Student iPad Assistants Available, Spring 2015

Looking for some iPad assistance in your classroom this semester? Want to encourage student iPad participation or help on a big upcoming project? Student iPad Assistants are here to help!

Look no further than this post! The schedules for our SiPAs are live for students on BCAE (via the Portal) and faculty can request for in-classroom visits by emailing cgaudreau@baypath.edu.

Thanks to you, last semester saw a lot of support given. We'd love to provide even more this time around! Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns of any kind.

Digital Storytelling: Adobe Voice

During our iPad session yesterday we explored three Digital Storytelling tools: iMovie, Adobe Voice and Storehouse. There was a lot of interest in both Adobe Voice and Storehouse, and this entry is all about Adobe Voice.

Want to know more about Digital Storytelling? Let me know in the comments and I'll post as much more information as requested!

Note: This video took me less time to create than it did to upload it to YouTube, write this post and publish it.

Permalink: http://youtu.be/Vre8A9yGjw0 

Creating Digital Books

Want to create a textbook for your students? Looking for an alternative way to present information? With this week's release of the Kindle Textbook Creator as a jumping off point, here are a few links to get you started on creating books for mobile devices.


For Kindle:

https://kdp.amazon.com/edu

For iOS and Android:

http://www.redjumper.net/bookcreator/

For OS X and iOS:

http://www.apple.com/ibooks-author

Snow-Proof Your Class!

"Frozen Sunburst" by Doug Brown is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Snow days are great opportunities to catch up on reading or to work on that upper-body strength with that shovel... but "accumulating inches" no longer means that you and your students have to sacrifice teaching and learning!  Read on for ideas on how to "snow-proof" your classes!

Creating a "Snow Day Module" in your course can be done in a few steps:

1. Create a module:  The best way to organize material in your Canvas classroom is by using Modules.  You can create a module for a class session, a week, a unit, or a topic.  Read up on Creating a New Module in your own classroom!
2. Add content to the module:  An empty module is like a book with no pages!  Add items to your class module including content pages, online discussions and class assignments.
3. Let students know what to expect:  Finally, be sure you let your students know what your expectations are for the snow day.  You can do this by sending an email or a Canvas message.
   

Check out this Canvas classroom that include a sample snow day module, tips on best practices, a sample content page, assignment, discussion and quiz!  In short, this Canvas classroom has all you need to quickly snow-proof your class!

Short on time?  Download (file) and import (instructions) this module shell into your own course!  It includes a template class overview, discussion and assignment item!  

Remember that Hatch Library (Links to an external site.) allows you 24/7 access to an enormous amount of content including scholarly articles (Links to an external site.), Films on Demand (Links to an external site.), the New York Times and more and you can add directly to your Canvas classroom!

Don't forget, if you need help with any of this, teaching with your iPad, or your favorite teaching and learning with technology topic, the Center for Online and Digital Learning is only an email (online@baypath.edu) away!  Messages are monitored Monday through Friday 8:30a-9:00p and your request will be routed to the appropriate staff member who will be in touch to help!

Podcasts: A Primer

Transmitter by Dave Tappy. CC by 3.0

Podcast: a program (as of music or talk) made available in digital format for automatic download over the Internet.

In the last few years, podcasting has taken off, invigorating a new crop of storytellers and introducing (or in some cases, reintroducing) people to new and exciting content. Likely, you've heard of the term at one time or another. Apple bundled it's own Podcast app with iOS 8, causing a lot of "What?" and "Huh?" comments from lots of users.

In just three steps, I'd like to give some insight into this world of free content. And the amount of free content available is staggering.

To get started, either watch the video or read the steps below. Or both. Your call.

1. Find a good podcast player. There are a lot of podcast apps for Android, Windows Phone, and iOS. 
• I really like Overcast.
2. Using the device-specific store, look for content that appeals to you.
• Look for content collections such as Education, Public Radio, Technology or Sports to get started. Or if you're looking for something new. There is something for everyone.
• My rotation currently includes current news, long-form journalism, multiple comedy shows, true stories told live on stage, comic book history and an NPR-style public radio drama as if Twin Peaks or the X-Files were real.
3. Subscribe. Listen. Enjoy.

In the next post, I'll talk about how you and your students can create your own podcasts.

Recommended Browser Extensions & Add-Ons

Browser Extensions are the best. Anything that cuts a workflow in half or removes distractions, I'm 100% for it. Here are some of my favorites:

AdBlock: Safari/Chrome
1Password: Safari/Chrome
Evernote Web Clipper: Safari/Chrome
Facebook Blocker: Safari
Facebook Disconnect: Safari/Chrome
Disconnect: Chrome
Clearly: Chrome
Save to Drive: Chrome
Awesome Screenshot: Safari/Chrome
Turn off the Lights: Safari

There are lots more for Safari here and Chrome here. You can find information for Firefox here and Internet Explorer here.

If you use any Extensions or Add-Ons daily, leave a comment and let us know all about it!

Portable Scanning Solutions.

With the recent release of Scannable on the iOS App Store, I thought it might be a good opportunity to curate a few links that can do scanning on the fly.







Scannable: Available for iOS





CamScanner: Available for iOS and Android







Genius Scan: Available for iOS & Android



Of course, none of them replace a flatbed scanner. However, they all work really well as portable scanning is becoming increasingly more productive and useful. Give them a shot, and if you use another one please let us know in the comments!

Easier Access to your (Work/Life) Calendars

Managing any semblance of a balanced calendar isn't the easiest thing to do, especially when a new semester starts or you're thinking about when that next NEASC meeting is. Oh, and work/life balance...that's in there as well.

Luckily, Google Labs has a feature to help you get the most out of your online experience so you get back to focusing on the real-world activities at hand! 

This Lab keeps a copy of your Google Calendar open as a separate pane in Gmail, so you can toggle between your Calendar and Chat at any time.

One Best Thing

Apple introduced the free One Best Thing series earlier this year, and it's worth checking out.

Over a hundred Apple Distinguished Educators from around the globe created iBooks with best practices for all areas of the curriculum. These books don't just fall with Apple Apps - they run the gamut (although to be fair, they are iOS specific stories and only work on devices with iBooks installed).

Take a look at the list if your looking for some inspiration! Happy hunting!

Permalink: http://search.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZContentLink.woa/wa/link?path=onebestthing

Battery Life

Post-holiday, a reminder about understanding the battery life of your devices so that you can get the most out of your technology in 2015!

Maximizing Performance on Apple Devices

SnapDragon Battery Guru (for Android phones, courtesy of Bryan C.)

Maximizing Performance on Windows Computers

Free Media for Classroom Use

Using Open Source and Fair Use resources challenge and educate our students in digital literacy, sharing, research and citation skills.

Below are some of my favorite places to find content, and we have the awesome folks over at Hatch to help with everything our students need.

The Noun Project: Icons

Open Culture: Written Works, Text Books, Movies

Project Gutenberg: Written Works (including Shelley, Stoker, Joyce and Kafka)

Creative Commons: Images, Audio, Web, Video

Unsplash: Images

Using Google to search for free content: View Lesson 3.