iPad Resource for Tuesday-Dropbox

Moving files and presentations around between your iPad and your computer is a challenge sometimes.  I use iCloud for some things, bu mostly,  I use Dropbox. 

What exactly is Dropbox?   

Dropbox kinda of a superhero!! — a tool that’s first class and extremely powerful. I am constantly discoveingr new ways to use Dropbox. Mostly to store and sync documents and files across computers, tablets, and smart phones. Create a lecture or lesson on your computer at home, put it in your Dropbox folder and whamm – it is synced with all your other devices, immediately. 

Most iPad apps have a Dropbox sync option. Since Dropbox works across all platforms and devices, you can use a Mac, a PC, an iPad and anything else you have. You will have access to your documents on all of them. Thanks to the magic of Dropbox’s syncing, your documents will be up to date at all times on all devices. No need to drag around external drives anymore, just sign up for a FREE account and your files are always available, even while using a shared computer at a conference or in the library. Just login using your web browser at dropbox.com. 

Sign up for a free account and receive 2 GB of storage. For more space, purchase a Pro account https://www.dropbox.com/plans. Dropbox utilizes standard encryption methods to transfer and store data, keeping your personal data secure.  Read more about Dropbox’s security policy.  

Dropbox can be a great teaching/learning tool. The first thing to do is to create a sharing folder for my iBooks that my students will need to download during the semester.  Any type of file you need to make available to your students – PowerPoints, hand-outs, reading assignments, videos, images, iBooks, ePubs, whatever. You can call this folder anything. 

For example, here is a link to my iBook on How-to Make iMovie Trailers, it is in a folder with all my iBooks for DED 318.  You are welcome to download any of them, just remember, the assignment for class in on the last page of most. I challenge you to make a movie and share with me!! :-) 

iPad Resource for Thursday- HaiKu Deck

Haiku Deck - Presentation and Slideshow App with Beautiful Charts & Graphs 

Yes, Haiku Deck is another excellent alternative for PowerPoint, and super EASY!!

Description
 
Haiku Deck makes it a snap to create beautiful presentations that will wow your audience – whether you’re pitching an idea, teaching a lesson, telling a story, or igniting a movement.

If you're not familiar with it or haven't tried Haiku Deck, here's what you need to know. 

It is a FREE iPad app for creating slideshow presentations. There are a few features of Haiku Deck that stand out. 
  1. Haiku Deck intentionally limits how much text that you can put on each of your slides. 
  2. Haiku Deck helps you find Creative Commons licensed images for your presentations. When you type a word or words on your slides you can have Haiku Deck search for images. The images that Haiku Deck serves up are large enough to completely fill your slide. 
  3. Yes, you can even upload your own images from your iPad or import images from Instagram and Facebook. 
  4. I have even used Haiku Deck to find images and design slides before putting them into Keynote. 
  5. On the same track, Haiku Deck has directions for exporting Haiku Deck to PowerPoint. Available in both the iPad and web app versions of Haiku Deck. 
  6. And if you want to import PowerPoint or Keynote slides into Haiku Deck, you can do that too,  Find those directions here.

iPad App Resource for Wednesday: Mid-week FUN with Bitmoji

Bitmoji

Official Description http://goo.gl/zvGypO

Bitmoji is your own personal emoji – that you can use right from your keyboard!

• Create an expressive cartoon avatar
• Choose from a growing library of moods, stickers and comic scenes - featuring YOU!
• Use it in iMessage, WhatsApp and more

Just download and sign into the app with Facebook  or email– your unique collection of Bitmoji is already waiting for you!

I have to admit, I have reached that point in life where I absolutely hate pictures of myself, clearly I have not embraced the selfie craze.  I saw this on the Today show this morning and on my, what fun it is.  Ok, admittedly I went a little crazy, but the cool thing is I just made my Avatar and there are tons of options and it just puts your Avatar face or whole body into the scene. So I really only made one.

And there are lots of ways to share, iMessage, Mail, FB Messenger, Facebook, twitter, save to your photos, etc.

This would be a great tool to use with kids in the classroom, they could each make their own avatar and use it on their blogs, in projects, anywhere. 

By the way it is an iPhone app, so if you are looking for it in the APP store on your iPad, look for iPhone Apps! http://goo.gl/zvGypO 

Yes, iPhone apps work on iPad too!!

Here is a link to the Today show report: Customize your cartoon avatar with Bitmoji

The app Bitmoji enables you to create a customized avatar, choosing such details as the shape of your nose and eyes, clothing, build, hair, and more. And you can share it with friends. http://www.today.com/video/today/57061878#57061878


iPad Tips & Tricks for Tuesday

6 Tips & tricks for your iPad you may not know about!

1. Split the Keyboard

If you use your thumbs to type, you will love this. All you need to do is tap and hold the keyboard button on the bottom right hand side, the one you normally use to hide the keyboard. A pop up menu will appear,  choose the split option. Splitting the keyboard also provides access to hidden keys that were not there before.


2. Shake to get rid of Errors, Yup, shake like an etch-a-sketch

It is crazy, but, you ca really undo typing errors by shaking your iPad. If you make a mistake while typing just hold it up and give it a vigorous shake (hold on tight). A box will then appear on your screen asking you if you would like to undo the error.


3. Speed up typing with Double tap of Space Bar

When typing, you can just tap the space bar twice on the keyboard and it stops and a single space will be produced, and the next letter will be capitalized. This trick can save you  a ton of time. Also works on the iPhone.

4. Use your iPad as a Remote 

Your iPad can control your computer and also act as a remote for controlling your video and music. All you need to do is to make sure that everything is working on the same Wi-Fi. You will need the Remote App. It is FREE.

 

5. Take a screenshot

To take a screenshot just press the home button and the sleep/wake button at the same time. The screen will flash and make a little camera sound . The screenshot will automatically be saved to your photos.

6. Yes, your iPad can read  our loud

Your iPad can read any selectable text out loud? How cool is that? Just enable the Speak option. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility. Scroll down to Speak Selection, and turn it on. Use the slider control to set the speaking rate. Check it, because it reads really fast by default. Now you can select any text and the Speak Option appears and you can let your iPad read the text out loud.  I use this with my earbuds all the time. 


Here is a video about features by Educator Tony Vincent: New features in iOS 8 for teachers & Students


 

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Are you stuck & bored in the world of PowerPoint? Try Adobe Voice

Are you stuck & bored in the world of PowerPoint?  

Adobe Voice might just prove to be a good alternative for you and projects by your students.  

Adobe Voice is a recently released education product from Adobe that allows students to narrate a story over an array of digital images. 

It is FREE. And Adobe rarely gives anything away. 

Voice is a free iPad app that helps you create stunning animated videos in minutes. No filming — just talk to tell your story. Pick from over 25,000 beautiful iconic images to show your ideas and Voice automatically adds cinematic motion and a soundtrack. Persuade, inform and inspire anyone online. Make an impact. 

It doesn’t require any video, rather the tool moves images forward in a cinematic fashion. It has gorgeous templates in terms of storytelling and a huge library of copyright friendly music and images. 

While schools often want to teach students about good digital citizenship, including copyright laws, having a pre-reviewed library can be useful for quicker projects. It can be seen on any platform since it is web based.

But have no fear, you can use your own images too!

Voice helps you create stunning animated videos in minutes. No filming — just talk to tell your story. Pick from over 25,000 beautiful iconic images to show your ideas and Voice automatically adds cinematic motion and a soundtrack. Persuade, inform and inspire anyone online. Make an impact.

Notability for Grading on your iPad and much more

Notability and also available on your Mac, so you can access your files on both!!!

http://www.gingerlabs.com 

True it is not FREE, but in worth the $2.99 price tag.   

Grading: a student sends me their paper to grade/edit!! 
I open in Notability  and by the way, format does not matter  (Word, Pages, Google Docs), Notability will convert a copy to what it needs and it opens.  I grab my stylus and write directly on the paper, and the really cool part it I can even record my comments through audio.  When I have finished “bleeding all over it, “ I send it back to the student from inside the app.   If I have recorded audio comments they go with it as an mp3 file.  Saves paper, saves time and I can actually give a more complete critique.

One of the things I like about Notability is that I can organize all my notes into “folders.”  

I can type, draw, record and more,  for me it is a one stop shop!!

Note taking: sketchnoting is all the rage these days, combine handwriting, photos and typing to bring your projects to life. Add as much detail as you like with a variety of colors and fonts.


Here is a link to a pretty good tutorial for using Notability on your iPad: 
 

If your are tired to dragging all those papers home to grade, get a good stylus and give Notability at try.

Stylus suggestion
Of course there are the rubber tips ones and they are ok, but if you want a really good one, my favorite is the Adonit Jot Pro Fine Point Stylus, a little pricey at $30.00, but it is really great, writes just like a pen!! 

The Union computer store has the Adonit line of stylus in various sizes and prices or you can purchase online. There are other brands that are similar and cheaper, but Adonit is just awesome! http://www.adonit.net 

Photos for Class: Resource for Friday

Photos for Class is an image search engine students can use to find copyright-friendly photos for research projects. What is great is the fact that it automatically cites the author and the image license terms. Easy peasy.

http://www.photosforclass.com 

Search now to download properly attributed, Creative Commons photos for school!

Teachers have told us they need a place to access safe images that are available to be used in the classroom and for educational purposes. Plus they want accurate image citations. We’ve heard you and created “Photos For Class” to meet your needs for images!

  • Safe G Rated Images - All images are appropriate for school setting thanks to Flicker safe Search and our proprietary filters - Read More
  • Automatic Citation - Downloaded images automatically cite the author and the image license terms - Read More
  • Creative Commons - All photos shown are to the best of our (and Flickr's) knowledge Creative Commons licensed for school use