Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org

Taking Flight - Mobile Devices Blur Boundaries

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:47:00 +0000

Source: http://goo.gl/rOLxk

Facilitated by mobile devices, blurred boundaries of work/school and home bring opportunities for conversation with our children, don't they?

My 18 year old, when I ask what she's doing texting as we head out to dinner, quickly points out as she hands her phone over--voluntarily--that she's collaborating on her homework. Good thing, too, since her homework is often over my head. That kind of response took one colleague by surprise, when she asked her son why he was doing this at the table at a restaurant. "Sorry, Mom," he replied, "we're working on our big chemistry project and I needed to answer a few questions." Children are nimble learners amidst schedules that adults impose on them for their own good.

While it's clear that mobile devices can be employed for social activities, often at inappropriate moments, in my home, education activities take precedence. If you have work to do--writing, reading, calculus--then it's a priority over social gatherings during the "work/school" week. My Dad taught me that lesson. "I'll wash dishes, son, if you have homework." What an incentive to focus on learning, what a powerful lesson to send about my role in my children's lives.

And, I'm starting to see more of this collaborative texting, learning in sync, showing that thinking and learning ARE 24/7 types of activities...you don't just shut down or flip off the switch. Of course, having written all that, modeling how to "shut down" and tune out the incessant hum of content, lay aside the role of curator, creator and collaborator...that's essential.

Of course, I did remove the phone from a teen's hands last night, like I once removed a hard plastic toy from my child's hands, as she slept curled up, guarded by a fierce teacup poodle. Oh oh...I may get maudlin.

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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin's blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure

#Google Edu resources launched

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:18:00 +0000

google.com/edu

You know, it's amazing how many neat web sites are launched per day. Here's 3 more to add to your social bookmarks, courtesy of Tia Lendo at Google (she shared it via the Google-Certified Teacher list I get to lurk on, thank you so very much):

Check out 3 new resources we launched today for educators and education-enthusiasts. Thank you to the MANY people on this list who contributed stories, feedback, and support:
(1) WEBSITE- A newly-improved website, google.com/edu, which is a one-stop-shop for Google in Education.

(2) +PAGE- A Google in Education Google+ page, which has news, tips,and discussions (goo.gl/G42c3).

(3) BOOKLET- A booklet, "Google in Education: A New and Open World for Learning,” which describes how people are using Google’s education resources (google.com/edu/about.html).

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Thanks Joe Smith @ TexasISD.com!

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:25:00 +0000

Technology - http://www.texasisd.com/cat_index_37.shtml

When I stopped being a columnist for Education World and TCEA TechEdge, I gave some serious thought to seeking publication sources elsewhere. And, though, I've published in several print magazines, written a chapter--or collaborated in two cases--in a book, had my articles featured in books, etc., I have to admit that the greatest satisfaction in writing thus far has come from this blog, Around the Corner! I don't receive any pay for blogging and find it difficult to imagine my blog festooned with advertising, which I tried once and cringed at the sight.

It's hard to believe that when I started blogging 6 years ago or so--about the same time Wes Fryer did, as a matter of fact--for fun, for learning, that I would find myself still doing it long after my initial burst of curiosity. That Around the Corner readers continue to visit, read, comment, and share flashes of reflection and learning day after day boggles the mind.

As exciting as it is to get published in print, I find myself addicted to blogging. It provides a "high" that comes from being in "the zone" and being creative. And, I also am grateful for the work of other hard-working authors and curators of information that are out there, like Joe at TexasISD.com. Though we've never met, it's easy to see how hard he works to keep Texas educators informed about what's going on.

As you can see from the screenshot at the top of this post, Joe was kind enough to feature TWO of my blog entries. He's done this enough times in a year that I "publish" as much to a wide audience of Texas folks as I once did through other publications. Wow!

This means my blog is read by superintendents, central office and campus administrators, and many others throughout the State of Texas. There are days I wonder if that's a good thing or not...but it must be because it allows sharing of a critical message that sometimes I don't think is getting through to them, insulated as they sometimes are by folks afraid or unwilling to have crucial conversations/confrontations with them.

Thanks to all Around the Corner readers, to Joe Smith at TexasISD for including content from ATC, and I hope that you will continue to find what is shared here worth reading.

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BYOD and iPad Filtering Solutions +

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:05:00 +0000

Source: Lightspeed, http://goo.gl/scosS
(no endorsement/preference implied)

What kind of solutions does your school or organization use for BYOD Filtering? I'd love to hear from vendors with products and what their features are for this new area in K-12!

Although this blog entry focuses on filtering, it does encourage technology directors to crowd-source resources for BYOD filtering, as well as share what devices they're jumping into, such as Android or iPad or something else.

We are going to a BYOD model next school year. We will be giving the "have-nots" a laptop (maybe Linux or Windows). In order to stay CIPA compliant I need to provide filtering for these laptops when not on campus. I may also have a need for filtering IOS and Android. I am looking for a cloud based filtering service for these devices. I have looked at Barracuda (but it does not work with Linux, based on what I read), I have also looked at Lightspeed. (but I noticed a lot of you abandoning it on this list)

An esteemed colleague, Bryan Doyle (Bastrop ISD), suggests keeping the following features in mind:

It had to be capable of managing the SSL connections for Google Apps to work
No client side software
A remote filter for devices that are off the network (just in case we need to go that route)
BYOT support to ensure an easy way to create a way for users to agree to the District's Responsible Use Policy and also authenticate to the network if they have district credentials.
A less expensive recurring cost
24x7 support is very important
Override functionality is also an important feature

Ed Newman has come up with a list of neat questions for BYOD implementation...

Do you have a wireless infrastructure that will support a device for each student?
Do you have a wireless infrastructure that will support (2.4/5 GHZ b/g/n)?
What do you plan to do if your wireless infrastructure will not support the wireless radio in a personal device?
How are do you plan to handle connectivity issues with the personal devices?
Do you have a way to handle mobile device management?
Do you plan to deploy Virtual Applications or Desktops to end user devices?

What additional questions would you ask? Question #6 is a fascinating approach because some districts are choosing to let schools use what device they want but pushing a "standard virtual desktop" that give everyone a uniform experience and access. One of the tools used includes Virtual Bridges (this is not an endorsement).

To facilitate clarity on features that school districts need, I've started a GoogleDoc and opened it up for fellow technology directors to crowd-source what they think is appropriate in 3 areas:

Filtering features
BYOD Questions
Districts deploying Android vs iPad

Source: Apple Insider, http://goo.gl/DTvAO

Some suggestions for filtering from Texas Tech directors include the following:

Barracuda Web Filter
Bloxx
CIPAFilter
Cisco Ironport - Per one source, "Ironport doesn't like anything from Apple and mobile devices. And those two pieces are fairly importan...It has problems authenticating both and requires a lot of management to get them to even see SSL sites."
Fortinet - http://www.fortinet.com/
Lightspeed - This product didn't seem too popular among tech directors in Texas who reported on its use, mentioning they had just switched to other products.
Impero Classroom Management
Microsoft ForeFront Threat Management Gateway
M86 - http://www.m86security.com/
Sophos Web Protection Suite
WebSense

Considerations when you're going BYOD/iPads:

How will it handle GoogleApps https:// ?
How do you handle filtering for devices that are district-owned and go into students' backpacks? Do you have them "phoning home" where "home" is the district or filter tool? Here's how someone put it: "That being said there is generally an assumption (at least in our community) that a district device is automatically filtered at all times. So if you are sending a device home I suggest you make sure you discuss exactly how that device may or may not be filtered when it is not on your network. That way everyone is on the same page with what to expect (whether you filter or not)."

In regards to that second question, I found this observation at the end of the article, When Web Filtering Comes Home, to be enlightening:

We are working on this very issue, and we have found it is almost impossible to send home the device filtered with iPad2's deployed to 735 middle school students. We are using JAMF Casper to deply apps and were hoping it could allow us to turn off Safari and only use a safer browser called K9 to provide filtered Internet access. However, Apple only alllows Casper to force 500 devices to check in at a time. Also, all a student has to do is turn off his wireless access on the iPad, and his device will not update to remove Safari. It's really been an uphill battle with the iPad. Our netbook projects at the elementary level do have filtered Internet at home.

Here's the big question: if parents provide Internet access for their family, who are we to monitor what happens at home? The kids are on the Internet all the time on their phones. It's not filtered. I think trying to decide what a family does with Internet access is one step too far. We provide the device at home. It should be up to the parent how it's used and how they monitor it.

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MyNotes - Exploring JAMF Casper for #iPad

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:58:00 +0000

Getting started with iPad management? Your best first step for a demo is to participate in the live iOS demo that is held every Tuesday at 2:00 PM CST. To register, please click here on next week's date: http://www.jamfsoftware.com/events

As I shared in several posts--you can find them here--mobile device management can save you a lot of white hairs and frustration. I finally had a chance to glance through Casper materials and here are some of my take-aways....

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MyNotes - #iPads in the ClassroomFive Essential Steps

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:34:00 +0000

Image Source: http://goo.gl/ZYyuJ

What a great article on how to approach redefining technology in the classroom. This article resonated with me for a simple reason. Today, I received a phone call from a colleague whose campus is applying for a grant. They want to put iPads in the hands of middle school students, all of them young women. What a neat deal! Of course, concerns immediately came to mind.

Source: Infographic, http://goo.gl/Z283w

More infographics:

DigiGirlz
Web Developers vs Web Developers (cute)

It doesn't hurt to keep in mind that more women are needed in STEM and embracing computer science...of course, do iPads and computer science go well together, really?

Among the concerns--management of iPads, deployment, training--was a much more important one. How would teachers and administrators go about changing the way they approach teaching and learning?

This article by Jennie Magiera goes after this question.

Quotes:

Education Week Teacher: Redefining Instruction With Technology: Five Essential Steps

Redefining Instruction With Technology: Five Essential Steps By Jennie Magiera

First, I had to learn a hard lesson: Just bringing new technology in your classroom and working it into day-to-day routines isn't enough.

The iPads were not helping my students make substantial progress toward self-efficacy, academic achievement, or social-emotional growth.

"What have we been doing so far with this technology?" Students used math apps instead of math card games. They'd made slideshow presentations for isolated units. They'd done some research on the Internet. In short, things were going ... OK. Nothing to write home about. Not what I would consider "worthy" of a $20,000 grant.

The problem, I began to realize, was my own understanding of how the iPads should be utilized in the classroom. I had seen them as a supplement to my pre-existing curriculum, trying to fit them into the structure of what I'd always done. This was the wrong approach: To truly change how my classroom worked, I needed a technology-based redefinition of my practice.

Break down to rebuild.

I would have to be willing to depart from what I had "always done" or "always taught."

By setting aside my pre-conceived notions of how my classroom "should" look, sound, and feel, I was able to transform my practice from the ground up.

Redefine with a goal in mind.

When rethinking your curriculum and classroom, identify the goals you have for yourself and your students. I focused on two important goals: increased differentiation and robust, efficient assessment. Next, I asked myself, "Can the iPads help me reach those goals?

a few examples:

I created interactive video mini-lessons to increase differentiation.

I used online student surveys and audio/visual apps such as Toontastic to allow my students to voice their emotions, curiosities, and academic goals in private.

To redefine assessment and differentiation, I employed websites such as Google Docs and Edmodo to create a faster feedback loop. These sites utilize color coding, instantaneous feedback, and automatic student grouping to allow me to immediately analyze data.

Get more app for your money.

I moved away from content apps, such as Rocket Math or Math Ninja, which are very engaging but only address a handful of standards.

I focused on student-creation apps.

students are now creating their own math videos, writing math blogs, and conducting challenge-based-learning math projects.

the app Educreations allows students to record notations on a virtual whiteboard along with their narration, generating a multimedia lesson or problem explanation. This app can be used to address standards in all subjects and engages students at the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy: creation. Other versatile creation apps and programs include Toontastic, iMovie, Garage Band, PaperPort Notes, Kabaam, Popplet, and Aurasma Lite.

Embrace failure.

encourage risk taking—and greater achievements.

Enjoy the results, reflect towards the future.

After redefining my classroom, the iPads were out all day, every day. They were being pushed to their limit so that my students could be pushed to theirs. This effort paid off: 10 times as many of my students scored at the 90th percentile or above on the 2011 state test as compared to the 2010 state test.

"[iPads] make me want to come to school every day because I know that Ms. Magiera has a lesson just for me."

Classroom redefinition is an ongoing process, and I can't wait to discover what tomorrow brings.

Jennie Magiera is a 4th and 5th grade math teacher and a technology and mathematics curriculum coach in Chicago Public Schools. A Teacher Leaders Network member, Golden Apple Teacher of Distinction, and Apple Distinguished Educator, she explores best practices in math pedagogy and technology in her blog, Teaching Like It's 2999, and on Twitter @msmagiera.

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Strong Relationships and #FOSS Saves Districts' Money!

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:14:00 +0000

Source: http://goo.gl/lARsH

A local equipment/furniture rental place ends every advertisement with, "We can SAVE YOU MONEY!" Unfortunately, I must have heard this commercial too many times and it's stuck in my head like a jingle you can't forget.

On a listserv today with other tech directors focused on free, open source solutions, a colleague shared the following story. It was such a motivating one, I felt I had to share it with you:

As I look at switching my district to Linux next year (servers with Ubuntu/Edubuntu desktops and laptops) I will need you guys [listserv] more than ever. As more and more schools face the budget crunch my distrcit has (and will again next year) I feel the FOSS movement will be more marketable....

Intrigued by this remark about switching to Linux, I asked her to tell us more....

I approached it from the financial standpoint. We had a $150,000 budget cut this year and were just informed to estimate a $140,000 cut next budget year. Every penny that I can save the district is one less cut that teachers must face that might impact their curriculum. I set up a demo unit to show the powers that be how advanced these “free” programs have become and challenged them to find something it couldn’t do.

But I do have to admit that this was an easy sell to the board as most critical services for our district are already web based and we had already pushed Google Apps out this year to great reviews. 69 desktops161 laptops (we are a 1:1 district 7-12)5 serversOur current ADA is 212. We will be using FOG to reimage the machines over the summer. But I am changing the common area computers (lounge, library, etc.) after spring break so that people get the opportunity to start seeing the new systems immediately to hopefully lessen the shock value in the fall. Also, all of my tech trainings (the third Thursday of each month) are going to be showcasing the new systems. My superintendent and principal agreed to give teachers comp days in August if they attend my summer trainings. I have to also admit (truth in advertising here) that I think my district’s small size is an advantage here. They all know me personally and trust my judgment. If I tell them I can make it work, they believe me.

Has this tech director come upon a formula for success? Consider the following:

The relationship she had with her peers enabled them to know her personally and trust her judgement. This enabled her to bring about powerful changes that some district leaders would scoff at..."Pshaww...Linux? Give our children a break! That's insane when Mac or Windows are available!" The power of relationship building proves that before you begin any major change, build a solid relationship with people.
Get top-level support from district and campus administrators.
Take advantage of web-based apps, such as GoogleApps for Education.
Use free solutions like FOGProject.org to facilitate reimaging computers
Offer frequent professional learning that highlights the changes being made.

Of course, some will argue that small is better in this situation. A PT boat (pictured at the top of this post) is more maneuverable than an aircraft carrier. More importantly, though, is making sure that #1 your relationships are strong, you have top level support, and you take advantage of free, open source tools and web-based apps with regular professional learning.

Kudos to the tech director in this district!

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Continuum of Control - #iPads, #BYOD

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:05:00 +0000

Source: http://goo.gl/iOY15

For someone who purports to not like iPads, I've certainly spent a lot of time exploring their use in K-12 schools! A quick review of iPad related posts looks like this:

iPad Deployment

Part 1 - iPad Deployment - Do Over.
Part 2 - Carts, Cases, and Peripherals, Oh My!
3 Tips on Flipping Your Classroom with iPads
Programming on the iPad = No Sharing
The World that Built iPad
iPad and Textbooks
How to Clone iPad Settings and 7 Other FAQs
iPads in the Classroom - MyNotes from a Great article

And, I've also detailed my own experiences with the iPad as I explore it and editorialize:

Recanting iPad Gloom and Doom
Blogging via iPad Blogger App
iPad Experiments Day 1 and Day 2, Day 3
The Mark of Apple
Tricks to Gmail on iPad
The Road is Open
Getting Video and Audio onto your iOS device

The reason for that is simple--although I have my preferences for the technologies I choose to use, I believe we need to find the right tools for the job. You can't do that if you shut down dialogue and, as the Crucial Conversations authors put it, move to "silence or violence."

The diagram shown above captures one representation of the Crucial Conversations silence or violence. My hand-drawn version of the diagram, which I drew based on my listening to the audio of the books, includes Mutual Respect, Dialogue, Trust in the grey circle where one finds "Safety" above and flips it sideways (not a major change, I know). As the authors point out, the longer it takes to travel back to dialogue and shared meaning, the harder it is to do so.

This comment is also relevant and I'm including it in the main post for now:

I was just showing my 13yo daughter the "Pool of Shared Meaning" diagram and we were discussing it. She made a neat observation. She pointed out that as we work on or build our relationships, our grey ring (safety, mutual respect, dialogue and trust) grows. And therefore, the frequency and likelihood of ending up in the red ring (silence or violence) reduces. So having a "wide" grey ring would mean that we have a "narrow" red ring...
What a great point! When we focus on building our relationships, we increase our capacity to build shared meaning in healthy, productive ways - instead of falling back into unhealthy, damaging habits like silence and violence.
Food for thought from my wise young woman... :-)

You can take a 33 question, "Style Under Stress" assessment for free. Since I've been working hard on my own skills, I decided to take the assessment today and saw this snapshot of where I'm at:

My Style Under Stress^™ Scores
Silence		Violence
Masking	1	Controlling	0
Avoiding	0	Labeling	0
Withdrawing	0	Attacking	0
Silence Total	1	Violence Total	0

Check the chart below and notice which aspects of silence (masking, avoiding, or withdrawing) or violence (controlling, labeling, or attacking) that you use. All behaviors that move you toward silence or violence have consequences.

Source: http://goo.gl/is0P1

What does this have to do with iPads? Consider that planning and implementing ANY kind of change can result in stresses to your work relationships. It's easy, as I pointed out in this post, to fall for the Sucker's Choice (another Crucial Conversations term), an either/or proposition between two poor choices that involves trading one for the other. For example, if we're going to do one to one, it has be done with iPads because our Community won't settle for less than the best. The other option could be something less desirable.

"The possibilities for learning, student interaction and enhanced campus services that the iPad unleashes will all come at a price," Kim says. "Nothing about a tool as wonderful as the iPad will lower the cost of constructing or delivering education."

Source: Joshua Kim as cited in FastCompany article

It's easy to fall into this trap because we want to provide the best to our children, we don't want to admit that we're "broke" as school districts. While the economy is solid, we can afford to skip this choice, or so we tell ourselves. The truth is more "wrinkly" than that.

One technology director recently wrote (anonymized) the following:

Teachers and students are using their personal devices as they have them, sharing when necessary. We also have devices available for checkout during the school day for those who do not have personal devices but need them for class.

This is one of those wrinkly issues, isn't it? The first inclination of school technology directors in various locales is a continuum of control that looks something like this rough-hewn sketch (did I mention I flunked art in Kindergarten?):

Where do you think remarks like the following fall in on the continuum of control?

I just came from a discussion at [regional service center]. The topic came up about [state org] only offering 1-1 training using Ipads. The uniform response was how unfortunate that it is that this is the only approach being promoted. NO one was taking this approach, and all are saying the same thing. Relying only on apps, and trying to distribute them is a nightmare.

***

"Personalization of the device is key to the success of implementation," shared one regional service center-based educator in Texas, "and people really embracing their use of it effectively."

***

"Because teachers already used iTunes, they could manage the iPads themselves."

***

We took the route of giving them the option to use their personal Apple ID. I really didn't want them to have a work and a personal account. My thinking was if they already had an Apple ID they were already using iTunes in their personal life. I wanted the device to integrate into their life as much as possible, because I figured they would use it more and we would reap rewards from that.

***

...one of the biggest benefits of the iPad is the freedom with which end-users can explore and customize their learning. That is taken away the second you start managing their account centrally and selecting what they have on their device. We felt, that while it's true there would be some loss with the apps when the person leaves, it's much like a consumable workbook that we used to buy. For example, we spent over $120,000 in "materials" for ELA curriculum a couple of years ago. If we spend $50 per device (haven't hit that number yet) on all 2300 devices we have, we'd be close, but not quite at that number. Also, when we purchase, we include a $50 app fee so that VPP cards are both with the purchase

How your district moves from one end of the continuum to the other is where the rubber meets the road in terms of leadership, isn't it?

For me, it's always about the HOW to get these kinds of conversations going. This is naturally a tough role for me, so I've had to work at nurturing conversations over time.

Miguel - Thanks for taking the time to post this well-written article. The more we share our frustrations and successes with mobile learning environments, the easier it will become for all! - Tammy Worcester on #iPad Deployment - Do Over.

I couldn't agree more. We have to keep the dialogue open, and, in the case of some school environments, open it up again. Otherwise, implementing iPads is a nightmare.

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Convert OGV to WebM #ubuntu #lubuntu

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:25:00 +0000

Converting via command line on left side, using Transmaggedon on the right.

Earlier tonight I made some recordings (of Moodle 2.2 setup) using the gtkDesktopRecorder, which works great. However, since I'd be sharing these videos with a colleague, I needed to convert them to WebM format on my LubuntuLinux (very lazy, don't want to reboot to Windows to use FormatFactory).

My first video, I converted using Transmaggedon, which works quite well, but...took forever (25 minutes for a 50 meg video) and I could only convert one at a time. So I started looking for a different approach and found this one by Paul Rouget.

Using the Terminal, I was able to type in the following command on multiple tabs and get simultaneous conversions going...the video input/output files are in bold:

Try #1 - Failed!

ffmpeg -i out-1.ogv moodle2.webm

The command line was a lot faster, unfortunately the quality stunk! So, then I tried the following (from Paul's site):

Try #2 - Failed!

ffmpeg -i out-1.ogv -acodec libvorbis -ac 2 -ab 96k -ar 44100 -b 345k -s 640x360 moodle2.webm

But the quality stunk on that one, too. Sigh.

Try #3 - Failed!

ffmpeg -i out.ogv -f webm -sameq out.webm

Not knowing what the right settings are for ffmpeg, I'll have to keep using Transmaggedon (sudo apt-get install transmaggedon), which has been working great on the conversions to WebM (albeit one at a time and slow).

For fun, here's the original OGV file (99.4 megs) and the converted WebM file (21.8 megs). You have to like the smaller size! And, no, I didn't script this at all. It's a rough-n-ready video for a colleague.

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#iPad Deployment Part 2 - Carts, Cases, Peripherals, Oh My!

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:05:00 +0000

Image Source: http://goo.gl/6UAWN

Contemplating an iPad Deployment? Join me in my journey to explore some of the questions I've seen others asking, and asked myself.

"What kind of cart," someone asked me recently, "should I get to house all the iPads for our high school deployment?""And," asked another, "what kind of cases for the individual iPads should we buy?"

These are two natural questions that come up and while this blog entry can't be an exhaustive response to all of that, here's what I notice a few districts and technology directors have recommended. At the end of this blog entry, I revisit one of my fundamental objections to the iPad--simply that it is an expensive creature to feed and care for in cash-strapped schools.

That aside, I hope this post will be useful to those looking for one-stop shopping. I've also included some additional links that deal with the "culture" side of deployment...in another blog entry that's upcoming.

Types of Carts

Apparently, there are several types of carts to house your iPads. What you're looking for in these cart or cart-like solutions is one that will allow you to both charge and sync at the same time. Some of the most popular--that is, recommended by the tech directors I correspond with--include the following:

#1 - Bretford PowerSync Cart - This cart is designed to handle up to 30 iPads. From their web site: The new PowerSync Cart for iPad allows you to store, charge, sync, and transport up to 30 iPad devices at a time. Building on our award winning designs, the PowerSync Cart for iPad will allow you to bring an iPad learning lab - 30 devices - to any room in your building, and keep your content in sync with iTunes®.

One of the neat aspects of this cart is that it can serially "image" your iPads:

For example, if we hooked all 30 up in the Bretford cart and tried to update to the latest iOS, it would start one, and the rest would just wait until that one finished. Then the next one in line would start. This can take quite some time if you have a large deployment.

#2 - ParaSync solution - Another "cart for the iPad is the ParaSync, pictured below:

ParaSync 10-unit Charge and Sync (there is a 20-unit ParaSync, too)

From their press release, here is some of the information. To the best of my knowledge, no one I know is using the ParaSync for iPads:

The new PARASYNC for iPad stores, charges, and syncs content to 20 iPad devices from one iTunes library.

With no manual cable connections, simply insert the iPad with the included case into a slot to charge and sync. Each PARASYNC for iPadincludes 10 specially designed cases to protect both the iPad and the docking system!

Convenient charge status LED's show whether the iPad devices are charging, fully charged or syncing. PARASYNC for iPad looks great and its compact footprint (19" x 11") fits nearly anywhere.

There's an informative Frequently Asked Questions document online at http://www.paratsolutions.com/parasync-faq.html

If you're in attendance at MacWorld 2012 (Jan 27, 2012), it will be unveiled there.

Cases for iPad

The wrong case for an iPad can really get in the way. Much of my initial irritation with iPads came from trying to carry around an iPad2 in an iPad case that was too bulky and heavy. The best thing I ever did was invest in a Zagg keyboard/case and that has eliminated much of my frustration with carrying around a tablet that feels like a full-size laptop.

Some of the cases for iPad include the following:

iPad 2 Leather Case with Stand ($5-$10 via Amazon) - A well-reviewed item, probably what I would buy my children if an iPad came home in their backpack one day. It's inexpensive and has great reviews.

Other cases worth checking out:

Apple iPad Smart Cover ($39-$69) - A colleague was using this and the main benefit is the lack of bulk, which would have been a winner for me if I hadn't seen the Zagg keyboard/case combo.
Logitech Zagg keyboard/case combo ($100) - I love the one I have and if that isn't enough praise for you, c'est la vie.
Kensington's Blackbelt Protection Bands ($29.99) - These fit around the corners of an iPad to protect it.

A round up of cases can be found online here. . .most of these are pricey.

Peripherals

Although I haven't spent as much time looking at peripherals for iPad 2, there are a lot I'd like to try out. In all honesty, one of the factors that sets the iPad apart from it's Android brethren--or so I think, perhaps incorrectly--is the wealth of peripherals available for it.

Apple VGA Adapter - Lets you hook your iPad up to any digital projector that support VGA input.
Apple TV ($99) with AirPlay - Stream content from your iPad over WiFi. For those using the Apple TV in a school setting, a tip: Turn off the NAT control for wireless and/or use it on a small network with its own wireless access point.

You will want to read these blog entries on the subject as well:

Apple's Component AV Kit ($29.99) - Makes it possible for you to plug into your television.
Apple Digital AV Adapter ($39) - Allows you to hook up your iPad to an HDTV
iD9 Speaker Stand - This features a "universal dock to charge and play iPad, iPhone or iPod while docked"

Should We Do This?

Allow me to be blunt. Often, iPad initiatives are nothing more than school leaders getting excited about technology that looks hot, cool, or whatever adjective you want to use. In the end, implementing iPads can be an expensive proposition, far more expensive than handing every student an inexpensive netbook.

Another blogger did something I've been wanting to do...put it all in a simple table with an explanation:

So is the iPad a fundamentally different device that will change education in a way that a $300 laptop cannot?

item rough cost

base model iPad $500

third-party insurance $79-99

case $6-$100

keyboard $40-70

After $626+ per student (not including tax) the iPad can function as a traditional laptop at around or above the same price per unit. Some schools are going further and supplying stylus, earphones, microphones, SD cart adapters and other peripherals. Note that, as with any new technology purchase, this price is just for the actual hardware. There are still costs involved with software, set-up, support and training – costs that can easily rival the initial purchase order. The iPad isn’t necessarily a bad investment, but it is a significant one, especially considering that computing devices are subject to planned obsolescence.

item	rough cost
base model iPad	$500
third-party insurance	$79-99
case	$6-$100
keyboard	$40-70

Source: The Apple iPad Will Not Save Your School

As you can see from the management issues and cost of extras, is the cost really worth it? Only if the organization itself has the wherewithal to implement a complex, costly initiative like this. If you want to find out if your organization can implement iPads--it's an acid test, isn't it?--then ask yourself if you've been able to implement anything else successfully. If the answer is YES, then you're set. If NO, do everything you can to stop the expense.

"The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency."
Source: Bill Gates

More on the culture side of implementation in a future blog entry...in the meantime, what are YOUR thoughts about cases, carts, peripherals for iPads in school settings?

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#BYOD Issues RESOLVED with @Amazon #Kindle #Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:05:00 +0000

A short time ago, you may recall this blog entry entitled, #BYOD Issues with @Amazon #Kindle #Fire. The main issue stemmed from the seeming inability of the Amazon Kindle Fire to connect to a school district's network. That problem has been resolved and it was NOT the Amazon Kindle Fire!

Here's the problem (as a refresher):

I have a couple Kindle Fire Tablets that we are experimenting with. I am unable to access the internet through our system. The Kindle will connect to the wireless access points and will get a valid IP address from the dhcp server. I can ping the Kindle and the network connected icon shows it is connected but there is an “X” below it indicating that it has no internet access. Sure enough, when I try to get to a website, no access. If I enter a static IP address, it zips right to the internet with no issues. I might add that I even used the same IP address that the dhcp server assigned when I entered it statically and it worked.

And, thanks to the school district, the solution:

It turns out it was a DNS issue. I have several DNS IP addresses I use. It’s a long story as to why but they are all necessary. Apparently Kindles and I’m sure a lot of other devices only accept one or two DNS IPs when set to DHCP. I’m basing that on the fact that if I enter the info statically, there are only boxes for two DNS settings. The DNS setting I was using when I set it up statically was actually 3^rd on the DNS list at the DHCP server. When I moved the DNS that worked statically up to 1^st on the list, everything started working as it should.

You can read the complete resolution of the issue--and the endorsement of the school district tech director who had to solve this--online at #BYOD Issues with @Amazon #Kindle #Fire.

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Sucker's Choices - How Tech Can Succeed in Schools

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:04:00 +0000

In reading the slide below, I ran across a list for Why Technology is Failing. In particular, this slide caught my eye:

For fun, I decided to flip it around to positive:

Accountability for technology-curriculum integration
Attention to results that
Trust between Curriculum-Technology Departments rather than opposition.
Active communication and collaboration between Curriculum and Technology Departments.
Re-inventing the wheel as needed to further individual learning and making other's work one's own, but relying on a global network of learners and educators to share what works and emulating that.
Hmm...

One of my favorite books--and audio series--is the Crucial Conversations and Crucial Confrontations series. It goes after the tough conversations--and provides the necessary tools--that involve dealing with #3 and #4 in the list above.

Doug Johnson, as I cited in Spectrum Unbound, asks a few tough questions:

Who limits the spectrum of discussion in your school? Do districts and buildings keep some issues off the table? Why? And are there ways to allow such conversations that skirt the traditional conversational gate-keepers?Hmmmmmmm.Are you being kept "passive and obedient" by not addressing the bigger issues of educational policy? What are they? How is it done? How do you fight it?

Crucial Conversations is neat because throughout the audio series, they suggest one refuse "The Sucker's Choice." Here's a description of the main teachings around refusing the sucker's choice via Sources of Insight:

Don’t fall prey to a Sucker’s Choice. A Sucker’s Choice is a this or a that, an either / or … etc. The assumption is that you have to trade one thing for another.
Find an “and” solution over “either / or“. Find a way to have it both ways. Challenge yourself to seek the higher ground.
Know what you want and what you don’t want. Stating what you want and don’t want are powerful because they clarify your intentions. Clarifying what you don’t want can be particularly powerful because of the principle of contrast. It can can also help take away perceived threats. Clarifying intentions is an important step because it’s easy to get lost in the content and lose sight of the real intentions. Your intentions guide you through your dialogue.

Harmony and Results. Quality and Relationship.

Identifying what you really want, what you don't want, then figuring out how to get there. It's a great approach. Every day, I listen to the news and hear about sucker's choices. Of course, none come to mind at this very moment.

What are the Sucker's Choices in EdTech implementation? Let me take a stab...can you add more?

We'll either use iPads or nothing at all.
We'll integrate technology into all our content areas or not at all.
We'll either do implement BYOD in all our schools simultaneously or ban it.

Ok, maybe I'm just tired, but those are lousy. Help?

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Inserting YouTube Clips in #iBooks

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:03:00 +0000

Fascinating...how do you insert YouTube video clips in iBooks?

Source: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3675922?start=0&tstart=0

1) open dashcode and select "custom"
2) under test and share select 10.4.0 backward-compatibility (under options)
3) name the widget Youtube embed
4) click "save to disk"
5) save the widget to your desktop
6) right click on your widget and select show package contents
7) open main.html with your text editor and replace all the html code in main.html with:

YouTube Video Embed Beta
http://www.youtube.com/embed/6NFrHD4-wY0</a><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-collapse: collapse; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">" frameborder="0"><br></span>

save the file and close the widget folder - drag and drop into your iBooks HTML container, enjoy ;3

I have HTML5 CSS3 Canvas Javascript animations, complex calc javascript and a whole host of other things using this simple process of modifying a widgets base files. Its really pretty slick.

Note: you can set the width/height in the info.hlist file/

Enjoy!

via hbattousai

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#iPad Deployment - Do Over.

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:17:00 +0000

Source: http://www.eanes.wikispaces.net/iPad+PIlot

At a recent regional technology directors' meeting, a few colleagues from a district set on deploying iPads in their District, asked a few questions that got me thinking about the following question:

If you had to deploy iPads starting soon, what would you do different from the way you did it in the past?

As a result of that question, I decided to ask a colleague who has deployed iPads in a large urban school district what his thoughts were on the subject.

"So," I began, "what would you do different when deploying iPads than what you did before?"

"I would be sure to choose a central management approach (e.g. Casper)."

Mobile Device Management (MDM) tools display console views of enterprise mobile devices, their users, and user profiles, and usually work with Active Directory or other third-party authentication and authorization platforms to assign privileges and policies. Major names in the MDM space include Good Technology, Boxtone, Sybase, Zenprise, and MobileIron. Cloud-based MDMs include AirWatch, Fiberlink, andTangoe.MDMs can enforce password policies and remotely wipe or disable lost devices. They can also install necessary applications and anti-virus clients, load patches, and ensure that any data copied to the device is properly encrypted.The problem with MDM-enforced encryption is that it’s typically an all-or-nothing function. While an iPad supports encryption of data in transmission, stored on the device, and loaded on PCs through iTunes, it’s a device-wide affair. “You cannot go in and say, ‘This application is not allowed to read this data,’” says Chenxi Wang, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research Inc. (Source: Email from Steve Young, 1/2012)

"Why is that?" I followed up.

"Some districts are choosing to just roll the iPads out to schools and staff, and it's left up to the individual staff or students to manage them. They are the ones responsible for loading the apps on the iPads."
"What's wrong with that approach?" I countered, although I could guess.

"When a staff or student leaves," he responded, "all their apps go with them. You have to start over with the app. And, you can't have customized profiles that work with particular grade levels or teams of people."

"This is sort of like imaging computers, isn't it?"

"Yeah, exactly, that's what you're doing."

"A centralized management approach...here, let me show you." He clicked on a few links and showed me this interactive chart. "You can see that Casper has the most features with iOS5. That's why if I had to do it all over again, I'd make sure that every device was running iOS5 because it allows you to remotely manage the iPads. There is another one called SCCM which features an adapted called Odyssey."

Source: http://www.enterpriseios.com/wiki/Comparison_MDM_Providers

"Ok, let's review," as I reviewed my notes:

Choose a mobile device management system, and you recommend Casper right now based on what it can do and the efficiencies it enables for iOS 5 devices and Macs.
Make sure all devices are running iOS 5.

"What's next?" I asked.

"We're able to organize apps according to grade levels, like all high school apps. You can do that by building customized profiles through Apple iPhones' configuration utility."

Source: http://goo.gl/AzIc5

iPhone Configuration Utility lets you easily create, maintain, encrypt, and install configuration profiles, track and install provisioning profiles and authorized applications, and capture device information including console logs.
Configuration profiles are XML files that contain device security policies, VPN configuration information, Wi-Fi settings, APN settings, Exchange account settings, mail settings, and certificates that permit iPhone and iPod touch to work with your enterprise systems.
iPhone Configuration Utility 3.4 for Windows can be downloaded here: iPhone Configuration Utility for Windows.
For information on how to integrate iOS devices with your enterprise systems, visit http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/enterprise/.

He pulled up the Apple iPhone Configuration Utility on the screen so I could see it, clicking through. "You can do all sorts of things with this, like code it so profiles on the iPad with our WPA2 encrypted keys can't be removed by students."

"Is this how you manage or deploy apps to iPads in the fields?"

"We have Program Facilitators who are empowered to buy apps via Volume Discount, then they issue those to individual iPad users."

"Does each person have their own iPad under their own name? For example, in one district I know, they use their school email address and create a free account with no credit card associated with it. In other districts, they just issue the iPads to staff and students then its used under their own name and they pay for their own apps, whatever they may be. If a Special Ed teacher has to buy a $100 app, then they do that and are reimbursed by the District. How do you handle user accounts?" I asked.

"In my district, we create generic accounts for every iPad issued using GoogleApps for Education (GAFE). Each iPad has a generic account connected to an email through Google. We organize them into sub-domains for management, assigning Program facilitators to campuses."

"What's the role of the Program Facilitator?"

"Their role is to purchase apps through volume purchasing store. You get a discount because you are buying multiple copies. We load up on app codes with the Volume Purchasing account, then give those codes out."

"That is a lot of management, isn't it?" I asked, a bit in awe of the management.

"With Casper, it provides a storefront enabling easier management of everything. If you have to buy 25 copies of Keynote for teachers, you can send those out."

"Are there recommended apps?"
"Yes, we try to organize apps according to the 4Cs and grade level." He paused for a moment, then continued: "Anyone who is trying to do this really needs to chat with Carl Hooker (Eanes ISD) and Carmen Garza (McAllen ISD, who deployed 5000 iOS devices recently)."

"Well, I'll be sure to chat with them! Thanks for your time!"

To review, then, my colleague's recommendations include the following:

Choose a mobile device management system, and you recommend Casper right now based on what it can do and the efficiencies it enables for iOS 5 devices and Macs.
Enroll in the Apple Volume Purchase Program
Make sure all devices are running iOS 5.
Learn to use the iPhone Configuration Utility
Connect with others who have deployed iOS devices and get their advice.

One of the other interesting questions that came up during the discussion at the regional technology directors' meeting was, "How hard is it to separate out iOS devices to have their own network?" This was a curious question because it appears to be more of a BYOD issue...you know, you allocate bandwidth for district-owned machines that have access to more content, and set aside a different network for devices students/staff bring from home. Here's how one person put it:

In addition to many other things, it gives you the ability to create virtual wireless networks (multiple SSIDs) and configure virtual LANs (VLANs). These features let you offer public or separated access, and are usually found only in more expensive enterprise-level gear. You get them and much more at the cost of just a cheap home router.
In this tutorial, we’ll create a second SSID, segregate it from the main SSID, make two of the LAN ports on the back of the router connect to just the new SSID, and leave the other two LAN ports connected to the main SSID.
You might want to, for example, use this second SSID to offer your visitors wireless Internet access, or encrypt it for use by another department in your organization. Plus, you can also plug computers into the individual networks and/or expand each with more access points. We’ll make it so users won’t be able to snoop or communicate with users from the other SSID or LAN ports, to protect your shared folders and resources.

How have you handled this in your district? I heard one person--I don't remember who exactly--have students come in and register their Media Access Control (MAC) addresses.

Helpful Links

Update 1/24/2012: My source for this article offers the following clarifications in bold letters:

iPhone Configuration Utility lets you easily create, maintain, encrypt, and install configuration profiles, track and install provisioning profiles and authorized applications, and capture device information including console logs.
The iPhone configuration utility doesn't have anything to do with itunes purchased apps.
"In my district, we create generic accounts for every iPad issued using GoogleApps for Education (GAFE). Each iPad has a generic account connected to an email through Google. We organize them into sub-domains for management, assigning Program facilitators to campuses."
A set of ipads are tied to one downloader account. It all depends on the grade level, classroom or department but not one for every ipad.

You may also want to read Carl Hooker's perspective in the comments.

Here's how another colleague in Texas schools manages iPads:

If you are in iOS5+ you might think about something like this:

Reset one of the iPads and then sync it with the iTunes library and all the content, apps you want on it. Then set all of the configuration and security settings locally on the iPad through the restrictions settings. Make sure you set the iPadto sync wirelessly (and give the iPad a name) and turn on automatic downloads in the store section. At that point create a backup of the iPad through iTunes (or iCloud). When you create the backup, make sure you know the time and date of the backup, because you aren't able to name the backup. You have to chose it from a list of dates/times. From there you can take the remaining iPads and restore them from that backup through iTunes (or if you have the bandwidth you could reset them, sign into iCloud and pull the settings down from the backup you sent to iCloud). You may still have to connect each iPad to iTunes to enable the wireless sync option (I can't remember if this comes across from the backup). As each iPad connects to iTunes (either through the cable or wirelessly) give them a name. Oh and if you use a wireless config that requires a certificate (like WPA2 or something) then you will have to reset the network connection (the certificate doesn't get pulled through in the backup process).

At this point you probably are wondering why you wasted your time reading all that, because you are still doing a lot of work. :) But here's what you now have:

Same1)You have the same security settings you had before
2)You still have to do some manual interaction with each iPad to sync new apps (only if you have disabled the App Store as part of your restrictions).

New1)You can now sync content (iTunesU/videos/etc) on the fly wirelessly without any manual changes to individual iPads
2)iPads are set to sync (and automatically download - so you don't have to sync) apps wirelessly (but the app won't show up on the iPad until you re-enable the App Store restrictions)
3)They are named so that if they don't all connect wirelessly you can quickly identify which one(s) has issues.
4)You have an iCloud backup that can be used to restore any iPad on the fly without iTunes if needed
5)And if you set turn on the find my iPad option in iCloud on each device you have a possible way to track down theiPad if it gets lost/stolen

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Developing Online Courses

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:40:00 +0000

Source: http://www.stylemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Sexually-Harassed-300x222.jpg

As luck would have it, I'll be walking through the process of designing an online course to be deployed to a few thousand staff. I'm planning to work with a subject matter expert after we obtain district-level support. It's a make-or-break kind of situation...if the course does the job well, it means we may get more business in online course design for mandatory professional development. If the course is poorly designed, fails to achieve its goal, well, we've wasted a lot of time.

Designing the course is obviously a critical component, but even more so is working with stakeholders to ensure that the course has support AHEAD of development. I want to make sure that we know what success looks like before we begin, how we will measure it, and what activities will be allowable.

That process was essentially in my head, so I was glad to see this article via DougPete on action mapping. Here's the process that sometimes plays out in course design; you'll want to read the full blog entry to see what the suggested approach is:

Without action mapping:

The client says, “I need a course.”

You say, “Okay.”

The client gives you a pile of content, the phone number of a subject matter expert (SME), and a deadline.

You create a detailed storyboard or script, getting information as necessary from the SME. The structure of the information determines the structure of the course.

The client and SME approve the script and you go into production.

The course is made available and your job is done.

Fascinating stuff. Be sure to read the complete article by Cathy Moore.

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Panama Embraces Portable Laptops for 4-6th Grade Students

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:05:00 +0000

Do you ever ask yourself, similar to Jimmy Stewart's character in It's a Wonderful Life!, what would have happened if you hadn't left your country of origin? Well, reading the news in Panama plays out like a poor rendition of It's a Wonderful Life! that is real.

El 13 de enero de 2012 se firma el contrato No. S-001-2012 entre el Ministerio de Educación y Tecnología Aplicada S.A. (TECNASA) para la “Adquisición de 93, 500 Computadoras Portátiles, para el programa de entrega de Laptops Educativas a estudiantes - Proyecto de Masificación de Tecnologías”. . .el Gobierno Nacional de Panamá entregará a cada estudiante de cuarto, quinto y sexto año (escuelas secundarias) una computadora portátil en el año 2012. (Source: Profesor Rick Miranda's Blog)

If you don't read Spanish and Google Translator hasn't kicked in for you, you'll see that the Republic of Panama has purchased 93,500 laptop computers to hand out to 4th, 5th, and sixth grade students. Wow, phenomenal news, right?

Of course, it's great news that the Panamanian government is issuing technology to so many socio-economically challenged students. I'm thrilled at the prospect, just saddened at the fact that the software loaded on those laptops will include the following:

Windows 7 Profesional.
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010.
Microsoft Math 3.0
Microsoft Security Essentials.
Windows Live.

Urracá - in front of the Teachers'
College in Santiago, Panama

Ok, it's amazing one didn't need to translate that list of bulleted items, right? And, in truth, I have no doubt students will figure out how to use these tools without problem. But a part of me wishes that the Panamanian government would have had the foresight to provision those computers with free, open source software instead of closed, proprietary systems.

The list of free, open source tools is vast compared to Microsoft based. More importantly, young Panamanians wouldn't be locked into Microsoft development but free to explore a variety of creation tools. I also would have put SCRATCH on these machines.

As Professor Miranda points out below, computers are but one of many possible solutions. I applaud Panama's effort but can only pray that it won't turn into a boondoggle:

Las computadoras son una solución pero no tienen que ser la solución (Dr. Roger S.); una computadora sin softwares educativos puede transformarse en una máquina de escribir, una buena calculadora o una excelente estación de juego, pero no en una herramienta educativa (Prof. Erick M.).

As I once asked Texas district technology leadership, whatever made MS Office the solution that students would need to do well academically? The focus should be on the connections these children will be able to make once they get access to technology.

There's a lot of work remaining in Panama...it makes me wonder, what would happen if I were to return there?

Images appearing in this blog entry are photos I took when I visited Panama in 2007. While there, I met with the teachers' union (picture below), as well as the teachers' college in Santiago, Panama, where my mother graduated as a teacher.

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Hello! My Name is Irrelevant! (Updated)

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:29:00 +0000

Source: http://goo.gl/Z0C73

Losing your job because your skills are shrinking isn't fun. Who hasn't had the nervous feeling that what you know becomes irrelevant, even as what you need to know more relevant and harder to acquire? Ok, I'll step up and admit, I feel that way ALL the time. Over the last few years, I've noticed a fascinating trend...anyone who can do it will get certified in something, add the certification to their email signature, their twitter page, their bio whenever possible.

The lists of certifications are growing increasingly funny. Often, they are certifications from commercial companies that have built up networks of advocates across the country and globe. That is smart marketing from a company perspective, and there are obvious benefits to the individual, right? At the very least, the individual benefit is, "I feel better about that irrelevance bubble hanging over my head." Even well-established library pundits (smile) like Doug "Blue Skunk" Johnson feel compelled to engage in these efforts, in spite of questionable intent of the certifying agency (I've read similar remarks from other Google Certified Trainers):

The challenge is not knowing how to use any Google tool purposely either for professional productivity or with kids, but to be able to recall (or find) trivia about the product. (How many contacts can be imported from a spreadsheet at a time? 50, 1,000, 3,0000, or no limit.)

A few certificates I've noticed--feel free to suggest more in the comments--include the following:

Apple Distinguished Educator
DEN Star
Google Certified Teacher
Google Certified Trainer
Mimeo Certified Facilitator
Promethean Certified
SMART Certified Teacher

No, the list isn't exhaustive and I'll also admit that I added these types of labels to my signature in my 20s. I still relish the thrill I feel from seeing one of my old emails archived on the 'Net, featuring my signature:

Miguel Guhlin

Bilingual Technologist

TENET Master Trainer

As heady a feeling as that is, I'm not sure how valuable credentialing is anymore, only that it's more important than ever. The rough-n-ready world of technology certifications seems irrelevant in itself. Or maybe, we just need those certifications at our career's start. I don't know but that feeling of irrelevance doesn't go away. You have to make your peace with that demon some time and realize there's more to be learned than can ever be learned in the time we have.

Continued education should not seem like an unnecessary burden placed on credentialing professions, but rather the process of on-going learning should be considered an opportunity, an asset to one’s profession. As with any improvement strategy in business, continued education should be thoughtfully considered. A simple analysis of one’s competency status can identify key areas which may warrant improvement or specific attention. (Source: The Importance of Continued Education)

Of course, I often wonder at what our children need to know. It's like a critter giving its life so its babies can nest in its bones, inducting its children in an act of creative cannibalism that launches life. For humans, it's selling the house or the car, going without to ensure your kids can get what they need to survive, perhaps thrive, in an uncertain future.

The thoughts come to mind after reading this series of G+ comments around the article that Robert Scoble highlighted:

America still has manufacturing, but it's disappearing pretty quickly and this has deep impacts on our economy.I'm very fortunate to live and work in one of the hot, job-producing sectors in the U.S.: technology. I wonder what my sons will do (Excerpt of Robert Scoble's remarks on Apple, America and a Squeezed Middle Class).

As I reflect on the article, unable to distance myself from the engineer who loses his job at Apple, I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with Michael Robinson's list of critical skills:

1: Design fundamentals

2: HTML and CSS

3: Marketing

4: Writing and editing

5: PHP

6: Computer and network security

These will cover 99% of the jobs of the future, whatever they end up being.

In fact, these are the skills I see are critical in my daily work every day, no matter what we are doing. Isn't that amazing? That as an educator, my team and I engage in every one of those 6 skills, which are interwoven into the fabric of the work we do in educational leadership and professional learning. To Michael's list, I would also add, "Linux Server Administration."

Perhaps, what I need to do is set out to get the credentialing in these areas to ensure that no matter what, the irrelevance bubble won't rise again.

Oops.

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The Road is Open - Amplified Voices

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:39:00 +0000

The Road is Open

View more presentations from Steve Wheeler

Over at the PLPNetwork blog--which i stumbled upon thanks to a random tweet read as I lay in bed with the light from the Android phone illuminating a dark room earlier today, trying to decide (again) if I really wanted to get up and exercise, a daily re-commitment to effort--I enjoyed Will Richardson's blog entry. There were some excellent comments posted, including one by my highly esteemed colleague, Tim Holt...it's nice to have someone pushing back against the thinking that seems so prevalent. That thinking is a growing criticism of the gap between what Apple did with iBook 2 and what it could have done.

Of course, I'm reminded of the old adage that it's always easy for folks to criticize people who are actually DOING stuff. In a way, we could cast Apple, the corporation, as a person.

“Corporations are people, my friend,” Romney said.
Some people in the front of the audience shouted, “No, they’re not!”
“Of course they are,” Romney said. “Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people. Where do you think it goes?” (Read more)

You know, this whole idea of corporations as people is fascinating and explains the fanaticism some show towards Apple, don't you agree? Still, there is a problem with this approach. Consider the perspective below:

Should we, as corporate public relations statements often suggest, think of them as friends (if we buy and are satisfied with their products) or as family (if we work for them)? Does it make sense to be loyal to a corporation as either a customer or as an employee? More generally, even granted that corporations are not fully persons in the way that individuals are, do they have some important moral standing in our society?

My answer to all these questions is no, because corporations have no core dedication to fundamental human values. (To be clear, I am speaking primarily of large, for-profit, publicly owned corporations.) Such corporations exist as instruments of profit for their shareholders. This does not mean that they are inevitably evil or that they do not make essential economic contributions to society. But it does mean that their moral and social value is entirely instrumental. There are ways we can use corporations as means to achieve fundamental human values, but corporations do not of themselves work for these values. (Read More- Corporations, People and Truth)

There is no reason to expect corporations like Apple to act on behalf of the public good, even though their products are phenomenal. Closed systems like Apple have consequences that we either choose to accept or not when we buy their products.

I am an Apple user, love their products, but am frustrated by the closed ecosystem. No matter how you twist it, if you’re learning in a walled garden, [you're] cutting yourself off from a world of opportunities. (Adapted from Source: Martin Jorgensen, Comment)

When Apple trumpets its value in the media, advocating the launch of its products, we should be careful as individual people without the funding a corporation has, to take everything they say with a grain of salt. Seth Godin put this quite well recently in his list of things (Learn Leadership from Congress) to avoid as a result of the SOPA protest, and it's encapsulated quite well in these words below:

In all things, look for money first. Listen to people with money, respond to people with money, justify your actions around money.

Such wisdom, though, need not be found only in a marketer's words, even one as erudite as Godin. It's found in social media observations, too. Are there any in this grab-bag of Plurks that you agree with?

Absolutely all about profit. As one post said shortly after launch Apple isn't in this to revolutionize anything. This is a grab at market share and ultimately profit. Most companies license technology to others. Apple buys, and sues to keep others from advancing similarly. They don't have to operate this Way, but in doing so hold back an entire industry. Apple has notoriously treated employees poorly, and treats consumers poorly as well. there is a simple solution to this 'problem' - don't use their services...but I don't see that happening.

In the back and forth at Authorship and iAuthorship, Will Richardson makes the following comment that resonates with me:

I’m wondering why it took Apple to give us a pulse about “utterly changing and accelerating how we develop and share content with students and amongst our adult educators.” That’s not new. The package is new. And sure, they are adding some facility to the process. But let’s be clear; we’ve been able to do what Apple has introduced for a very long time without them.

In response to Will's comment, Tim Holt writes the following:

Isn’t it funny how it takes a tech company to push the conversation like this?
Up until last Thursday, not one person was talking about how electronic textbooks could change the dynamics of the classroom. One demo. One app. And now the conversation is exploding.

Makes me wonder why it isn’t the professors in the Colleges of Education or the leaders of the groups like ISTE that are causing the conversation change? Why is it Apple?
Anyway, here are my two cents about the whole EUA and ibooks Author. Perhaps it is time to start thinking of books created by these programs as “apps” and not texts.
http://tinyurl.com/8a5aex5

I recommend you read more about the Apple EULA here.

While it would be nice to think that Apple is simply reaping the rewards of being a game-changer with announcements like this that kickstart the conversation, let's not forget the millions (billions?) of dollars Apple has at its fingertips.

From its posters to paid advocates in every state to commercials, few in the trenches--whether they be the ISTE (or not) pundits who have day jobs as educators, administrators making far less than any one of the paid Apple advocates--have that kind of marketing power.

We are fortunate that social networking and media--built on top of community-developed and maintained free, open source tools--are able to amplify the voices of individuals to shout from virtual mountaintops. Absent social media, I might never have met Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach or Will Richardson. It was only at the advent of social media and blogging--NOT Apple, Microsoft, or IBM, Oracle, etc.--that our voices became a contra-decima, a counter-culture to the corporations. In fact, "The CLueTrain Manifesto" may be a text you might adding to your reading list, even though it is available at no-cost (although you can buy a print copy).

...companies don't like us human. They leverage our longing for their own ends. If we feel inadequate, there's a product that will fill the hole, a bit of fetishistic magic that will make us complete. Perhaps a new car would do the trick. Maybe a trip to the Caribbean or that new CD or a nice shiny set of Ginsu steak knives. Anything, everything, just get more stuff. Our role is to consume.

Of course, the new car alone is not enough. It must be made to represent something larger. Much larger. The blonde draped over the hood looks so much better than the old lady bitching about the dishes. Surely she'd understand our secret needs. And if we showed up with her at the big golf game, wouldn't the guys be impressed! Yeah, gotta get one-a those babies. This isn't about sex, it's about power — the greatest bait there ever was to seduce the powerless.

The same technology that has opened up a new kind of conversation in the marketplace has done the same within the corporation, or has the potential to do so. But many businesses, especially large ones, still refuse to acknowledge these radical shifts affecting internal workforces and external markets. They don't want to relinquish hierarchic control. They don't want to give up the tremendous economies of scale they enjoyed under the old-school broadcast-advertising alliance. It's what they know. It's how they made their fortunes. However, trying to keep things in the old familiar business-as-usual rut denies the ability of markets to respond to and interact with companies directly — and this is what the Internet has brought to the party.

How do we know the conversation is being kept separate, that Apple is refusing to acknowledge the conversation and relinquish control? It's simple. Ask a question:

Will Apple open--like in open educational resources, creation and production--their devices or not?

Source: OER Commons - http://www.oercommons.org/

That's the conversation that we need to have with Apple. As great as a $15 textbooks may be, as great as not having to lug around big books can be, will the have-nots still be bulldozed into the digital divide by having to purchase a $500+ device to access?

The road is open, but is the cost of the toll is too high?

“We shouldn’t be criticized for using Chinese workers,” a current Apple executive said. “The U.S. has stopped producing people with the skills we need.” Source: New York Times

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Tricks to Gmail on iPad

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:54:00 +0000

Source: http://goo.gl/UHI3g

When I wrote about blogging on the iPad recently, someone tweeted back, "Yeah, but you're using Google's blogger." It's a true statement. Often, the desire to have something that just works without having to worry about figuring out how it works can grab you. If Blogger were still Hotel California in regards to content creation, I'd be worried...but, thankfully, it's not.

Earlier this week, as I explored an iPad2 + Zagg keyboard, trying in a way to lower my expectations from what a $250 netbook running Linux can do, I found myself I shared about the curious case of the Gmail archive button in the Mail app. You can read about it here.

Thanks to this helpful comment, there are alternatives to what I did...however, I have to concur with the final remark:

Mr. RCollins has left a new comment on your post "Day 3 - #iPad Experiment - Gmail Setup":

Set up your account as GMail, then go into the mail settings for that account and turn off "Archive Messages" It will then show you the delete/trashcan option instead of Archive. This is a Google thing, they want you to archive everything instead of delete. When GMail was first released there wasn't even a delete option. :-)

Personally, I set up my Google accounts as Exchange accounts. I get push email and the ability to sync my contacts, along with my calendars.

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Programming on #iPad = No Sharing

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:33:00 +0000

Source: Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jaIhEXZ7WW4

About the program in the video above (Codea), a commenter on YouTube wrote the following:

Just bought. YOU CAN NOT EXPORT OR SHARE A SINGLE LINE OF CODE.
It's useless now. Do you agree?

Compare that with MIT's Scratch....

In the iPad's Defense, I spent some time quoting sources that MIT's NO-COST programming project for kids--SCRATCH--had been kicked off the iPad.

Apple rejected the app, citing a rule that apps may not contain code interpreters other than Apple’s. This rule appears to be specifically designed to prevent meta platforms such as Adobe Flash from appearing on the iPad, thereby allowing Apple to keep its iOS platform to itself.

The young community of Scratch programmers, however, doesn’t pose a threat to Apple’s business, and the rejection of the Scratch app shows how Apple’s developer rules can harm the art of programming.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shareski/6304390357/in/pool-858082@N25/lightbox/

To that post, Tim Holt shares the following posts that put a hole in the armor of my original assertion that iPads are prohibited from being used for programming:

His foundation’s philosophy is to teach young people the power of creative exploration using 21st century tools. The class he teaches uses the iPad (a 21st century digital tool that’s far cheaper than anything most schools can afford of similar capability, he says) and an app called Codea. The app enables the creation of games and projects right on the device using the Lua programming language. (See video below for example.) Alvelda (who has no affiliation with Codea) calls it “a completely powerful and self-contained programming environment” that he says is great for teaching simple programming, something he considers essential for them when they eventually become working adults.

Even so, the iPad--limited by Apple's philosophy and decisions about its use--is able to make a programming app available for $7.99 AND not allow you to share it.

Apple now does allow for interpreted code to be run in-app, but still prohibits the download of such code. As noted byTouchArcade, this means that anything you create in Codify can't be exported (or imported). (Source - MacRumors on Codify/Codea)

Sharing. It's fundamental to the Read/Write Web. Remember, Sharing is THE threat.

"Sharing is the threat. Not just a threat. It is the whole of the thing...This act of sharing voids "any pretensions to control, or limitation, or the exercise of power". (Mark Pesce as cited here)

Embrace the void and what that means.

Of course, I don't expect schools to do that. iPads and what they offer is a cohesive package, an apple too delicious to not bite into.

Source: http://www.deviantart.com/download/54700274/Snow_White_ate_the_apple____2_by_Lilou1984.jpg

Of course, there are other perspectives. I love this line in this article about Danah Boyd's laptop:

In a juxtaposition that causes her no end of mischievous delight, her laptop bears a sticker of Snow White, whose outstretched arm gently cradled the Apple logo. (Source: Pamela Paul, Danah Boyd-Cracking Teenagers' Online Codes)

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The Mark of Apple #iPad

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:04:00 +0000

Images adapted from http://goo.gl/jj7av and http://goo.gl/Ch3ps

David Thornburg, who long ago forsook the proprietary nature of Apple and Windows OS--I loved his story of how he went to sleep one night before a conference presentation replete with videos, waking up the next day to find that Microsoft Windows updates had changed the codecs, making him frantic to restore his presentation--writes a wonderful blog entry on the subject of textbooks a la Apple.

“With iBooks 2 for iPad, students have a more dynamic, engaging and truly interactive way to read and learn.” This quote is pure and utter garbage. What is new about canned content from Pearson and the other companies drooling at the prospects of finding new ways to view children as bodies with wallets, and education as the memorization of mindless material that, most likely, can be found in better form in ten minutes with a well-crafted Google search?
He said the iPad is “rapidly being adopted by schools across the US and around the world” and 1.5 million iPads are already being used in educational institutions. This should make us cry. Apple has clearly lost its soul. (Source: David Thornburg)

This idea that American companies--like Apple, Pearson--have lost their soul could be explored a bit more, right?

Many more people work for Apple’s contractors: an additional 700,000 people engineer, build and assemble iPads, iPhones and Apple’s other products. But almost none of them work in the United States...“Apple’s an example of why it’s so hard to create middle-class jobs in the U.S. now,” said Jared Bernstein, who until last year was an economic adviser to the White House. (Source: New York Times)

The 2012 report says that more than half of workers at 93 of the audited facilities exceeded the 60-hour limit at least once during a 12-week sample period. . .The audits also found 67 facilities that used pay deductions as a disciplinary measure and 108 facilities that neglected laws regulating overtime pay...Apple reported that 72 facilities lacked management procedures for labeling hazardous waste, 74 facilities lacked procedures for disposing of hazardous waste and 125 facilities lacked procedures for the handling, movement or storage of hazardous chemicals. (Source: Mashable on Apple's Labor Conditions Report)

Yes, Apple makes great stuff...but at what cost to the world, and to American taxpayers? Of course, it would be easy to challenge: If you can't criticize the quality of their products, go after how they made them and how much they charge for them.

Here's my response to David Thornburg's blog entry, which I left as a comment:

David, great piece! I agree that closed proprietary technology like the Apple iPad hurts schools in the long run, siphoning precious taxpayer funding away from where the real investment should be--people. As wonderful as free, open source software solutions are, they lack the appeal that Apple's products have for school administrators, school boards and the news media.

One can only imagine if Apple's genius for tablet design enabled open educational resources--their creation, collaborative sharing and updating, disintermediating textbook publishers. Alas, let's recognize that imagining for what it is--a glorious vision of utopia, never to be realized in our time. Apple, like Pearson, is about making money. Within the dystopia Apple has created--where to do some simple things, you have to pay for the privilege--many are content to abide in gleeful, willful ignorance (a.k.a. stupid) of what the free road has to offer.

When I started using Linux so many years ago, I had no idea that it would open up a world of fantastic, community-based creativity spanning the globe. Perhaps, wide open spaces are for the brave...and the cavernous cacophany of closed-ness the rightful place of those who bear the mark of Apple on their devices.

The seductive lure of Apple's products may very well entice us to embrace them. But, let's not forget the blood, sweat, and tears that those who must bear the Mark have put to make these devices so attractive.

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#iPad and #Textbooks - Ramblin'

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:09:00 +0000

http://www.epsilen.com/grp/ibooksGroup

Given the excitement of Apple's recent announcement about $14.99 textbooks, some might be surprised to realize that the iPad and textbooks aren't for everyone. . .but. . .for those who embrace the iPad as a device for everything, it may be the ONLY device. The Apple iPad is a seductive device. Having worked on multiple Android tablets, I remain unconvinced that any are the match of the iPad. If you agree, then this makes the iPad THE BEST tablet on the market.

iTextbooks on iPads
Source: http://goo.gl/NavCx

As society continues to move forward in terms of innovation, technology, and global connectivity, schools are being stymied by relentless cuts to education. This has resulted in the reduction of staff, larger class sizes, lack of follow through to repair aging buildings, and the inability to keep up with purchasing and replacing educational technology. It is essential that we rectify all of the above mentioned impacts of budget cuts, but when it comes to technology the perception is that it is the least important area in which to invest precious funds. This is why the time is now for districts and schools to seriously consider developing a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) initiative. (Read More)

Of course, funding such an expensive future--every child, educator with an iPad and content to fill it--will be nigh impossible. What do you give up so you can afford the nice things in school?

Many will argue that cash-strapped schools shouldn't necessarily be buying the best. It's a tough argument to make. After all, the argument that goes unsaid is, "We should buy the best for our children." This is a hard point to counter. Why spend money on a less expensive notebook that gets the bare minimum done in schools rather than spend and buy the best taxpayer funds can? A poor, socio-economically challenged parents may look at their child carrying an iPad and say, "I couldn't have bought that for her, but the public school did" with a grateful prayer.

Source: http://www.toxel.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ipad08.jpg

Some of the objections to the Apple approach to textbooks on iPads include:

it won't fly. Closed platform. I expect Amazon to follow closely with textbook sales for Kindle, app can be loaded on any device. (slaleman)
Apple has created a closed system. (nashworld)
Apple's system fails to take social networking into account. (nashworld)
"It cuts out anyone who doesn't have an iPad right off the bat" (nfrenchgillies)
Steve Job's said it best in 1996, "What’s wrong with education cannot be fixed with technology." (lkolb)
I'm a little worried that textbooks on an iPad will fit in too well with traditional lecture-based teaching. I hope I'm wrong (lkolb)

If you were hoping for an awesome ending to this story in a blog entry, think again. The truth is, school leaders, parents, students are now consumers for one of the most successful companies...and, it's apparent that while we would all like to think Apple will do the right thing, the sad part is that "the right thing" will always be in Apple's favor FIRST, schools second.

If you can live with that--and have the finances--then the iPad and textbooks are set to rock your world. Colleague Mike Gras, whom I've featured before, makes this assertion about iPads, etc.:

The vision roughly translated - "It is in hands that will not be controlled by you!" So you see, the future is clear. The device of last resort and the one most useful will be student owned and student chosen.

I suspect many a college-age child will be carrying an iPad this Fall, 2012. How quickly will high schools adjust?

As for my opinion, I only wish I had the opportunity, the support of district administration, the community, school board, superintendent, the funding, the bandwidth and network infrastructure and a million other logistical details at my disposal.

Engage!

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Day 3 - #iPad Experiment - Gmail Setup

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:51:00 +0000

If you're an avid Gmail user, one of the startling aspects of Gmail as experienced through the Mail app on the iPad isn't that you can easily access all your email, even that in folder or labels. It's not that you can easily star email messages, change their label/tag and re-assign them out of your inbox at will.

No, the startling thing is that the inability to DELETE email. If you setup your Gmail account using the Gmail Account wizard in the iPad Mail app, you will find yourself hunting for the little trashcan that symbolizes delete or send email to trash. It's not available. Instead, you are archiving messages. I don't know about you, but I don't want to archive the countless emails I get from solicitors...I want to delete it.

Fortunately, I know that the DELETE/TRASH button does exist since I can see it on another IMAP email account I have. A simple solution is to NOT use the GMAIL account setup wizard in the iPad settings. Instead, set up an OTHER email account and choose IMAP email account.

The information you have to enter is straightforward:
Incoming Mail Server: imap.gmail.com
Outgoing Mail Server: smtp.gmail.com

Once you've done that--also entering your username and password where appropriate--you'll see your Gmail account information appear...and when it's time to delete an email in your inbox, you will see the Trash icon instead of the archive box!

Another neat tip is that if you look at your inbox, you can swipe left above a message title, and a DELETE button will appear.

Let me know if this tip is helpful to you!

Day 2 - iPad Experiments

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:52:00 +0000

Teach with Your iPad - Apps According to Bloom's Taxonomy

Ok, in case you hadn't figured it out, I'm exploring the iPad. I'm tired of Tim Holt--and lots of other folks--extolling the virtues. Maybe I've been too hard on this device (I don't think so).

Some neat apps that have made the iPad interesting so far include:

Puffin Free Browser - Allows you to watch Flash videos. I'm hoping this will serve as a much better replacement to the Safari and Terra browsers which leave a lot to be desired.

PaperPort Notes - This is an interesting note-taking app. I'm not completely sold on it, since it creates PDFs from your notes...of course, it does allow you to upload them to just about anywhere (e.g. GoogleDocs, EverNote, Dropbox to name a few).

SugarSync - Have content that you want to put on your ipad but don't know how to get it done? SugarSync makes it darn simple! You can upload something (epub ebook) via the web interface, tap the SYNC ALL button on your iPad, and let it go to work! You can then open the ePub with Stanza app if you have it installed.

I typed this on the iPod Touch Blogger app...I sure wish there was one for iPad!

Finally...I plug the iPad2 into a LubuntuLinux machine. Says "Not charging" but that's a lie...it's powered against its will.

Blogging via iPad Blogger App

noreply@blogger.com (Miguel Guhlin) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:38:00 +0000

Ok, this is a quick test of the iPad blogger app. Wait, I mis-spoke. It's actually the iPhone Blogger app blown up to 2x its normal size.

The benefits? I won't go blind writing blog entries, it looks like it might work. Another neat thing...you can edit existing blog entries. You can also paste in photos (you can take them right then and there) or snapshots from your Camera roll.

The problems? Well, it's like blogging on a big iTouch--which isn't too inaccurate--and having to deal with half the screen eaten up by the onscreen keyboard. Also, no easy way to post images or links.

That said, for straight note-taking, it might do the job. Of course, I'm leaning towards Mail on the iPad as the best blogging app at this point (you know, email the entry to your blog posting address).

Ok, enough playing. Thanks for coming along on this experiment!

BTW...Google, would you mind developing an iPad friendly Blogger app?