Group items tagged

"Last Sunday, I received a note via the contact form on my blog that was a first for me in many ways. It was the first time I had ever been contacted by a parent via my blog, the first time I could not put a comment out of my mind until I had addressed it, and the first time I ever thought about the impact a school's 1:1 take-home technology initiative could have on a family."

"Yesterday after school my fourth-quarter filmmaking group made up of fourth and fifth grade students, met for the first time to start filming "The Ghost of Bethke." Although we have been writing the script and planning the movie for the past few weeks, this was the first time we met to start filming, but this time there is a twist. This time we are filming our movie exclusively on a new iPad (the iPad 3). I was impressed with the new camera on this iPad and I wanted to see if a movie could really be shot and edited on it."

There are a number of apps that are available that let you record your voice in order to convert it to text. I find this helpful when I need to transcribe longer pieces or even if I need to transcribe multiple entries. This technology is not yet perfect but it has improved considerably since these apps first came on the market. The first time I tried these app I got about 30% of the words correct, that figure is now more like 85% and with some effort on your part can be as high as 95%. Even with the minor inconsistencies it is still a quicker way for me to do larger pieces of text. I find these good when I want to just get the text down for a piece that I will spend some time formatting later. These are great for students as well, especially those kids who display great verbal intelligence but struggle with the written word.

"Syncing 1 iPad may seem like a piece of cake, but setting up folders, restrictions, web links, and iTunes settings on 30 iPads? Not so cake-like."

"Siri is one of Apple's flagship features, a virtual, personal, digital assistant with a personality straight out of a Pixar film. If you've got an iPhone 5, iPod touch 5, iPad mini, or iPad 4, then you've got Siri! With Siri, you can do all sorts of amazing, time-saving things, from keeping in contact, to keeping on time, to keeping informed. But first, you may need to get Siri set up and up to speed."

"Even though it's October it still feels very much like the beginning of the year. One of the first thoughts that many teachers have about their students is "they look so little!" It's true. Those tall confident students that left us have gone on to be "little" to next year's teacher and we have our own new crop of "little" people to educate. This becomes even more pronounced in a technology classroom. Everything takes longer, typing, starting, opening, finding, searching. Whatever it is they need time to figure it out. Patience is key. So what can we do?"

"Chad Criswell, author of the MusicEdMagic blog, as well as the contributing author/tech editor for several music education magazines, including Teaching Music, has written an excellent column on apps for Music Education which appears in the October 2012 edition of the magazine. It is going to be a great starting point-with 23 listed apps-for music educators getting into the iPad for the first time."

"Some days, like today, can really inspire you to continue to use an iPad in Education. Seeing the excitement in colleagues faces as they see the possibilities of the iPad, sometimes for the first time!"

"Over on Kickstarter is the Jaja iPad Pressure Sensitive Stylus. The project name is 'Worlds First' which we can't say for certain if they beat Adonit in the design release. While Adonit is showing theirs at shows, Jaja is stating they should have a finished product shipping in April. Jaja has hit their requested money so the project will get funded and the stylus should get built. We want these pens so we hope everyone ships on time!"

"This is another great publication by Lisa Johnson and her Appy Hour partner Yolanda Barker. The first, however, released on iTunes. These guys spend so much of their time and energy developing fantastic resources simply to share with other teachers and educators."

"Google Apps for the iPad is a small site built by Google Certified Teacher Jill Galloway. The site addresses a lot of common questions about using Google Apps on iPads. Additionally, you will find some helpful tips for first time users of Google Apps on iPads. If you're just getting started using an iPad, Google Apps for iPad is a good reference to look at."

"You can redownload and reinstall any previously purchased apps that have since been deleted from an iOS device, even if you deleted them a long time ago or never even installed them in the first place. Here is how:"

Here are some links about our upcoming AppCamp; an idea that was spun out of the last Dust or Magic meeting in anticipation of the flood of touch/motion related hardware. Feel free to call or email me directly if you have any questions or ideas; I'm still forming the agenda. About: It is time to explore the iPad's potential for children. The Inaugural Dust or Magic Children's App Design Institute is a three-day review of the best (magic) and worst (dust) children's media for handheld devices. We'll critique the state of the art, brainstorm possibilities and test a lot of hardware and apps. Speakers: The list is growing as the event develops (this is a first). The idea is to bring together a small ( (105 miles from San Francisco on the tip of the Monterey Peninsula. Cost: $1380 for one seat, $990 for 2-5, plus housing ($130/night). Group size is limited to 60. There will be a free, public AppFest on Sunday and a larger TED-like event in the Chapel. UPENN graduate credit is available; students are welcome to attend the Sunday lecture at no cost pending seating. To Register: 800-993-9499 (9-2:30 PM EST), online Please note that space is limited to 60. Seats remaining as of March 6: 39 I appreciate any help marketing this to the right people; and call me with your ideas. W -- Warren Buckleitner, Ph.D

I just updated the page with some new speakers.

I would give my eye teeth to attend this... cost is an issue right now. Sounds amazing! If you need ideas on where to spread the word, let me know. I'll send this out to the Apple Distinguished Educator list for sure.

"Opera this morning announced the milestone, and added that Opera Mini is currently the number one iPhone app in the 22 featured Apple App Stores on their site, as of 8 AM CET on Thursday. " Released on April 15, 2010.

A wonderful browser alternative (free download) for iPhone. According to Apple's download count, Opera Mini has to date been added to 1,023,380 Apple devices.For your reference: the widely anticipated Skype iPhone app was downloaded 1 million times on the first two days of availability in the App Store.

If you are looking to buy an iPhone, whether you are a first time buyer, or you have previously owned an iPhone and are looking to replace or upgrade the existing device here is some advice on what to look out for and offer you some assistance when you choose what iPhone to buy.

Ideally, I would like to merge his apps with my apps. Is there any way?

"Interactive and collaborative - Whiteboards are a great way for teachers to explain concepts to their students. With the ability of some iPad apps to record, you ensure that students who did not develop understanding of the concept the first time have the opportunity to watch and listen again and again. Working in small groups or brainstorming as a class, collaborative whiteboards are a great way to share ideas. Work in the same room, on the same network or even from different parts of the country. No matter what you are working on these interactive whiteboards are a great way to document or record your thinking process. "