Paper App: Everything For Free!

Do you like to sketch, draw, or paint on iPad? Know someone else who does? If so, today is a great day for you (or them)!

Paper, a drawing app by Fifty Three (not the one by Facebook), today announced that all of their In-App Purchases are now free. The coolest feature is Mix, which allows users to create together, much like an artist and inker on a comic book.

Happy Drawing!

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

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.

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!

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

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.

Universally Accepted File Formats

As a platform agnostic community, we deal with lots of data coming in from a multitude of sources. And, as it turns out, not all of those sources play nicely together.

I thought it would be best to create a list of universally accepted file formats and compare them to those that are platform specific. This can aid in your assignment requirements via Canvas or even when using via AirPlay in an on-ground classroom.

You can view the list here, and I encourage any questions or comments that you may have!

Permalink: https://docs.google.com/a/baypath.edu/spreadsheets/d/1zD03vNzcmxUg0P8X3ZrU7DwViqMljczjaciSDzc-o3Q/edit?usp=sharing

Icons by Garrett Knoll from The Noun Project

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

Text Shortcuts

Typing the same thing time and time again can be a bit much. What if there were a way to create shortcuts for your most commonly used phrases?

Text shortcuts in iOS a great time saver. Check out the video below for more information!

There are also third-party apps like TextExpander touch which offer a little more functionality and the newly added Keyboard Extension in iOS 8.

Got any favorite extensions? Let us know!

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

App Discovery: Rachel Alter

Title: Librarian

About Me: Reference and Instruction Services 

App 1: Doc Scan has been a great help to students here in the library when the printer/scanner is down. It scans to PDFs, doing the same thing the big scanner does, and eliminating the step of emailing the scan to yourself.

App 2: Overdrive, which can be used with an eCard at the Boston Public Library, for downloading audiobook titles from their huge collection, and then listening to them on your commute.

App Discovery: Michael Roberts

Title: Online Course Builder

About Me: Audiobooks. Ebooks. Immediately.

App 1: Overdrive - I listen to books. A lot. 

App Discovery: Dave Wallace

Title: Associate Professor of Psychology

App 1: Notabilty - I was very fortunate to pick this up when it came out; it is an outstanding note taking app that is still my go-to one for taking notes at meetings, lectures, conferences, etc. Directories, Solid organization (where can move files into your own named directories etc), and Exporting features. Most of all - their CS is without peer. When I once had a problem after upgrading my iOS, they responded within hours When that fix didn't work someone else got back to me 5 hours later with a fix.

App 2: Toodledo - A great task manager. Less detailed than some of the more formal GTD apps, (it is streamlined), but it still allows for Outlines, Notes, Dates and Times due, Alarms, Repeating a task, Searchers. etc.

*tie*

mSecure - a fantastic encryption app. It can transfer to Mac, PC, and mobile formats. You can wifi to update each one (so you can enter passwords etc in one, and they pop up in the other), and you can save your info in an encrypted form as a backup.

App 3: Weblock - a great way to reduce the number of ads, scripts etc that we pick up along the way. It creates and manages your PAC (proxy auto configuration), and uses a dummy proxy to allow you to not get many of those ads and other things that pop up.

*tie*

Plants vs Zombies/Bloons 5! Everyone needs a fun game now and then to unwind -- and these are pretty fun ones regardless of one's background, interests, and abilities.

App Discovery

Bay Path University Community,

There has been a lot of interest expressed that there be suggested apps, along with tips and tricks, posted more regularly to the Center for Online & Digital Learning's blog.

However, we want to engage more with you: We are seeking faculty and staff that want to share their favorite apps and why they can't live without them. Think of them as Indispensable Apps.

Be on the lookout soon for an email containing all the information that you'll need to be a member of this awesome group.

Thank you in advance!!


Chris Gaudreau
cgaudreau@baypath.edu
Learning Technologist
Center for Online & Digital Learning