ICT For Educators

Interview with Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder

2013-03-17T22:09:00.000+08:00

During the almost thirty minute interview with Steve Wozniak, students at the Techlife conference in Singapore were given the opportunity to ask questions to the co-founder of Apple. He explains how Steve Jobs and him started the company and where they got their inspiration for their early products. He tells them that they set out to create a social revolution in communication by making it possible for anyone to be creators. Wozniak explains what makes a good software engineer and his favourite Apple products. He predicts the important technologies of the future and where he sees Apple in this future. In closing, he gives advice to students on how they can be successful.

The Skype call with Wozniak started with a few technical glitches and Wozniak getting laughter from the eager audience by pointing out that even he sometimes has problems with technology and how computers can fail.

How Apple got started:

He went on the answer the first question on how Apple got started. Wozniak tells the audience that he had always wanted a computer and was determined to make one himself once he could afford to do so. Computers at the time were largely being made by hobbyists and really could not do anything that was practical or solve problems.

The computer that he created was different in that it was an affordable device which could actually perform functions and drew a lot of attention from local computer enthusiasts. When Steve Jobs came to visit him, he noticed this and suggested that the two of them start a company together. Wozniak was working for Hewlett Packard (HP) at the time and tried to pitch his idea to them first. After being turned down five times, he decided to give it a try without the expectation that they would actually make much money from what they were doing. They got to work on the Apple 1 in their garage, where they packed things together on a bench, tested them and then boxed them up to sell.

Wozniak points out that is was not until they started working on the Apple 2 that Apple really became a company with it being the computer that could help Apple become a big, rich successful company because there was nothing else like it. It was a full functioning computer built from the ground up. With the help of an angel investor, they were able to get the company up and running.

"You need a technology revolution to make the social revolution happen".

Inspiration for the Apple 1 and Apple 2:

The second question asked how Wozniak got the inspiration for the Apple 1 and Apple 2 computers and and the thought processes he went through considering how advanced this technology was at the time.

Wozniak explains how these computers were created at a time when people could study the inside of computers and how registers (little bits of 1's and 0's) were used to make operation codes to tell the computer what to do. Out of this, he explains, came microprocessors and the ability to create programs. The real inspiration was the power of these computers to to provide a technology revolution to create a social revolution in areas such as communication, education and the workplace.

The Business Plan:

Wozniak explains that they really did not start with a great business plan. They began with the goal to create PC boards to make some money where they could build one for $20 and sell it for $40.
They got a $50,000 order without any money so they bought the parts they needed on a 30 day credit. After ten days of work, they were able to bring the computers to the store to get cash. With the Apple 2, there were able to secure an investment of a few hundred thousand dollars from an angel investor.

Social Revolution in Communication:

Wozniak went on to tell the students that Steve Jobs and him believed that computers could bring about a communication revolution by giving individuals access to the technologies only afforded to large companies in the past.

The characteristics of a good software engineer:

When asked about what makes a good software engineer, Wozniak gave a passionate answer, describing such individuals as artists who are on a personal rather than financial endeavour to put the user experience first. They simplify the code and the interface to make this happen. A good engineer, he explains, cares about the size of the program and the user always comes first.

The best Apple product

When asked what he thought the best Apple product was, Apple pointed to the iPhone 4 and the iPhone in general for its ability to put the power of a computer in a mobile device. He went on to say that his favorite device is the Macbook Pro because he likes to multitask when using a computer.

The next big technology

When asked about the next big technology to benefit people, Wozniak pointed out that often the most disruptive technologies are those we can't see coming. He suggested that big breakthroughs may come with flexible displays, wearable technologies and improvements with voice recognition technologies.
When discussing voice recognition, Wozniak hints at the superiority of Google's technology for its ability to better contextualize results through its awareness of the world around you. He believes that the true ability for voice recognition to pick up the subtleties of human speech is still far from perfect and may not be so for another forty years or so.

Will Apple still be a powerhouse in ten years?

The simple answer to this question is yes. He believes that Apple's financial reserves secures it a successful future and that the ups and downs of its stock price are not a good indicator of the company's real value.

The App Store Revolution

Wozniak believes that the great revolution that Apple has brought is the App Store. It made it possible for anyone with technical ability to start a business and be successful. It makes it possible for youth to create something for the world and points to the fact that the big tech companies (Apple, Google, Facebook) were started by young people with a passion.

Advice to students

In offering advice to students, Wozniak reminds them that every step is important to the process of becoming successful and that repetition is important for innovation. In his closing words, he tells them to not merely rely on manuals and textbooks but to "think of how it should be written, and write the book yourself from scratch".

Wozniak Skypes in to answer student questions at Techlife 2013

2013-03-09T03:16:00.000+08:00

Steve Wozniak Skypes in to answer
student questions

I am helping to supervise at a completely student run conference at United World College in Singapore called Techlife. The 24 hour conference involves students who are passionate about technology teaching each other and sharing ideas.

The highlight of the conference was a Skype call with Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, where students were given the chance to to have a thirty minute Q&A session. Much of what Wozniak offered some great insight into where he saw technology heading and gave students gave advice on how they can succeed with their passions for technology.

I am going through the video and will continue to add more posts and video clips for the session.

Integrating technology in PE

2013-01-25T10:07:00.001+08:00

I recently had the opportunity to join our PE team at a PD hosted by Jarrod Robinson - also known as the PE Geek - on integrating technology into PE. Jarrod introduced us to a number of great tools and resources to help PE teachers make better use of technology in their lessons. As he pointed out, professional coaches have long been using cutting edge technology to train athletes and mobile devices now make it possible for anyone to access these kinds of tools at a fraction of the cost and with much greater ease. Our PE teachers enjoyed the practical, hands-on focus of the PD and have already started implementing what they have learned into their classes.

With the rise of mobile devices and app based learning, there is now an enormous selection of affordable tools for PE teachers to choose from such as apps for video analysis, replay, tagging, communication, assessment, health tracking and so forth. The ability to have all of these tools in one device that fits in your hand has transformed the ability to use technology on the fly.

According to Jarrod, there has been a thousand fold increase between 2011-2012 on Google searches for apps related to PE. This shows that the demand for technology integration is not limited to the traditional classroom and is expanding to various other subject areas. PE teachers have often been overlooked in the push to use more technology in the classroom and it is great to see that more resources and PD opportunities are opening up to them.

Here is a list of some of the apps that teachers learned during the PD:

Coach's Eye ($4.99)
This is an essential app for any PE teacher or coach who wants to capture what students are doing and guide them to improve. The app enables you to record a video and then do a voiceover together with screen annotations. Video analyses can easily be saved and shared, making them ideal for providing students and parents with feedback on how the child can improve. This app, although designed primarily for coaching, would also prove useful in any classroom.

Bam Video Delay ($4.99)

This is another great app for offering students feedback on specific skills. You can set the app to record what students are doing and set a timed delay so that they can replay what they did to be more aware of what they need to do to improve. The app can be set to record one screen or bring up four different screens, each having separate time delays.

Sprint Timer ($1.99)

This is a great photo finish app which utilizes the same technologies as professionals to show the winners and their times. The app can be activated by the start gun or whistle and provide either a photo or video finish.

SloPro (free)

Slow Pro is an app that is great for PE but could also be used in multiple subjects where you want to slow down the movement of an event to analyze it. The app works great in conjunction with Coach's Eye where you could slow down the video and then offer video analysis.

Dartfish Easy Tag (free)

Easy Tag is a multi purpose app which can be used across a variety of subject areas. You can set criteria that you are looking for and tap the box each time you see evidence of it happening. In PE, this could be looking for evidence of specific skills in a sport. Given than teachers can set the criteria and boxes as they like, this app as a lot of flexibility.

Coach Note ($1.99)

Coach Note is a must have app for coaches who want to go over plays with players. There are templates for multiple sports and you can also add your own custom ones. With a variety of tools and the ability to record and share your coaching, the app is quite powerful. One suggestion for using this app is to have a portable projector so that you can coach small groups of students during a game or on the go.

Health Apps:

Cardiograph ($1.99)

Cardiograph really shows how app creators can use mobile devices in innovative ways that you would not think would be possible. By placing your finger over the device's camera, you can record your heartrate. This can be a useful tool in a PE class and eliminates the need for a separate heart measurement device.

iMuscle ($1.99)

iMuscle is a beautiful app which focuses on muscles to help people exercise more safely. It includes interactive 3D models which help target those muscles for improving overall fitness.

Virtual Heart (free)

This app provides an interactive view of the heart and how it looks with different heart rates. The heart rate can be adjusted. The app would work in conjunction with cardiograph where you could match the student's heart rate with what it would look like using the Virtual Heart app.

Digital Portfolios and Assessment:

Posterous Spaces (free)

There are rumours that this service may soon disappear but currently it is an easy way to create a simple website to share photos, videos and comments.

Easy Assessment (free)

This app was developed by Jarrod Robinson himself and makes it easy for teachers to assess students using rubrics. They can import class lists as a CSV file through Dropbox or add students and classes manually. This can be a great way to gather evidence of student learning which can be shared with parents during conferences. The key drawback at this point is that the data lives on the device itself and can not be shared via the cloud.

Three Ring (free)

Three Ring is an app that I have written about previously and has enormous potential for assessment and ePortfolios. It now has the ability to add student and parent accounts and allows educators to share everything in the clous. The major drawback I discovered during the PD is that you can not upload videos from your camera roll but only directly through the camera. This is problematic for teachers who want to record several videos for editing or to add videos created in apps such as Coach's Eye.

Google Drive (free)

If your school uses Google Apps, Google Drive is a great way to share content with your students and parents. You simply use the Google Drive App to upload photos, videos and screenshots to your Google Account and you can create folders which can easily be shared.

Evernote (free)

Evernote is one of the most popular apps available and works on virtually every device. You can create notebooks for your various classes or students and upload photos, notes and other content. The largest drawback with Evernote is the inability to upload videos.

QR Codes and Augmented Reality

QR codes have become a popular way to make displays more interactive. Our teachers have been using it with their display boards as a way to link to videos that have been uploaded to Vimeo. There are lots of free apps to scan these codes, making it easy for visitors to your school to access the media that is linked to the codes. My favorite app for creating and scanning QR codes is Qrafter Pro ($2.99). The Physical Educator Website has some great printable QR Code Posters

Aurasma (free)

In a previous article, I pointed out how easy it is to make displays interactive using the Aurasma Augmented Reality App. Unlike QR Codes, you can embed the media by interacting with the image itself and the content is uploaded to Aurasma's servers. This makes creating Auras much faster than QR codes and eliminates the need to print out separate, somewhat unattractive, QR codes. The app is free to download and is available on multiple devices as well. The drawback is that users will need to specifically download this app and subscribe to your channel. It is somewhat more difficult for them to know how to use Aurasma compared to QR codes which can simply be scanned with any supported app.

Some Suggestions:

Our PE team has been testing out devices over the past few months and were given an iPad, iPod Touch and iPad Mini. They determined that the iPad Mini is the best device for a PE teacher since it is large enough to do some editing and small enough to hold in one hand.

Be sure to get a good case for any devices used in PE. We decided on the the Griffin Survivor Case which provides great shock and water protection.

Consider wireless solutions for projecting to screens in a gym or other space. Our school is currently testing out the Apple TV as a way to wirelessly project any Apple device. This works great but can be tricky for your IT department to set up since it is designed for a home network and not an enterprise one. It requires turning on multicasting and may involve licensing fees through companies like Cisco. Other options include apps like Reflector which allow you to connect your computer to the projector and project your iPad through the computer. This works pretty much the same as the Apple TV but requires the addition of a computer.

Consider the purchase of a pico projector, tripod or iPad stand and and a portable screen. This would make it possible for PE teachers to project anywhere, which could be very useful when playing outside or when there is a bit of time before a game to allow for some last minute coaching. In fact, we are thinking about putting together a PE teacher kit which could fit into a gym bag that PE teachers could carry with them which would include an iPad Mini, mini projector and screen, tripod and possibly a device called a Swivl.

Sweet Search is a curated search engine for students

2013-01-20T14:52:00.001+08:00

When students need information, it is easy to tell them to just Google it, but there is no guarantee that popular search engines are going to provide students with safe, reliable results.

Sweet Search is a search engine dedicated to education and includes sources which have been approved by educational experts. Teachers can be more confident that students will find more relevant information without stumbling on inappropriate websites.

Students and teachers can either search the website directly or embed the widget into another website such as a class blog or school website.

4 Things Apple Needs To Do To Be Cool Again

2013-01-16T20:06:00.000+08:00

I have updated my post this week to add two more things that I think Apple needs to do to be seen as cool again and to maintain its edge over competitors.

It appears that Apple is starting to lose its mojo with teens as they start to see Apple products as no longer being cool. Instead, teens are gravitating towards new devices such as the Surface and Samsung Galaxy. This is great news for Microsoft and Samsung, but could spell disaster for Apple. With its stock losing nearly 20% in the past three months, Apple is clearly showing signs of losing its edge.

Apple was able to rest on its laurels for a while when the iPhone and iPad were new innovative products which had little real competition. Such is less so the case now as other companies are starting to give them a real run for their money. Without innovation, the company may continue to lose momentum in the marketplace.

In education, many schools have completely bought in to the Apple marketing machine and decided to brand themselves as Apple schools using the iPad and Macbooks. In fact, the iPad has actually proven a great success for the most part in aiding teaching and learning despite the numerous headaches of managing these devices. I have no doubts that tablets are the way of the future of computing once they prove that they can do everything our computers can do. The iPad is currently my 80% device but I still need to rely on my computer for some of the things I do, including posting to my blog effortlessly.

It is more difficult to justify having students purchase expensive Macbooks to do things which can mostly be done on the iPad or even cheaper alternatives such as Google's Chromebook. Schools continue to move towards cloud computing and apps. In our school, for example, much of what students do is done using Google Apps for education. While they continue to use their Macbooks for things like iMovie and Garageband, most of their publishing is done in the cloud.

Although the iPad is proving an amazing tool in education, it lacks the power to be the all purpose computer. The touchscreen is great and there is an app for just about everything. However, teachers and students still need the power to do more and the ability to type with ease. Apple is not there yet but other companies, such as Microsoft, are starting to prove that a touchscreen tablet can also be your computer. The Surface RT did not succeed well in proving this but the Surface Pro may very well become the new computer of choice if Apple does not innovate quickly.
Admittedly, the new Windows 8 tablets have been slow to catch on, but if the shifting attitudes of teens are an indicator, they may quickly gain momentum and be the new cool alternative to the iPad.

To be cool again, Apple needs a new innovative product which combines the best of the iPad with the Macbook. It needs to be like the Surface in many ways but better and cooler and enable users to use it with the vast selection of apps already available in the App Store (for both the iPad and Macbook). It is Apple's app ecosystem that gives it the real edge over companies like Microsoft. However, Android is gaining popularity and will likely beat Apple to the race to have one million apps.

The first thing Apple needs to do:

I suggest that Apple get rid of the Macbook Air as we know it and replace it with the iPad Air which would be a thin touch surface screen and a foldable (or attachable), thin keyboard. It would be much like the Surface in many ways or Lenova's Yoga laptop, but come with Apple's attention to design and, more importantly, its ecosystem of Apps and cloud syncing between devices. The new tabtop computer, if done in Apple's usual style, would make it appear as though Apple has created the great new device in computing, even if Microsoft and others already have a similar product on the market. The new device could be as big as the current Macbook Air (11 inches) but be an iPad type device with the full power of a computer.

The Macbook operating system has continued to move closer to that of the iPad with Mountain Lion having a very iOS feel to it. The new device could use Mountain Lion or an updated operating system which marries iOS with the Macbook to combine touchscreen computing with a full powered computer which could run both iOS and Macbook apps. It could be priced between that of the current iPad and Macbook Pro and prove the perfect device for consumers and educators. The Macbook Pro could serve those who need a computer with more power under the hood. I suggest that Apple introduce this product this spring and price it at around $$800-$1000 to be competitive with devices such as the Surface Pro. Although more expensive than the iPad, which starts at $500, it would be cheap enough to prove attractive to many consumers and schools.

The second thing Apple needs to do:

Another area which has enormous potential for Apple, is TV. Rumours of an (actual) Apple TV have been around for quite some time but Apple has yet to show any real signs that it will shake up how we watch TV. I believe that Apple is working on partnerships with TV companies like LG to put an Apple TV type service into televisions and is also working on an Apple TV (much like the current one) which would work with existing TV sets as an external device, to bring games and TV to the living room. In addition, Apple could put the technology into its own large computer monitors such as the iMac.

This would compete with established entertainment systems like the Xbox, Playstation and Wii and would potentially change the whole way that we consume TV. Cord cutters have long been looking for the day when they can enjoy a-la-carte TV together with live television in a way which is fluid and affordable. The huge barrier to this reality is content providers who fear having happen to them what happened to music companies as iTunes offered up cheap, downloadable songs. However, there is clear momentum happening which is bringing us closer to a reality where we can enjoy our shows much like the way we currently enjoy apps. Numerous companies want to be the one to do this well but Apple stands to win this race if it can get the right content deals in place. Again, they need to act fast and do it well if they do not want to lose their out to companies like Microsoft or Google.

The third thing Apple needs to do:

Apple needs to stop thinking they can tell people what they want to buy. Jobs vowed he would never make a smaller tablet because people didn't want one. Clearly the popularity of the iPad Mini proved this wrong. The declining demand for the iPhone 5 is likely due - at least in part - to the lack of innovation of the iPhone 5 and demand for phones with larger screens such as the Galaxy S III or even Galaxy Note. A whole new market is developing for fablets which combine large screens with phone capabilities. I suggest Apple either introduce a new product which is somewhere between the size of the iPhone and iPad Mini or add a phone to the next iPad Mini (at least as an option). Otherwise, Samsung will continue its rise and soon be the one on top as the Glaxy Note gains popularity.

The fourth thing Apple needs to do:

Apple needs to tear down its walled garden and be more open like Android is. A few things Apple did in the past year have really angered even its most loyal fans. The change of dock connector, while perhaps necessary, forces people to spend money on over-priced adapters and cables. The sudden upgrade to a fourth generation iPad just a few months after the third generation one was released, upset the early adopters. The lack of real innovation of the iPhone 5 made it appear that Apple is in it more for the money than for wowing consumers with a great new product. The lack of retina display on the iPad Mini ( while still being far more expensive than the Nexus 7), made Apple look like they were cutting corners for the sake of profit margins.

Apple may be losing some of its mojo recently and many question whether they can get it back without Steve Jobs to provide creative direction for the company. My thinking is that the company still has a lot of magic left up its sleeve but that it needs to act fast if it wants to continue to remain cooler than companies like Microsoft or Samsung.

Google+ Now Available for Google Apps for Education

2012-11-16T21:40:00.001+08:00

Today, I received an email from Google to notify me that Google+ is now available for Google Apps in Education.

This is something that we have been waiting for for a while since it opens up the possibility for whole new ways for teachers to collaborate and share information.

The most exciting feature is the availability of Google Hangouts and Google Hangouts on Air where live sessions can be recorded and uploaded to Youtube. This will make it easier for teams to collaborate and for us to offer scheduled PD sessions which can be archived and available on demand.

As part of the EdTech team at our school, one of our goals this year is to offer more tailored PD for teachers, by teachers. The availability of Google+ and Google Hangouts for education will make it much easier for us to achieve this goal.

Why we need to go 1:1 with mobile devices

2012-10-28T21:25:00.001+08:00

We have been using iPads for almost a year and a half now at our school with a lot of great results. The problem, however, is that they are being shared and students are not really being given the opportunity to make them their own personal learning devices. This hinders our ability to really achieve genuine technology integration.

Why sharing doesn't work well

Our ultimate goal is to get teachers integrating the iPad (and other computer devices) into the classroom seamlessly and in ways which transform the classroom itself. We do not want it to be seen as computer time or as a distraction from the natural flow of the classroom. There are some examples of this happening but teachers are getting too caught up in having to schedule iPads and figure out ways to get students to share content created on the devices with them. In addition, there is the headache of having to manage apps, keep the iPads charged and safely locked away, and making sure that students are correctly logging into and out of various accounts. The end result is that using the iPads (and other computer devices) are often seen as a hassle to use. What could be a five minute activity using the tool becomes a whole lesson of frustration.

Why mobile devices are a great choice for the 1:1 classroom

While I think that having some access to iPads or any other computer device is certainly better than no access at all, we can certainly do much better if students each have access to their own and be able customize it to their own individual needs. I am referring to iPads here but this would certainly apply to any similar device. I do believe that mobile devices like the iPad are ideal for 80% or what most students need and are the best type of device for students to really use both inside and outside of school. With the ability to now get a powerful device for under $400, we are reaching the point where we really could get technology into the hands of all students. The touchscreen interface of tablet computers means that we do not have to force children to sacrifice good writing skills with typing. With a simple stylus and a handwriting app (GoodNotes, Inkflow, WritePad, etc) children can still maintain a balance between having good handwriting with learning how to use a keyboard.

More tech doesn't need to mean more money

If it were up to me, I would ensure that all students from at least grade 3 (and even lower) have their own mobile device (which they own and manage) and that the school provide access to computers and other extra devices for when they are needed. This places less burden on schools to provide all the computer hardware and IT support that needs to go with this and instead allows them to focus more on ensuring they have a solid Wifi network and technology coaches to provide teachers and students with the training (skills based and pedagogical) to use technology effectively in the classroom. The change to a 1:1 model in schools ultimately does not need to cost more. Mobile computers are cheaper than traditional ones and having students take ownership and responsibility for them will mean far less time and money being spent on maintaining them by the IT department. The availability of cloud computing virtually eliminates the need for rooms full of expensive servers in schools. The availability of amazing online resources and ebooks reduces the need to purchase expensive textbooks and spend money of photocopying and paper. This is also a great environmental incentive to get the technology into the hands of every student.

Who buys the technology?

In some cases, this may mean the school purchasing the devices and providing families with iTunes Gift Cards to buy required apps. This is the model that I saw being used when I visited schools in Australia and it seemed to be working very well. The problem with this model is that the school maintains ownership of the devices and makes it less likely that students will be able to really make them their own. My suggestion here would be to have schools either lease the devices to families so they own them over time or simply just give them to the families. Another option is to have each family purchase their own device and bring it to school (BYOD model). In the private school that I work at, most families already own an iPad and would not feel that having to purchase one would be overly expensive. This, of course, could be more of a challenge in areas where families do not have such economic means. Perhaps an ideal solution would be to have governments (or private organizations) provide assistance for schools or families that can not easily afford to purchase the devices (and required paid apps).

What can you do once you go 1:1?

Once a school does decide to go 1:1 with mobile devices like the iPad, here are some suggestions of how can be used to better support a technology integration model:

Use the Google Apps for Education Suite for its communication and collaboration features. The Google Drive App also lets students create their own documents and upload photos and videos to their account with 5GB of free storage.

If Google Drive is not enough for cloud storage, make sure that each students has their own Dropbox account and encourage them to also use iCloud as a way to back up their documents and photos.

Have each student create an ongoing ePortfolio with a blogging service like Blogger. They can maintain the same blog for a number of years which they can use when applying for post-secondary education.

Use Edmodo to get your students collaborating with you, each other and the broader world.

Have each student create an Evernote account to organize all their work inside and outside of school and use it together with other apps that support Evernote such as Explain Everything and Skitch.

Take advantage of great free resources from iTunesU and replace expensive textbooks with cheaper online resources and textbooks. Teachers (and students) can even create their own content using iBooks Author.

Make sure that students have the apps they need to express themselves creatively. Definitely consider apps (or similar ones on other platforms) such as iMovie, Voicethread, Garageband, iPhoto, Keynote

Piktochart is a great tool for creating infographics

2012-10-15T18:00:00.000+08:00

Infographics have become a popular way to make data more engaging and easier to understand. One great tool to help teachers and students to create these is Piktochart.

Getting students to make an infographic is a great alternative to posters and helps students to make their thinking more visible. It helps them to visualize large amount of data so that others can easily grasp the main ideas.

Piktochart offers affordable pricing options for education, making it an affordable way for schools to get students to create their own infographics.

Mathletics introduces teacher and student apps

2012-10-14T14:17:00.002+08:00

Mathletics has been popular in schools for several years now for learning mathematics. The programme enables children to learn important skills through interactive activities and the ability to compete against other students around the world.

Until recently, it was difficult for students and teachers to access the site on a mobile device due to issues with Flash. Educators will be happy to know that the company has released apps for both teachers and students, making it much easier to use the programme on a mobile device. The iOS version is available now with the Android version coming soon.

Goodbye QR Codes, Hello Aurasma

2012-10-14T11:02:00.000+08:00

Last year I spent of lot of time creating QR codes to bring student work to life. Students attached videos to artwork and classroom displays and created book trailers which could be watched by scanning the QR code attached to the book.

Aurasma is a new Augmented Reality tool which will make QR codes a thing of the past. Now you can activate various types of media (videos, photos, 3D images, etc) just by opening the app and pointing your device at a photo, object or landmark.

You can use the Andriod or iOS apps to view Auras created by others as well as create your own. You create your own channels and location based ones can be made public and viewed by anyone using the app.

This would be a perfect way to create interactive tours of your school. You can also get access to Aurasma Studio and create Auras on your computer. This way, channels can be made public and others can view the content by subscribing to this channel. A few ideas of have thought of for using the app include interactive tours, yearbooks, art exhibits, portfolios, scavenger hunts, off site learning experiences, etc.

Try downloading the Aurasma Lite app for yourself (free) and point to this photo to see how Aurasma has been used creatively by companies. Try creating your own by linking a short video to an image or object. This is one app where you will be asking yourself, "How do they do that"?

Meograph makes it easy to create multimedia stories

2012-10-14T10:29:00.000+08:00

Meograph is a new online tool which makes it easy for people to

"easily create, watch, and share interactive stories ... [and] combines maps, timelines, links, and multimedia to tell a story in context of where and when".

How it could be used in the classroom:

Meograph would be a great tool for students (or educators) to retell any event. This could include major events in the news, biographies, timelines of a historical event, etc. Once created, the interactive story can easily be shared or embedded into a site or blog.

Concept Based Learning Infographic

2012-09-22T11:29:00.000+08:00

I am currently at an IB workshop on the role of technology in education in Bangkok and one of our assignments yesterday was to create an infographic. My group was asked to show how technology can be used for Concept Based Learning. It is not complete, but here is what we came up with in about 45 minutes. We just used Pages on the iPad to put it together.

The perfect IWB using an Apple TV, an iPad and the SMART Notebook App

2012-09-02T10:01:00.000+08:00

A few months ago I wrote on how you could use an app like Splashtop Whiteboard or Doceri to get the key features of an interactive whiteboard for a fraction of the cost. For the most part, this is still a great option. The main drawback, however, is that you are controlling your computer from a mobile device using these apps. You are not projecting the content directly to the projector or TV.

Our school has installed a number of Epson interactive whiteboards which have largely been a waste of money due to the limitations of the software that comes with it. We began testing out the SMART Board which is a far superior option but is still a very expensive investment which I am not convinced is worth the cost.

Fortunately, SMART has just released their SMART Notebook app for the iPad which provides some great whiteboard tools to teachers and allows them to download shared resources from the SMART Teacher Exchange website. Another great benefit is that the app also supports AirPlay. This makes it the perfect companion for using an Apple TV in the classroom.

Now that both the iPad and the Macbook (using Mountain Lion) both support AirPlay and Mirroring, using an Apple TV in the classroom can provide great flexibility. Because content can be sent wirelessly, the teacher is not tied to the front of the classroom like they would be with a typical IWB. Content can be projected directly from the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch or a computer. Another benefit is that anyone in the room with these devices can share their screen with the class. Teachers could get any student to share their work without the need to have the student email content or come to the front of the room to connect their device using a cable. This helps keep a flow in the classroom and helps teachers to capture more of those teachable moments. Additionally, so much more can be shared than simply IWB software.

If you are already have Apple products in your school and have access to a traditional projector or flat screen TV, you can add the IWB for a little more than $100. Otherwise you would need to add the cost of buying an iPad for the classroom. Despite this expense, you would still be able to get an IWB alternative for a fraction of the cost of buying an a actual IWB for the classroom. To learn more about how to set up an Apple TV in the classroom, you may want to read this article.

Posted with Blogsy

5 Great Apps for Back to School that you may not have heard about

2012-08-04T10:15:00.000+08:00

Get started on the new school year with some great resources for your students. Here is a list of five apps that you will love but may not have heard much about yet.

Skoolbo

Skoolbo is a beautiful 3D world where children ages 4-9 can go to practice math and literacy skills. It recently came out of Beta and is now available for the PC, Mac, iPad and Android devices. To learn more about Skoolbo, please read my earlier reviews.

Three Ring

Three Ring aims to help teachers create authentic assessments by easily capturing student learning and digitizing paperwork. New features are promised very soon which will include admin, parent and student logins, giving Three Ring the potential to be the perfect app for creating ePortfolios from your mobile device.

Tiny Tap

Tiny Tap lets you turn moments into games by using your own photos and voice to personalize books for children. It is a great resource for students to use to create their own books for for parents and teachers to use to teach younger students new content. In our school we have reading buddies where older students are paired up with younger ones. I think that it would be great for the older students to use Tiny Tap to create interactive learning books for their younger partners.

Rover

Even though learning is clearly becoming more mobile, many great educational sites continue to only support Flash. Rover is a great app to access content from these sites on your mobile device. There are a number of sites which you can access directly through the app, or you can also browse other sites using the inbuilt browser. It may be be a perfect solution, but is as about as good as you can get for a solution at the moment.

Happly

Happly is a great app for kids to explore the internet safely. Children can get recommendations to sites that are tailored to their interests.

Here are three ways that you can watch the Olympics live for free

2012-08-03T23:31:00.002+08:00

Getting access to the Olympics over the internet can be very tricky if you do not live in the UK or if you do not have a TV subscription already. After a bit of searching, I did find three ways to access the Olympics on my iPad.

VPN One Click

This app is free to try and costs $0.99/month or $8/year should you decide to purchase it. It gives you the ability to access content from multiple countries, including the US, Canada and the UK. This is important, because two great ways to watch the Olympics require you to be in Canada or the UK to get live streaming. This App makes accessing a VPN very easy. Simply download it, let it automatically set up and then go to your settings and choose the VPN connection you want to connect to.

BBC 2012

If you live in the UK you already have easy access to streaming the Olympics. For those living outside the UK, getting access is not so easy. You need to access the UK App Store in order to download the BBC Olympics App. You can, however, go to the BBC site on your mobile device or computer and stream the Olympics after you have turned on your VPN using the UK option. I have tested this a couple of times and it worked well.

CTV Olympics London 2012

If you live in Canada or have a Canadian App Store account, you can download the CTV Olympics App. Again, using the VPN app and choosing Canada, you should be able to stream the Olympics. This did work for me but was less consistent that the BBC option.

Korea TV Pro

This is a free app that actually has a number of great benefits beyond the Olympics. You can use it to stream CNN (US and International), BBC, Bloomberg and other English channels. You can also use it to stream several local Korean stations. By choosing "MBC Yeosu", you can stream the Olymics live as long as you don't mind the Korean commentary and focus on Korean athletes. You can remove the ads on the site by paying $0.99 which is well worth it I think to be able to stream international news networks. To switch between the main menu and the streaming, rotate your iPad between landscape and portrait mode. This app will work without the need for any VPN.

Sorry, I know that this post is off topic from what my site is all about, but as we near the end of summer, I imagine there are several teachers out there that would like to enjoy watching the Olympics before heading back to school again.

If you have found other apps or sites to legally watch the Olympics for free on the internet or mobile device, please do share what you have found by leaving a comment.

Vyclone lets you and your friends share an event from all angles

2012-07-19T21:24:00.000+08:00

Imagine being able to take all the video recordings of a single event by multiple users to automatically create a multi-angle video. Vyclone is a new app which utilizes the power of social collaboration to do just that.

Vyclone makes it easy for multiple users to connect with each other to share their videos of the same event and have them seamlessly stitched together as one video without the need for time consuming editing. The created video can be shared to popular social sites such as Facebook and YouTube as well as to your camera roll.

I tested the app today by signing into the same account on my iPhone and iPad and adding myself on both devices. I was able to still create my video even though I was signed into the same account on both devices. This is a great benefit for people with multiple iOS devices who want to record an event from different angles.

Application in Education:

Whether it be a school assembly or class performance, you can always find many parents recording the event on their mobile device. Teachers could also hand out multiple devices to students or colleagues to capture the event from multiple points of view. By using Vyclone, all these perspectives can be added to a video without complicated transferring of videos or the need to use video editing software. Currently, the app is only available for iOS devices but it should not be hard to find several audience members recording an event on there iPhone or iPad.

To get a more in-depth description of Vyclone, please check today's article by TechCrunch where I first learned about the new app.

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/vyclone/id521680614?mt=8

10 Tips for Effective iPad Integration

2012-07-19T20:38:00.005+08:00

10 Tips for Effective iPad Integration

Schools around the world have come to see the potential of the iPad and other mobile learning devices in the classroom. Because the adoption of these technologies in education is such a new phenomenon, many teachers are finding themselves struggling to effectively integrate them into the classroom.

Over the past year, I have been working with classes to help teachers integrate technology into the elementary school curriculum. After reviewing some pilot projects in Australia and Singapore, we decided to use iPads from kindergarden up to grade 3.

In looking back and reflecting, I have come up with a list of ten key tips to help teachers more successfully deploy iPads and other similar devices into the school.

Get the new technology into the hands of teachers early

One of the mistakes that is too commonly made in schools is putting new tools in teachers hands and asking them to start using them without sufficient training or lead time.
If you want teachers to naturally integrate the iPad (or any other new tool) into the classroom, you need to sell them on the value of the device. We were fortunate that our iPads arrived before summer vacation and encouraged every teacher and support staff to take one home for the summer. If possible, I would recommend putting these new tools in the hands of teachers at least six months in advance and offering PD sessions prior to using them in the classroom.

Start Small

I was very eager to get teachers using the iPads in creative ways, but quickly realized that many teachers were feeling overwhelmed and were not ready to take big steps. By attending planning sessions, I was able to find specific curriculum areas where each grade could focus on using the iPads more. We started with the goal of a unit (rather than an app) and then found ways to use the iPad to support the goal. If nothing else, teachers may want to start using the iPad as a way to document learning and class events.

Provide ongoing PD and Support

This is key to successful integration and does not need to involve several formal PD sessions throughout the year. What is essential is offering PD as it is needed and will often involve sitting in with a grade team or individual teachers to help solve their problems quickly. By having a flexible schedule, I was able to get into classes when needed and work with teachers individually when they were feeling stuck. In many cases, this might just be to teach them how to share a video with parents, but the support helps to reduce frustration and anxiety.

Leverage the Early Adopters

Not every teacher is going to be excited to change the way they have always done things to try something new. Many will resist change and will question the value of adding more technology to the classroom. The easiest way to convince these teachers is not to lecture them but to instead work closely with the more passionate teachers on projects that are willing to try. These teachers will spread the word and their optimism can become infectious.

Come with a plan for sharing content

Finding efficient ways to share content from the iPads has been one of the most frustrating parts of using them in the classroom. Since they were designed to be a personal device, it is not easy ways to keep content organized and shared. In a previous article, I wrote about solutions I came up with to deal with the headaches of sharing. Picasa has proved to be a great way to share photo albums and getting a Vimeo Plus account is a good idea for sharing large video files. Apple’s iCloud service can be a good way to back up your photos and documents to the cloud.

Come up with a plan for Sharing among teachers

Before the deployment of iPads, our school had a computer lab which teachers booked at least one period each week. However, this approach was not consistent with our beliefs about effective technology integration and we decided to move away from the computer lab model.

We had enough iPads for a 1:4 ratio so I decided to put at least a few iPads in each classroom (3-6) as well as to make some available in a cart which could be borrowed when needed and returned when not. Teachers were also encouraged to share with each other to get a class set when needed. This has not been perfect, but overall has worked well for most teachers.

Come up with a plan for syncing apps and the devices

When I started my job as a Technology Literacy Coach, I never imagined that I would need to spend so much time managing the devices. Apple has largely addressed this issue in the US with its Configurator App, but the Apple Volume Purchase Plan is not available in most countries. I found the best solution for us is to create a separate Apple ID for each grade level and turn on iCloud and auto syncing of apps. This helps to reduce the need to download apps onto each iPad individually. For each grade, you can create folders for apps they need onto one iPad and then sync the other iPads from this image.

Get involved in team planning sessions

In order to really help teachers integrate technology into their classroom, you need to have a good understanding of their curriculum. By attending planning sessions, I am able to get a better understanding of what teachers want to achieve within each unit and research the best apps and websites to help them. I also keep copies of each grade’s long range plans for the year so that I am aware of what they will be focusing on. It is important to not let the technology itself dictate the curriculum, but rather to find the best ways to use technology to support the curriculum.

Engage and empower the students

Engaging students with the iPad is not a difficult job. If you show them how they can creatively use the device to express their ideas, you will get them on board quickly. Empowering students can be more difficult because many teachers are unwilling to give up power in the classroom. They will argue that their students are too young to do some of the things you are asking of them or that they need to be monitored. Kids pick up things early and are often the best teachers for their peers.

Celebrate successes
Let others know all the wonderful things that are being done in the different classrooms as a way to promote and celebrate a culture of technology integration. You can show examples of what students are doing in school or classroom newsletters or displays or even through writing your own blog and sharing your successes with others around the world.

Friends of Quinn is an online support Community for those living with Learning Differences

2012-06-29T21:33:00.000+08:00

If you are an educator, you have very likely met many students who struggle in school because of a learning difference. Friends of Quinn is an "online community for those with learning differences, as well as their friends, parents and family".

Please forward this website to those whom you think would benefit from it; whether it be a colleague, parent, friend, family member or student.

Creating Book Trailers with iMovie

2012-06-28T19:00:00.000+08:00

Our grade 5 students recently used iMovie to create book trailers to promote their favorite books. From these trailers, we created QR codes and attached them to the front of the book in the school library. Other students can simply scan these QR codes to view these trailers created by other students.

The goal for the next school year is to get students from all grades involved in creating their own book trailers and attaching the QR code to as many books in the library as possible. Students expressed that they really enjoyed watching the book trailers created by their peers more than professional ones created by publishers since they seemed more authentic and honest.

Here are a few examples of the book trailers which the students created.

The tale of Despereaux Book trailer from ipad-tk on Vimeo.

The Hunger Games from ipad-tk on Vimeo.

Hotel For Dogs by: Lois Duncan from ipad-tk on Vimeo.

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies from ipad-tk on Vimeo.

Kicksend Lets you share unlimited photos and videos privately with others

2012-06-27T21:11:00.000+08:00

Kicksend is a free, multi-platform file sharing service which lets you privately share photos and videos of unlimited size to others. You can use it on your computer or mobile devices to very easily share your files and choose the people who you wish to share them with.

I have tried several of the popular file sharing services available and was amazed at how easy it is to use Kicksend and was very surprised that there appear to be no limits on what you can share. The new service makes file sharing private and social, allowing you to control who you share with. I think of it as Dropbox meets Path.

For educators, this can prove to be a great way to share photos and videos with colleagues, parents and students. You can download the desktop client from the company's website or get their free iOS or Android apps for your mobile device.

POWTOON Promises to bring Awesomeness to your Presentations

2012-06-27T11:53:00.000+08:00

Powtoon appears to be one of the most exciting presentation tools to have come along in a while. The new site, which is still in beta, provides all the tools needed to easily create your own animated presentations. Although the site focuses more on the business market, it would be a great tool for students to create their own presentations.

Powtoon has the potential to let students express themselves in whole new ways by combining the elements of presentation software with the interactivity of video creation software like iMovie. To get added to the list of beta testers, you need to go to the site and enter your email address.

Watch the Google I/O Conference live

2012-06-27T11:29:00.000+08:00

Apple and Microsoft have both had their big news events and this week is Google's turn to be the center of tech news. With Google expected to introduce its own tablet, this should be an exciting event.

You can watch live coverage of the event directly from my blog simple by clicking below.

Skoolbo core skills game now available on the App Store

2012-06-18T17:49:00.001+08:00

A few months ago, I introduced Skoolbo after meeting the founder, Shane Hill, at an educational technology conference in Singapore. Mr. Hill also founded popular educational games such as Mathletics, Spellodrome and World Maths Day.

Skoolbo is a free educational game which teaches core literacy and math skills through an interactive world where students compete against other kids or computer generated characters, by racing to correctly answer questions.

I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find that the game is now available for the iPad in the App Store. Additionally, the game should also be available for the computer as well as other mobile devices very soon (if not already).

Skoolbo is free for kids and is designed to keep them challenged by adjusting questions according to their responses. This is great for differentiated learning. As children answer more questions, they can earn badges, superhero costumes and certificates. For an affordable subscription fee, teachers and parents can get detailed feedback on progress.

I tested out the new iPad version of the game this afternoon and was impressed by the overall design and gameplay. It is a great way for children 4-10 to learn core skills while having fun in the process.

Photo Beamer makes QR codes seem kinda cool

2012-05-30T20:19:00.001+08:00

The new Photo Beamer app from Scalado ($0.99) lets you project the photos in your camera roll on any web enabled screen, simply by pointing your device at a QR code on photobeamer.com

I have been using QR codes in the classroom quite often this year, usually as a way to link to photos and videos that students have uploaded to Vimeo or Picasa. It is a great way to add interactivity to displays by letting you actually see the process work or by having the child tell you all about it. Having them around the school really brings life to the things on display. Our grade five students are currently creating book trailers using iMovie and we will attach QR codes in the books themselves so that children can scan them to watch the reviews.

The Photo Beamer app uses QR codes in a way which I have never seen before and never thought possible. You simply open the app, choose any photo in your camera roll, and then point your device at the QR code on the company's homepage. The image then appears on the screen and you can continue to swipe to show all your images. Teachers could get children to take some photos and then easily project them on the classroom display without the need for any uploading, cables or software. It has never been easier to start a slideshow.

Scalado is probably a company you have never heard about but their products are in more than one billion phones, helping to make photo viewing more efficient. They also have a few other apps which look very cool.

Tiny Tap Lets You Turn Moments into Games

2012-05-26T13:44:00.000+08:00

The new free Tiny Tap app makes it possible for anyone to create interactive children's books using their own photos and voice. It is a great ways to create personalized books to teach children about almost anything.

Creating stories with the app is quite easy and straightforward. You start by adding photos to your story. You will then be asked to record your questions. For each question, you simply trace the part of the photo with the answer.

You can then set the responses for the correct and incorrect answers. In the sample book I created from the farm picture, one question asked "Where is the pig". If the child touches the pig they are congratulated for their answer. If they touch another part of the screen, they are asked to try again. You can also add from a selection of music to add to your story.

After you have created your story, it is added to your list of stories and can also be shard via email, Facebook or iTunes. There is also a store where you can purchase or play stories which have been professionally created.