Mr. Riley's Blog

iCal, How to Subscribe to a Calendar

2014-01-29T10:09:00.002-05:00

Transitioning to iPads is tough but one cool feature is using the iCal app to subscribe to School, Teacher, or Sports Calendars. My students use my classroom calendar daily to keep up with tasks, if they "subscribe" to my calendar then due dates or other information is pushed to them. I can schedule assignments, post test dates, etc. Students like the ability to subscribe and have also added the School calendar and their sports teams. Think homework pad only greater. Students have a much bigger picture of the schedule ahead and are learning time and project management faster than before.

To Subscribe to a calendar

Using Safari on your ipad go to the calendar you wish to subscribe to
Select the "Green" iCal button
You will see a URL, Copy it by holding your finger down on the address, then select all.
Now select "settings" on your iPad
Select the "Mail, Contacts, Calendar" tab
Select "Add Account"
Select "Other"
Select "Add Subscribed Calendar"
Paste the URL by holding your finger in the URL box "paste" option should appear
select "next"
You can change the description name to match that calendar. Select done
Open iCal and your subscribed calendar will appear.

iCloud - What, Why and How

2014-01-21T11:57:00.001-05:00

iCloud is another awesome and useful tool for students and teachers. If you enable apps to backup from your iPod or iPad to iCloud, they are backed up and accessible through any internet device. No more USB drive, no more "My Keynote won't open in PowerPoint," or I forgot my USB. Everything is automatically backed and can be presented or downloaded by signing into any desktop. I have students now who use iCloud to present keynote presentations or download a pages assignment as a Word Document to complete or turn in at school.
To get started:
Go to - www.icloud.com
Sign in with your iTunes ID

On your iPad/iPhone
•Go to settings / iCloud
•Under account sign in with your iTunes ID and password
•Select the APPS to sync

You will have access to whatever apps you have enabled on your device
You can easily share a document
thorough email to another student

Work on a project from home
Share templates
Distribute work to students
Back up your work!

I also use the "Share" Link to create QR codes and "Share" templates with students to expedite progress.

Screen Shots, How To and Why

2014-01-16T10:04:00.004-05:00

One of the great things about using your iPad is creating quick, easy to follow "How To" posters. I like to take screen shots on my iPad and import them into Pages or Keynote. Then I can write steps for students to follow and display around the room. The advantage to the iPad over the desktop is the ability to create these handouts on the fly, what one class has an easy time with, another may struggle. Now I can differentiate or assist different groups quickly and easily. What can start out as a simple discussion can now be a solution for groups of students.

Take a screen shot on your ipad

•Press and hold the Power Button and the “Home” button at the same time

To add the Picture to a document

•In Pages, Keynote, Numbers, etc
•Select the + sign on the top right side
•Go Photos
•Select My Photo Stream
•You can add any of your photos from your iPad
•Once added select the picture then the paint brush to format you photo
•Add borders, reflections etc to your photo to direct attention
•Select an area outside your picture
•Select the + sign
•Select the "square" to add a shape like an arrow to direct attention to a point

Add PDF's to iBooks

2014-01-14T13:21:00.000-05:00

As a classroom teacher I need access to certain PDF files regularly. My Curriculum Guide, State Standards, etc. If you open any PDF file in Safari you can add that file to your iBooks library. This way you can access the file quickly and easily.

Hope this helps you stay organized

Your School iPad

2014-01-10T09:02:00.002-05:00

Step 2
Now that you have created your iTunes account it is time to "sign in" to your iPad. By "signing in" you have the ability to personalize your experience, back up data, and enjoy the full power of this tool.

To Sign In

Look for the "Sprocket" icon on your iPad ( Settings )
On the Left hand side look for iTunes and App Store
Select Apple ID
Sign In
I choose to have all purchases automatically download ( cause I am lazy )
I did not sign up for iTunes Match ( I am cheap )
Now press iCloud
Under Account sign in again
Select all except mail to back up to your iCloud
To back up your notes onto your iCloud you will need to create a new "notes" email address

You may never use this email again but it can be handy to back up your notes online
We will discuss iCloud and its advantages later

Now that you are signed into to the app store you may need to update many of your apps
If your district pre-loaded apps on your device and they are "Free" apps, you should un install them and re-install under your Apple ID.
If you do not then they may not update properly.

Coming up:
iBooks
Itunes U
iCloud

Creating an iTunes Acoount

2014-01-09T14:31:00.001-05:00

As a Teacher I would like to keep my personal apps and and iTunes experience as separate from my professional teaching iTunes accounts. When I received my iPad I created an account for free, used the schools contact information ( Address, Phone, and email) because I want this to be completely separated from my personal account. Remember when you sign up for and download apps your contact info and user info will be displayed. In my opinion it is more professional to use the district owned information.
Step 1 -

If you don't have an iTunes account you should set one up. I am attaching a HowTo" guide so you can create one without handing over credit card information. This can be especially helpful when you ask students to create iTunes accounts. What if you want a paid app? I purchase iTunes Gift Cards and apply the credits to my teacher account.
You will need iTunes on a PC or Mac to begin, sorry you can't do this part on an iPad. This iTunes ID will become your iCloud ID and your iTunes university ID, something we will discuss later.

My Teacher iPad

2014-01-09T10:52:00.000-05:00

You may recall that last year I received an iPad to use in my classroom. As a Google Apps user I have found the transition difficult but I have made strides. My posts during the new year will be focused on how I configured my iPad to use in school, Apps that I use with students or for class management, and other tips.

Google Analyitics

2013-03-27T12:51:00.002-04:00

A few nights ago I gave a brief presentation on Google Analytics. It was a great class and we had a great conversation about how to use this great and powerful too. This video is a copy of the presentation I gave. Please post questions as comments.

Feedly replaces my Google Reader

2013-03-22T10:51:00.001-04:00

Ok now that I am over the shock, disappointment, and outright fear that Google Reader is going away I am trying a few new services. First up, Feedly.
Feedly made things very easy for me to move my 1000+ or so feeds over. Yes I said 1000+ feeds. When I first began using Feedly I did so on the Google Chrome App. I must say I didn't understand the user interface at first but after a few days I felt much more comfortable.
Unlike Reader Feedly displays a picture next to the article.

I was a bit overwhelmed at first. Then I realized that the same "categories I had set up on Reader were still here. I could mark categories "read" by selecting the checkmark on the upper right hand side of the screen.

Or by selecting the number of articles listed for that category.

The mobile version on both the iPad or Android is much easier to use and navigate. I could do everything I could in reader but much faster. I also feel that article snippets are much easier to read on Feedly than reader.

I am going to try a few other options out but for now Feedly is my Reader replacement.

No More Google Reader!!!!!

2013-03-14T10:01:00.002-04:00

It seems that Google doing quite a bit of spring cleaning. Look, Oh No! Google Reader is going away on July 1, 2013! So what to do?
Well the fine folks at Google put up a way to export your feeds to an XML file so you may import to a new service. I followed the directions and through Google Takeout I waited about 30 seconds for the Takeout to do its thing and then downloaded the file to my harddrive. TechCrunch predicts that the loss of Reader is the signal RSS is going away for good. Say it aint so TechCrunch! I really love getting my news and updates this way. I just don't have the time to visit these sites or go through a trillion Tweets a day.

So now that I have my feeds I need to find a new service. But where? I really don't know what I am going to do and would love some feed back. See some alternatives below.

Some Alternatives
Phandroid writes that Feedly Welcomes Google Reader lovers like me.
waurb Waurb uses RSS feeds to deliver content that is based on your interests to your own personal, easy to view, Waurb feed. You can also add to the waurb experience for everyone by adding the RSS feeds of the websites you visit. We then do the hard work for you and calculate which articles are worth reading with our clever little algorithm.
skimr Use Skimr without an account or sign up for free to customize the default set of websites on the home page.
totally.me Totally.Me pulls together all your social accounts, news headlines, bookmarks and widgets into one experience!
headslinger Scan your favorite sites' headlines in a matter of seconds Store your favorite news sources in quick, easy to find folders Share your reading list with friends and family No ads and FREE to the world!
feedfiend Feed Fiend is a web-based RSS reader that makes it easy to follow the sites and blogs you love without much technical knowledge. Traditionally, RSS has been the stuff of tech-savvy web users. But Feed Fiend makes it simple to follow the feeds you care about.
newsblur Limited to 64 sites for free or unlimited for a $1 a month.

Locking students into a single iPad app

2013-03-11T09:35:00.001-04:00

As I continue to struggle to use the iPad productively in the classroom I have found some worthwhile apps and tricks. My struggles have brought me to one major decision and that is if students are not able to use the iPad 1 on 1 then this is just a lesson enhancer not a tool. Also if students do not have an email address, cloud storage options, and constant internet access, then the iPad should only be used to allow students enjoy 1 single app. This app should further explore a lesson objective. For example, Let's say you want to have students dissect a frog. You purchase the Frog Dissection app from Emantras so students can learn. However your school only has iPads available on the ipad cart. Not a problem.

Go to the iPad settings
Under "General" look for "Accessibility"
Now look for "Guided Access"
Turn "Guided Access" on
Enter a passcode - 4 digits that you can enter quickly
Open the app
Click the "Home Button" 3 times very fast
"Guided Access" will open
You will see the available choices to "lock"
Click the "Start" button

Guided access is now in effect and students can now use the App, swipe across the screen and learn. However the only app they can access is the one you gave them access to.
I found this is a great tool to keep students on task yet still use the app
No students can not Save work, print or access anything else. No it it not perfect but if this helps you get an iPad into your classroom then start here.

Viewing a Cahced Page

2013-02-13T11:10:00.000-05:00

There are times when you will need to find a webpage before it was last updated. This "Cached" image of that webpage can be found in a number of ways.

1 - WayBack - The wayback machine is simple and easy. Just paste in the website address and hit enter. You will be able to view the Page as it appeared on certain dates. Yes you are limited to the last time the "crawlers" indexed an image of that page. In some cases this can be months apart.

2- Google It - Yes you can Google for the Cached image of a page. Find the URL of the page you are looking for. Then paste this code in the address bar. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.example.com/.

You will see the page as it appeared the last time Google took a picture.

Need more? Read this very well written article By search Engine Showdown for a great list of site archive resources.

My School Ipad

2013-02-12T09:59:00.002-05:00

So here it is. My school iPad. I feel like I have set myself up for success here and now I just need to put it into practice. I think these apps will really help me begin to use the ipad successfully and some sense of professionalism and productivity. I am not done discovering new apps but what i do know is that this is a good beginning.

First things first. This is NOT a computer. That was my initial and biggest hurdle. Second, an ipad will not work properly on its own and is dependent on apps that work in concert with one and other. Another major problem is that students need to be able to access these apps, many of which require user names and passwords. The problem that I have is asking children to create user names and passwords for programs that are not controlled by the district. If parents would like to set up home ipads that is fine. A teacher asking students to create passwords and user names that the district can not control is just bad business.

To use the ipad successfully students need:

Email Access
Cloud Storage

Either Hotmail or Gmail will fit the bill however Google Apps is available for purchase and that would allow the district to control much more of the student experience.

I would like to hear back from others as to how your district manages student iPads.

PicView

2013-01-31T13:48:00.001-05:00

PicView looked like a pretty cool app. Actually it looks just like PhotoStory but you can use it on the iPad. Only bummer is that the app is blocked by our school filters.
PhotoStory is a great presentation tool so I thought that I could open up PicView and move a students work off the PC and onto the iPad. Then see if a student could complete the PhotoStory requirements using PicView. Unfortunately I ran into this little road block of not being able to access PicView. I am sure if I preregister at home then bring the device to school things will work out just fine. An experiment for another day.
Anyway here is a great article on PicView from "The Next Web."

PollEverywhere

2013-01-30T09:11:00.001-05:00

PollEverywhere seems like a fun way to keep engaged with mobile users. It is a free service that allows users to to create and reply to polls in real time form a mobile phone. For a free account you may receive up to 40 responses per poll. I don't think I would use this in the classroom but I do see a big advantage to a classroom Teacher who needs to take surveys from Classmoms. Imagine if you are a grammar school teacher and you are having a celebration. Why not put up a PollEverywhere survey and have parents reply back to you. Have the results run live on your website so everyone can see who can chaperon or bring supplies.
I also like this for certain clubs and activities like Scouting or P.A.L. Sports.

Nearpod for ipads

2013-01-29T10:22:00.000-05:00

NearPod offers a synchronized all in one iPad experience in your classroom.

Since I found EdModo i wasn't going to even bother with NearPod but then I read just a bit more about it. What I read really got me thinking. Teachers create a "SlideShow" presentation using their iPad. Then they have the ability to "Push" that presentation out to the students in the classroom. NearPod even alerts the Teacher if a student leaves NearPod for another app. That is awesome! It is hard enough to monitor students in a computer lab let alone on a device that can be easily hidden from view. You can also add Polls to check for understanding, add videos, and other dynamic elements.

You will need a student and teacher version of the app
I am really excited to try this out, however I currently have no internet connection at school so I am unable to download and experiment.
I really like what I have read about this app and can't wait to try it in practice
What I like about EdModo is that I can still use the app / site on a desktop not just the iPad. Not sure is NearPod is the same.
Hopefully I will be able to connect to the internet so I can download the app and update this post really soon.

edmodo

2013-01-28T12:27:00.003-05:00

edmodo has some really great possibilities to be a one stop website for my classroom. Sure I have a website right now and I use it everyday to communicate with my students. I post assignments, Tests, How To videos, and announcements. One problem is the communication is only one-way There is noway for students to ask me a question or comment back on an assignment. Another problem is now that I am trying to use iPads in my class I really don't want students going back and forth between 4 different apps just to get a project done. This seems to be a great way to communicate and deliver information both ways from Teacher and Student.

When you sign up for edmodo as a Teacher you will be required to enter the usual personal information that we all hate to give out. Real name, School, etc. However once registered you will be brought to a page that looks VERY similar to your Facebook Newsfeed.
Next you create a "Group." You will need to give edmodo some information regarding Grade Level and subject. There are advanced privacy options available to you to moderate comments and posts and once students have joined they will receive a code which locks them in.
There is a way to make your posts public or private. I like that.

Once you create your Group its time to invite your students

Once they go to the edmodo they should select "I am a Student"

Then enter the Group code you received when you created the group

They will need a user name, password and enter in the first and last name

I will pre-plan this and use the login names and password to the network they received from the district

Yes, it sounds like a pain but I want this to work and I want to micro-manage a little bit. It will also allow me to "police" the site a lot easier.

It also maintains some consistency across the technology

Experiences:

It was very easy to set up the group

I did find it a bit frustrating when it came to commenting as a student to the group but then I realized I set all students to be "Read Only" What I should have done was allow them to be collaborators but I should "moderate" all comments

I am going to try this out with my administrators next week as a test

Should be fun =)

I really want this to work and I am really hopeful that edmodo will fill a void that I feel is missing. What I really like is that I can access edmodo from any computer or tablet. This means as long as I can get online I am part of the edmodo group.

Author Stream

2013-01-25T08:59:00.000-05:00

One of the most popular posts on my blog has been Combining two or more PowerPoint Presentations. It's also one of my most popular YouTube Videos. Another popular post has been Turning PowerPoint into a Movie. My students appreciate being able to access my PowerPoint presentations from my website and the easiest way for me to do that was to convert them to movies. Students also like how I can leave that movie playing when they are working independently and refer back to it during class.
Some Teachers and Students create presentations with custom animations and would like those animations to continue working during the PowerPoint movie. That was not possible until now. Author Stream is a free service that allows you to turn your PowerPoint presentations into videos, custom animation and all.

FYI - Some features may not play on an iPad such as sound and some motions

Finish for the iPad

2013-01-24T09:19:00.001-05:00

Finish for the iPad costs $.99 but it may very well be worth it. I first learned about finish from TechCrunch who gave the app which was developed by a pair of high school students a big thumbs up. I did not download the app yet but, from what I have read I do see some benefits over other task management apps like InClass.
How it works:

Basically you set up your project short, mid, and long-term due dates
As you complete them just check them off
The next task moves up in the To-Do list
As you input your tasks Finish will change them from mid-term to short-term as the due date approaches
The process is completely automated, no thinking or checking a specific day
The hardest part is inputting the dates
The advantage of Finish over the calendar app is that it keeps reminding you until the activity is complete
I emailed the app developers asking them if there was a way to subscribe to project dates or have them pushed to an account. This would make an easy sale to any classroom Teacher.
Imagine having your homework pushed to your iPad everyday? So convenient and really that would really be beneficial
I would pay for that!

inClass for iPad

2013-01-23T08:21:00.002-05:00

I first read about inClass for iPad on iPadsforschools.com It seemd like a pretty cool app so I checked it out. iPadsforschools.com described inClass as a place to keep a variety of notes and said it would be a helpful tool for a science lab. I focused in on the second paragraph, where inClass could be used as a reminder. I color code my grading rubrics for my students to help them with time management of long term projects. I could see the value in having an app like inClass that would allow students to "program" in due dates and project timelines.
inClass experiences:

I like how I can set up my tasks by term and instructor.
This is basically a notebook and daily planner in one
I really liked how I could enter in instructor contact information. That will make it very easy for me to share information off the iPad to the instructor
Students may share notes through the app
Students will need an email address to completely set up the sharing.
What I could not find was a way for me as instructor to share due dates, files, etc.
Students will need to subscribe to your iCalendar.
To share inClass to your computer you must have iCloud set up. I do not and will not have iCloud. i assume if I did I could preload my assignments and due dates there and allow students to download to inClass.
I also thought it would be a great tool for parents and families to monitor family iPads

meraki

2013-01-22T10:38:00.000-05:00

meraki is a 100% Free mobile device management software. That's right FREE. I am a classroom teacher who wants to use an iPad in the classroom. So I go down to the library and and take out the iPad cart, wheel it to my room and set it up. When the students come in and begin working some may not have all of the apps needed to complete the project. Or some may have access to too many apps. So now what? I have a classroom filled with 24 students who are having a very difficult experience on this new technology. They are restricted from downloading apps and I am certainly NOT going to log into iTunes on 25 different machines before the end of a class period.
That's why I see the value in meraki. I emailed my Technology Administrator that I was having issues. He was busy but with a quick tap of a finger was able to reload all of the required apps to my cart of iPads. Later he showed me how not only can he manage the apps but he can see what students are currently working on. So now he can monitor what students are doing on the iPad and keep them on task.
My first thought when I saw this Free app in action was "Where has this been?" This is the app that a classroom really needs and I hope it continues to develop. Ideally the app would have an administrative control and a local controller. So the administrator could control ALL iPads, and the Teacher could manage the iPads on that local cart. By giving the Teacher local control, the Teacher could monitor students and manage apps locally. This could be a huge discovery.

For Android and iTunes

Teach by Knowmia

2013-01-18T13:15:00.002-05:00

Knowmia for Teachers seems to be a pretty cool app. At first glance it appeared to be nothing more than a pretty cool PowerPoint style app that could allow me to notate slides and create some really neat presentations. Then I went to the Knowmia page to get some ideas and came across Jenny Sawyers Page. WOW, This is cool and this is a Teacher who brings some pretty cool technology and lesson ideas into the classroom.
She raised the bar and now that I see what Knowmia can do it is time to get started and see what I can create.

You will need to create a Knowmia login and account. Great ANOTHER account, which means that students will need to login to another website AND register their names and email addresses someplace else. More importantly they will need to remember that password. Ugh! I was able to do this on the iPad itself which was nice but I had to download the app and THEN open up the browser, go to Knowmia and fill out an humongous form. This app is geared more for the Teacher than Student but I already know that my Students will create far better presentations then I will. I don't feel comfortable asking students to give out so much personal info just to use an app even if there was a way for them to register.

Experiences:

Once set up Knowmia was really easy to use, really easy

I had a bit of trouble aligning text and other elements but that would have been avoided had I paid attention to the tutorial.

Knowmia has a lot more features than Haiku but is just as easy to use

I put together a short Knowmia presentation in no time at all

Knowmia is definitely more for the Teacher to show the Student "How To" or to summarize a topic

I did like how once I registered my Knowmia files were saved to the Knowmia site

I really enjoyed going through the Knowmia library to see what other Teachers have uploaded

I wanted to break the iPad out of frustration when trying to import images from the "Web Search"

If I am this frustrated what will happen when a 14 year old gets a hold of this in a similar situation?

Sometimes I would choose an image only to have something completely unrelated get pasted into my slide.

I tried to publish my Knowmia to the Knowmia website but I had to fill out another huge form to do so. I get why because it helps the Knowmia community but it was just a little bit irritating.

Then I found out that all Knowmia presentations must be at least 30 seconds long in order to be published.

I also tried to publish to my DropBox but when I tried to open it on my PC I could not. The file type was not found.

I handed my iPad off to some students throughout the day and asked them to evaluate Knowmia. They watched the training slide show and were off. 3 for 3 fell in love and said they could use this in class. 1 will download it at home.

QR Reader for the iPad

2013-01-17T08:22:00.000-05:00

QR or Quick Read codes are a great way to deliver information to a mobile device. I posted about sites that help create QR Codes here. I have them trough out my classroom on most of my "help" or "How To" posters. I encourage students to scan the QR code and use those documents at home.
You must have a QR Reader on your device in order for the QR to be accessed.

You can use QR Codes to create

document downloads
Text or clues
Links to videos
Links to other sites
Phone #
Email Address

Some sites allow you to create a custom color or shape of your code.

QRReader allows you to Scan, Create and store a history of QR Codes. A very helpful tool for the Teacher who is trying to use tablets in the classroom and has students who have a hard time in-putting web URLs or finding certain documents. Just put a QR code in a place students have access to and allow them to navigate to the designated location.

iPad
Android

Skitch

2013-01-16T08:57:00.000-05:00

Skitch is cool, really cool. We all know that pictures say a thousand words, but what if you want to draw attention to a particular part of a picture? Wouldn't it be cool if you could draw and make notations on that picture just like Madden?
Skitch gives you that option. Once you have your picture you can

Draw arrows
Add Text
Add outline shapes
Draw (like using a Sharpie)
Choose different colors
Blur out information ( like Personal accounts or text)
Crop

You can Save these pictures to your Evernote account or like I did just take a screen shot. If i were using this for a personal account and wanted my wife to send me a picture of exactly where the Kitchen sink were leaking then I could see the value in creating and or saving to Evernote. For my purpose, taking a screen shot and using Skitch to create notes on my images was more that helpful.

I used Skitch to create a "How To" on Haiku. It was great, took me seconds, and students really appreciated the simplicity.

I recommend Skitch and I am eager to see how else Students will use this.

Haiku for my iPad

2013-01-15T08:40:00.000-05:00

Haiku for the iPad "is a completely new kind of presentation software designed to make your slides stunning. Whether you are pitching an idea, teaching a lesson, delivering a keynote, or igniting a movement, Haiku Deck makes presentations simple, beautiful, and fun."
I was really excited about this App. I thought it would be a great alternative for Teachers to use in the classroom. Students could use the iPad to research and create a presentation. This could happen all on the ipad which would be a goal of mine and my peers. When I first found Haiku I thought I finally found the productivity tool that we could use.

Haiku allows you to:

Adjust the privacy setting for your deck
Add notes to make your deck content richer
Grab an Embed code for your blog or website
Download a sweet-looking PDF to use as a handout
Easily share your deck to your favorite social sites

My Experience:
Haiku REALLY believes that only 1 idea should appear on a slide
They HATE bullet points and charts
The truly focus on the visuals behind the text. Let the Pictures tell the story
They believe you should "Present your information."
Adding pictures to slides seemed tortuous at times. It searched and searched and......
I was able to add photos from the Camera, Camera Foll, Facebook, Dropbox, Drive.......
This may or may not be a problem for Teachers and Students. Unless Students have the ability to access those services then Haiku won't work
Yes, I was able to navigate around some picture issue by going to the web, finding a picture, then using a screen shot to capture and import.
In a real classroom this would not work at all
I was really hoping that the Haiku image search would work. But 15 min later and still no images. Could be our schools network but this just won't cut it.
When I used Haiku at home the images loaded much faster. Haiku did a good job of scanning my slide and suggesting images based on keywords. That was better and it proved once again how we need a bit of a boost in our network bandwidth here.
I also downloaded another app called Skitch, something I will write about later. Skitch allows you to draw and make notes on pictures and i used in conjunction with Haiku.