Loving the ISTE12 Mobile App, With One Exception

Just downloaded the ISTE12 mobile app and I am loving it!

One thing, though, that I hope the developers will consider for next year. It would be fantastic to be able to "Add Own Event" to the app. I was disappointed to find that the information I had put in my conference planner via my laptop didn't transfer.

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I'm really looking forward to learning about new tech tools and meeting my Twitter PLN peeps!

Willing be blogging at least once per day and will be tweeting as well. Stay tuned!

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@mauilibrarian2

How Two of our Freshmen Use Their iPad2s in the Classroom

Farm5 Flickr image

A few of our students own and use iPads for school.  How are they using them? I asked two of our Freshmen to share their experiences thus far with their iPads.

This is how my conversation with Jasmine and Ridge (interviewed separately) went:

How long have you had your iPad2?

J: I got my iPad at the end of 8th grade.

R: A year.

Why did you get an iPad and how has your perspective changed now that you've had it for a while?

J: I had wanted one to use for flash cards, quick notes, and the calendar. Now that I've had the iPad for a year, I learned about Twitter and Flipboard so I'm using those two apps regularly to keep up with updates and news. ... I'm interested in math, technology, and education, but I've also come to realize that I need a little balance in my life so I added Temple Run and Fruit Ninja to my iPad desktop. ... I didn't know about Facetime and Skype - I will use those to contact friends and family. ... Also, I like to borrow books from the public library that I can download to my iPad.

R: At first I used my iPad for lifestyle use - games, movies, email - for fun. Now I use it for school. These are some of the school apps I have on my iPad now:

For Spanish class - translator - SayHi - .99 - I like that you can talk it into it. I usually use it to look up the meaning of a word.

For English class - ereader - iBooks - free - The Color of Water - I didn't find that there were limitations for annotations.

For English class - dictionary - Dictionary.com - free - I like it because it's easy to use. It's the iPad version of the website.

How did you go about learning about what was on your iPad? Would you consider the iPad intuitive?

J: I read the Quick Manual online. That took about 5 minutes. And I set up my password right away. I went through the settings - it was easy to do. Then I downloaded apps. I went to the App Store and looked for specific subject apps.

R: My brother had an iPad, so I kinda knew what it was about. Also, I already had an iPhone, which is similar. Everything is pretty straightforward on the iPad.

Do you take notes on the iPad? What app do you use? (This question led to a demonstration by both).

J: I like using Evernote to take notes in every class.

Quick Evernote demo

R: I use Notability to take notes. I picked it out right away. I looked at the top 10 apps for Productivity in the App Store and chose Notability. I like the magnifying feature a lot.

Quick Notability demo

Ridge decided to get a stylus to use with Notability. His choice? Bamboo. "It's a nice weight and length. It's a little expensive, but worth it." Ridge keeps the stylus separately in his backpack and doesn't find that he needs to keep it with his iPad.

Do you have any advice for others considering purchasing an iPad?

J: I would definitely recommend it for flash card apps. ... At first, I uploaded bunches of apps, then I realized that I didn't use a lot of them. Now I have a few that I use regularly.

R: I would recommend the iPad because it will lighten your load. I now have a small backpack, I don't lose any papers, and I have my work neatly organized.

Both Jasmine and Ridge are very happy with their iPads. Ridge concludes:

"I'm hooked on it. Life is so much easier for me now."

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@mauilibrarian2

Sharing Conference Notes with the World -- Awesome!

photo © 2009 Wesley Fryer | more info (via: Wylio)
From iPad to blog post -- I *love* this idea of sharing conference notes with the world via the iPad! What a great model Wesley Fryer offers us educators for sharing ideas!

Wesley notes that his post is on "Maria Henderson's presentation on using iOS devices (specifically the iPad) at the TCEA Area 7 Technology Conference on 10 June 2011".

There are some great ideas in Wesley's notes:

Managing iOS Devices in the Classroom
My favorite take-way?

If you are going to do a widespread implementation of iPads, it is a really good idea to get all your students their own email accounts
- use email as a tool to distribute content

(MY THOUGHT: THIS IS SO TRUE AND A GOOD REASON FOR SCHOOLS TO ADOPT GOOGLE APPS FOR THEIR DOMAIN!)

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Our school just adapted Google Apps for Education this past year, so Wesley's tip (in CAPS) confirms our thinking about how to handle "in the cloud" projects.

Thank you for your generosity, Wesley! I hope more educators follow your lead.

And yes, I definitely will be following you on Twitter!

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@mauilibrarian2

iPad BUZZ: a Wiki, a Blog Post, & an Infographic

The conversation about iPads is revving up at our school !

Here are three must-see resources to add to the conversation:

A Wiki: The iPadschools Wiki. "This wiki is intended to be a clearinghouse of applications, lessons and experiences using the iPad in the classroom. The intention is that all apps listed have been tested and recommended by teachers using them.

A blog post: What is the iPad's Killer App? The App Store. | Cult of Mac

And an infographic:



A Brief History of the iPad Infographic created by a discount codes website

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COOL TECH Sighting in Our Library > Video X 3

Had to share this wonderful video of a person (me) taking a video of one of our students taking a video of a YouTube video.



The reason? -- portability of course.

The student's video was to be used to practice for a history project outside, and if you live on Maui where the weather is mild, outside is a much more desirable place to be!

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