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.

Workflow: Final Paper and Presentation

Writing a final paper for my graduate course this semester, I thought it might be nice to share some insight into the technology used and the workflow used to complete the assignment. As always - questions and comments are encouraged!

The Technology

• 13" MacBook Pro (running OS X 10.10)
• iPad Mini (running iOS 8)
• iPhone 6 (running iOS 8)
• Hearthstone (just one...more...game. Then I'll get back checking that APA format...)
• Breville One-Touch Tea Maker (one cannot study without a nice warm cup of tea)

App	Use	Platform
Evernote	Notes, Reminders	OS X, iOS, Web
Skitch	PDF Markup	OS X, iOS
Pages	Writing the Paper	OS X, iOS, Web
Numbers	Tracking Mentions within PDFs	OS X, iOS
Keynote	Presentation	OS X, iOS
RefMe	Bibliography	iOS, Web

Reference Sites Utilized:

• Purdue OWL (APA formatting)
• ERIC (Article Research)
• Google Scholar (Article Research)

Check List by Sabine Wollender from the Noun Project

The Workflow

1. Choose topic and review with faculty member.
2. Create notes in Evernote that chart Final Paper/Presentation progress
3. Research topic via ERIC and Google Scholar
4. Save URLs into Evernote
5. Create a spreadsheet charting key words and terms within the research papers in Numbers
6. Open URLs and save PDF articles into Evernote
7. Markup PDFs via Evernote and Skitch for iPad
8. Write research paper in Pages
9. Check against Purdue OWL APA formatting standards
10. Use the abstract of the paper to outline a 15m presentation in Keynote

Things for iOS. For Free.

The current App of the Week on iOS has long been a favorite of mine and is a constant in my workflow:

Things is a "delightful and easy to use task manager" - and one that I use every single day. I highly recommend checking it out!

The Mac App is 30% off, if you're looking for something that syncs across your Apple devices.

App Discovery: Katie Jones

Title: Director of H&W

About Me: My name is Katie Jones and I am the Director of Health and Wellness, Head Field Hockey Coach and teach in the WELL program.  In summary, I get to help support students in their development in and out of the classroom.  I am a secret absolute geek and love technology and apps and enjoy staying up-to-date with the latest tech news. 

App 1: Evernote combines lots of different meetings notes in one place.

App 2: Poll Everywhere - such an amazing way to engage my class, especially the more introverted students.

App 3: Lift - great wellness goal tracking and quick and easy reminders built in.

App Discovery: Adrian Garcia Sega

Title: Co-director

App 1: Notability  I import all pdfs and associated documents for meetings and projects and keep it backed up through google drive!  It allows me to mark up those documents and make my own notes.

App 2: Google Drive/Dropbox Google Drive/Dropbox.  A nice repository for all my documents that allows me to move them around from one device to the other!

Office. For iPad. For Free.

Microsoft has just released Office for free on the iPad, and the Center for Online & Digital Learning and Student iPad Assistants are here to help.

But wait? Wasn't Office free before? It was. The new version allows users to create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. The files can then be stored on the iPad, One Drive or Dropbox. Click here for more information!

There are, as with everything free, a few caveats. Please read this page for what you can and can't do with the free version. For instance, users cannot Track Changes or use Landscape mode without upgrading to Office 365.

If you have questions regarding Office on your iPad or iPhone, please contact the Student iPad Assistants for help!

Android Users: Sign up for the preview version now.


Permalink:
http://products.office.com/en-us/mobile/?WT.mc_id=OAN_en-us_bnr_MSCOM-Prog-iPad
http://office.microsoft.com/en-001/products/office-resources-FX102896045.aspx#Resource6

Getting the Most of Your Battery: A Primer

Becoming an increasingly mobile campus, which ranges from iPads in the classroom to BYOD, ensuring that batteries last as long as they can is of the utmost importance. For all of the things that our mobile devices can do, I wanted to send out a few links to help you better understand the batteries inside of them.

The majority of perceived issues regarding 'poor' battery life that I experienced while at Apple were, more often than not, educational opportunities: Understanding how the battery works is just as important as what the device can do.

For your consideration, here are links to battery management on iOS, OS X, Android and Windows.

Maximizing Performance on Apple Devices

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

Maximizing Performance on Windows Computers


If you have any questions, do not hesitate to let me know!


Image Credit: Battery by Rediffusion from The Noun