Referencing Made Easy

For those of us who do a lot of research and paper writing (but maybe don't love it...) I've found the following apps that may come in handy. I'm going to work with both of them this semester, and thought you may find them interesting:

RefMe  - Create references for multiple types of media and export to popular formats like APA and MLA. Web-based, with apps for iOS and Android. Free.

Video Overview of RefMe

Papers - Search for and create references via academic journals and Google Scholar. Supports in-app annotations. Can sync with iOS, Mac, Windows and Web. $79 desktop and $9.99 iOS. Papers is very loaded with content, hence the hefty price tag.

Happy Referencing!

 Wednesday. September 17. 1:00-ish. 

Apple announced that iOS 8 will be live and available for download around 1pm on Wednesday afternoon. Very quickly, know the impact it will make:

• Downloads. Lots of Downloads: The network may feel a pinch around this time, as lots of Faculty, Staff and Students update their iOS devices. Plan accordingly.
• Back Up Your Content: If you don't have a current back up (e.g. as of the moment before you want to download the new software), don't do it. If an error occurs while downloading that compromises your device, you may be out of luck until you connect it to a computer and redownload the software.
• User Names & Passwords: Keep a list of user names & passwords ready, especially your Apple ID. Go here for support for all-things Apple ID.
• Change is Coming: There are a lot of new enhancements and changes with this release. Visit this link to familiarize yourself with what's been shared with the public so far.
• iCloud Drive: Do NOT choose this option when given. iCloud Drive is not yet fully functional and may wipe out your content. Wait until Yosemite comes out later this year to opt-in.

Lastly, I have one piece of sage advice to leave you with: You don't have to get it. As with all new releases, it's not mandatory. But eventually, the apps you love won't work with iOS 6 and I know you've been avoiding iOS 7...

I'm here if you have any questions or concerns. Happy updating!

Gradebook Total Column Is Moving Up The Street!

The ability to identify struggling students in your course early and often is paramount to their success here at Bay Path. With the September 6^th update to Canvas, you will be able to do that more easily. 

Soon, your Total column will now become mobile allowing you to place it at the beginning.of your Grade Book.  By positioning it as the left-most column, the visual impact is much greater and immediate... you'll be able to easily identify where students are in any given course.

Let us know if this helps you out, or if you would like more information when it's released in a few days.

Chris Gaudreau and Mary Wiseman
Center for Online & Digital Learning

The details for these new features have been sourced from Canvas’ User Guides and Product Release Notes. If you have any specific question we would be happy to speak with you directly, please call 413-565-6880 or email us at online@baypath.edu.

iMovie, YouTube and Canvas

Oh, hello there.

Recently the Center has fielded lots of questions regarding iMovie, YouTube and Canvas integration. Putting together a comprehensive workflow to upload content to Canvas was a focus of mine over the last few days, and you can view it here.

As faculty and staff who use Canvas on a daily basis but have other tasks at hand, the last thing you want to worry about is taking extra time to find that video you uploaded to Canvas and if you are running out of your allotted space. I hope this helps.

Good luck!

Reminders and Collaboration Tools

Do you like to be reminded about upcoming activities and tasks? Want to collaborate with your fellow faculty or staff members to track progress? 

Most importantly: Can you, as a faculty or staff member, use reminders and collaboration tools in your daily workflow?

There are a lot of apps and websites out there looking to help you track your time, and, just like members of your family, they all have their pros and cons. Let’s take a quick look at a few of them (be sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom through all three sections!):

First, we’ll look at the default apps that most everyone has access to by using any modern phone or computer.

Reminders

Got an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Apple computer? If so, then you already have Reminders. It syncs with iCloud so all your stuff is one step away from completion.

Cost: Free

More information: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4970

Google Calendar 

Using your BPU Google account, you can find tasks in Google Calendar by clicking on the triangle on the far-right edge of your screen. It syncs with your Google account, so any connected device will have your tasks.

Cost: Free

More Information: https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/144246?hl=en

Windows Calendar 

The default calendar on Windows (Windows phone 7 or 8, Windows 7 or 8 for desktop) allows you to create tasks or activities from your events by a selection tool within the event.

Cost: Free

More Information: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/email-and-calendar/calendar-tasks

Now that we’ve seen some basic task management apps, let’s do a deeper dive into the app world and see some of the other things out there. These are more robust apps, created by independent developers focusing on creating a unique user experience.

Things 

My current go-to for managing projects, Siri-integration (for when those reminders strike you in the middle of I-91), quick entry, hosted cloud support, and the ability to send URLs via a bookmark. The biggest drawback - Price. The second biggest drawback - Lack of updates.

Cost: Things for Mac - $49, Things for iPhone - $9.99, Things for iPad - $19.99

More information: http://culturedcode.com

Clear 

A really clean interface, very user friendly. Incredibly simple. This is more of a straight to do list than a task manager. But if you’re looking for quick and dirty, this is the way to do it.

Cost: Clear for OS X - $9.99, Clear for iOS - $4.99

More Information: http://realmacsoftware.com/clear/

Evernote 

Admittedly, I love Evernote for it’s ability to digitally hoard my stuff. But with the newest update, I can add reminders to my notes. If you’re using the service already, this is a great feature. If not, I’ll detail it later in another post about it’s usage and how it’s saved me quite a few times.

Cost: Free with the Premium subscription running $49/yr

More Information: http://www.evernote.com

Lastly, let’s take a look at three services that promote and deeply integrate collaboration. 

ToDoist 

Quite possibly the most robust on this list in that it covers all major platforms (both mobile and desktop), major browsers and has Gmail integration. 

Cost: Free, though premium features like Reminders and Keywords will cost you $29/yr

More information: https://en.todoist.com

Producteev 

Built around collaboration, this app allows for a lot of transparency around audit trails and notifications for web, OS X, iOS and Android. At first glance it can seem overwhelming, but the scope and breadth of it’s features greatly outweigh even the most clunky of interfaces.

Cost: Free with optional yearly subscription for $99/yr

More information: https://producteev.com

Wunderlist 

Available for all major platforms (except Windows Phone), this app has a cleaner interface than most on the list. The learning curve is also less steep. However, because of the baked-in collaboration features and ability to publish lists for those without Wunderlist it can help you keep your courses transparent to those outside of BPU (i.e. parents).

Cost: Free with optional $4.99/month pro account

More information: https://www.wunderlist.com

Any questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

Chris Gaudreau

Learning Technologist

Center for Online & Digital Learning

cgaudreau@baypath.edu

413-565-1057