic in the math classroom by Andy Russell.

Story Patch Build a story by following a road and making choices. Here is a simple overview on the Apps for Learning blog.

 

Story Wheel is a good app for building language and practicing oral storytelling. You spin a wheel and record a story based on the objects that it lands on. The AppModo blog explains how this helps our students with imagination.

Puppet Pals allows you to create a show (or story) using puppets and scenery.A youtube video that will demo this app.

I would love to hear how you have used these apps and about other story telling apps you have found!

 

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iPad Project, Year Two

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Alex Ragone

At Collegiate School, we have entered year two of our iPad Project.  In year one, we asked these two questions:

  • “How can we use the iPad in a class with one teacher?”
  • “How can we see using the iPad in a class where all the students are equipped with iPads?” (from Essential Questions for iPad UserGroup)

The first question changed a great deal on the release of IOS 4.3 that enabled us to mirror the iPad with a VGA connection.  Many faculty used the iPad as a projection device in the Spring and are continuing to do so this Fall.

As our faculty UserGroup tested their iPads and explored different apps last year, they found numerous ways to use the iPad with students.  Melanie Hutchinson, Lower School Curriculum Coordinatorexplored many of these ideas with Lower School students in these two posts:

In the Spring, after numerous UserGroup meetings and lots of interesting conversations with faculty, we decided to enter year two of the project by deploying two shared sets of shared iPads in Lower School and Middle School.  In the Upper School we decided to test the iPads in a 1 to 1 roll out with two classes (one in the Fall and one in the Spring), much like Reed College did with its iPad Study.  As you can see from the previous post on this blog, we deployed 15 iPads for Art and Religion this fall.  We’re running an action research project around the students in Art and Religion and will post results from that in the Spring.

In the Lower School, our faculty will continue to use the iPads with interactive apps to support skill development, the creation of comics and illustrations,  writing and anything else the faculty can dream of — including creating videos or composing music in Garage Band.

In Middle School this Fall, the main use of the iPads has been with in class research.  We’re deploying Google Apps in the Middle School and will be testing that along with numerous other apps on the iPads.

In addition to these school sponsored iPad projects, we’re continuing our 8th grade UserGroup and adding the 7th grade to that mix.  Once students earn their iPad drivers license they will be able to bring their personal iPads or Tablet Devices to school.  This training will review acceptable use as well as train them on Google Docs, Evernote or Noteshelf and GoodReader.

Our question  for this year is, “How does the iPad change the way teachers teach and students learn at Collegiate?”  We’ll be exploring this big question over the year.

What are your observations of iPads at Collegiate?

Photo Credit

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Upper School iPad Deployment

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Alex Ragone

Over your next two classes, we’re going to be setting up your iPads for use in Mrs. Hansell’s Art and Religion course.  We have some specific apps, links, and configuration steps you’ll need to take over the classes so your iPad will be ready to go for your class.

We’re going to start with some background information on this project, your responsibilities, how to maintain the iPad and our responsibilities to you.

Next we’ll take a quick survey.

Last, we’ll start the iPad deployments.  Here are the instructions you’ll follow:

1. Update Passwords – please select a password you will remember.

2. Configure email– turn off notifications.

4. Create Amazon account:

    • Go to amazon.com via Safari
    • Create an account
    • Give Mr. Ragone your email address via this link
    • He will gift you the books for your class this afternoon

3. Create iTunes Account:  If you don’t already have an iTunes account, you will need to do the following:

    • Attempt to buy a free app like Evernote or OverTheAir. When it asks for what credit card you’ll be using, select none.
    • iTunes still requires a billing address so you can use your address or the school’s: 260 West 78th Street, New York, NY

4. Download the following apps:

    • Kindle – free: Your books for class will be in Kindle
    • OverTheAir – free: You’ll access resources for class via this app.
    • Evernote – free: Cloud based note taking software that will synchronize between your iPad and a desktop, laptop or mobile phone.
    • Download QuickOfficePro – See your email for a voucher: Office software for iPad.
    • Good Reader – See your email for a voucher: PDF reading, highlighting, annotating and more.
    • Photo Sort – See your email for a voucher: Organize photos into galleries.

5. Set up Over the Air

  • Open Over the Air and select New –> WebDav server and enter the following info:

over the air

6. Create Links  — This is going to take a while so please be patient:

  • In Safari, go to: http://bit.ly/artandreligion
  • Click on the first link, select the sent to link and add the link to your desktop.  Once you’ve added a second link, create a folder and called Add each link to the folder that it’s corresponding tag links to
  • We’ll explain this visually!

7. Books:  I’ll email you links to these books over this afternoon:

From Amazon.com:

Futute of an Illusion – Freud

Civilizations and it’s Discontents:

The World’s Religions, Revised and Updated (Plus)

 

Post questions in the comments below.  Thanks!

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Reed College iPad Study

Posted on May 3, 2011 by bbullard

Here is the study (in Media) completed by Reed College on the faculty and student response to using iPad’s an an exclusive platform for reading and annotating large pdf files.

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Diving Deeper: A Progress Report

Posted on March 31, 2011 by mhutchinson

Making a splash with 8 IPads

10 weeks ago I wrote a post, “Paddling.” We had only just received our 8 ipads and I was experimenting with them. In the time since, our use has exploded. Teachers K-4, both homeroom and subjects, have been signing them out. The good news: they are in demand and overbooked. The bad news: we need more! We now have over 80 apps loaded on our ipads. See them here. A crucial part of this increased use amongst the faculty was involving them with the ipads. I did this a number of ways:

  • Suggested teachers take an ipad home to play with them and investigate the apps.
  • Find apps and make suggestions for the teachers as they reached different parts of their curriculum.
  • Include iPad use at our faculty meetings. In one, as we were preparing for our integrated unit on Rivers Around the World, I gave them assignments using Rivers of the World and Easy Globe Lite. In another, I had them free explore in partners.

Here are 3 notable projects to share with you.

Earthquake

Science Project: Earthquakes

In a third grade science class, the boys went on to the app Earthquake Lite to see earthquakes as they were happening around the world. They were able to see the time, the locations, and the strengths as each earthquake happened. They then played with Quake Builder.

 

Tap DJ

Music Project: Create!

Our music teacher eagerly gave out the ipad and had the boys explore three apps with partners: iDaft, Touchsounds, and Tap DJ. He then had them use Beatwave to create several layers of music.

Strip Design

Afterschool Photography Project: Strip Design

I began one of my afterschool classes by introducing the boys to Photo Shot. This helps them practice zooming in and out to take careful pictures. We then took pictures to use in the app Strip Design to make cartoons. A huge hit and easy for the boys (second through fourth) to use.

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iPads in the Classroom via Kathy Schrock

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Alex Ragone

Looking for amazing iPad resources?  Kathy Schrock, an amazing web content producer has done it again.  Check out her iPad resource page here.

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The eBook is Different

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Alex Ragone

Fred Bartels posted this great video about the future of the eBook to our NYCIST listserv this morning:

Theodore Gray–Wolfram Research

 

A must listen for those interested in the future of the eBook. 

More on Touch Press’s apps are available at their web site.

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Read It Later

Posted on January 22, 2011 by bbullard

My new favorite app, thanks to Alex, is Read It Later. Open a link to any article on the web, save it to your Read It Later account with one click, and read it at your leisure, beautifully formatted as a text article, on any mobile device. For the iPad, purchase ($3) the Read It Later Pro app and download the Read It Later plugin to your computer’s Firefox browser. Find a web page or article on the web that you want to read later, click the Read It Later icon on your browser, and the article will appear in a list on Read It Later on the iPad. The first time you use it, you’ll need to set up an account by entering a username and PW. After that, it’s pretty seamless and a great way to use the iPad to collect articles that you can read later and not have to be connected to the web. Another big plus is that Read It Later reformats the web page as a clean, very readable column of text, including graphics, whose appearance you can continue to manipulate in a number of ways.

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