7 iOS 11 Features for the iPad Classroom

iOS 11 has dropped and with it comes some amazing new features that will surely benefit you and your students in the iPad classroom. Dig in to this blog post for a free downloadable and printable poster of 7 of my favorite new iOS 11 features. I've also shared some ideas and sample use cases as well as quick video tutorials for each new feature!

Teleport 360 Editor: Your Gateway into Classroom VR Creation

I recently released a four-part blog series about the Thinglink VR Editor and how I'm using it in a variety classrooms at my school. As a Certified Thinglink Educator, I'm super excited to help announce the release of the Teleport 360 Editor for iOS! Dive in and let me show you what this app is capable of!

Virtual Reality Science with MEL Chemistry

Did you ever watch "Dexter's Laboratory" on Cartoon Network and wish you could have your very own science lab? I did and now I do, with MEL Chemistry! And there's a Virtual Reality component! Check out my video demo of one of their science experiments and find out how VR can enhance your learning of chemistry!

10 Virtual Reality Resources that Every Teacher Can Use

 Are you ready to dive into Virtual Reality in your classroom? Now is the time! There are tons of free and inexpensive content out there: apps, websites, lesson plans, and creation tools. I've created a list of my top 10 Virtual Reality resources that you can use right now in your classroom!

Get Your FREE Google Expeditions iOS App User Guide!

The Google Expeditions iOS app released on September 19, 2016! You can get the iOS app here and the Android app here. To help you get familiarized with the iOS version, I've created a handy User Guide that can be used by both the teacher and the students. Feel free to download, print, and share this FREE Google Expeditions iOS User Guide!

Explore the New Google Drive with Material Design (June 3, 2015)

If you checked your updates for your iPad or iPhone, you might have noticed an update for Google Drive was released today. The new Material Design has rearranged some of the features. Read on for screenshots and a break down.

Google Classroom Updates! (Added Jan. 15, 2015)

More updates for Google Classroom!
The amazing Google Classroom team added two great new features on January 15th. And now there's even an app for Android and iOS! Read on for a break down of the new features and the iOS app.

Google Just Blew Us Away with 3 Major Updates to Google Drive!

Google recently released 3 major updates for Google Docs and Google Sheets!
The Google Drive team has been hard at work added some much needed features to the web-based Google Docs and the Docs and Slides iOS Apps! Features that everyone has been longing for!

iOS 8 Features for Teachers!

iOS 8 has finally arrived! But, be forewarned, all of your favorite classroom apps might not be compatible just yet! Watch out for more new app updates with iOS 8 compatibility in the next few weeks and beyond.

When you finally do update, there are some key iOS 8 features that teachers might be interested in!

A Better Spotlight Search!
AirPlay to Apple TV without Wifi!
Inter-App Communication Will Make App Smashing Easier!

Teacher Driven Professional Development & T.A.P.

I was recently invited by +Sean Connors, an Educational Technology Coordinator for Le Jardin Academy in Kailua, Hawaii, to participate in a teacher driven professional development session they call T.A.P. (Teachers As Professionals).

The most recent T.A.P. was on January 30, 2014. +Sean Connors created a Google+ event here. We recently spoke with Sean about T.A.P. on episode 11 of EdTech Mixed Plate. You can check out the show notes here with more details from Sean about the sessions and sign up.

Some of the sessions offered on January 30th were:

• RAZ Kids
• iPads in the Younger Years
• Get SMART with the Smartboard
• Stop Motion Animation (w/ +Amy Burvall)
• Google Docs in the Classroom

What I absolutely love about T.A.P. is that most, if not all, of these sessions are teacher driven and teacher led. They are sessions that teachers at Le Jardin Academy want to learn more about and are willing to share with others. And the sessions change with each T.A.P. depending on teacher interest. What I also like about this form of PD is that Le Jardin Academy teachers are willing to open up their campus to other teachers in the state. This is a powerful form of PD because it allows educators to learn and grow beyond the walls of their own school and it allows for the building of strong professional connections.

I chose to participate in the session, iPads in the Younger Years. A few of the kindergarten teachers recently attended a workshop about iPads for younger children and wanted to share their new found knowledge and app-bilities with other teachers at the school. I saw this as an opportunity to gather tips, tricks, and ideas that I could bring back to my school and share with my kindergarten and 1st grade teachers. 

Here are some of the ideas and apps they had to share:

• Whiteboard HD - teachers found a way to use this app to organize their class centers. They can display their iPad through the projector so their students can see which center they are assigned to. The app allows the user to insert images saved to the Camera Roll or take photos.
  
• Flick. - (w/ a period) This app, when installed on multiple devices and computers, allows the user to "flick" files to others for easy sharing. Teachers thought this would be a useful app for students to quickly share their iPad files with the teacher. It's just a simple "flick" of the finger!
  
• I-Nigma - This is a reliable QR Code scanner app. During their iPad workshop, they learned how QR codes could be utilized in the classroom for student use. They also showed a great game that used QR codes to connect kids to sounds that animals make.
  
• Futaba & Futaba CG - Futaba & Futaba CG are two great iPad apps for children and classrooms. They have built in "board games" that help teacher and reinforce a variety of standards. You can have up to 4 students playing the game on an iPad at a time! Users can also create their own "board game". A teacher can create a specific game for students or even consider having students create their own game to check for understanding and mastery of a skill!
  
• AirServer - Teachers really seem to love AirServer! AirServer is a desktop app that allows you to wirelessly connect and view your iPad or iPhone screen on a computer. With the most recent AirServer update, you can also now record (like a screencast) as you interact with the iPad on your computer.

I'm excited to participate in the next T.A.P. and to connect with other like-minded educators! Thanks for the invite, +Sean Connors!

SMART Notebook iPad App Review

SMART Technologies recently released a new iPad app, called SMART Notebook app for iPad. This might be big news for a lot people who have a SMART Board and an iPad in their classroom. My school has three SMART boards on campus, and I have access to one of them in my computer lab. We also have been testing out iPads in the education setting, with teachers and students, over the past year or so. I was really excited to hear about an iPad app for SMART Notebook, but initially, I wasn't sure what to expect from it. Does it allow a user to connect to the SMART Notebook software on their computer? Is it a standalone "whiteboard" app that allows the user to draw and create slides? Will the app display on an overhead projector?

Well, I took the hit and purchased the app for $7.00 to see what the app is all about. $7.00 is quite expensive for an iPad app, especially since I'm working with a public school budget and I'm always on the hunt for FREE or, at the most, $0.99 apps.

Up front, SMART Notebook app for iPad is a very basic "whiteboard"app. You can create notebook files and slides within each file. You have a set of 5 tools to use with the whiteboard space. The Select Arrow, a Pen, an Eraser, a Text Tool, and an Insert Photo tool.

The Pen Tool comes with a set of 4 colors (black, blue, red, and green) and 2 highlighters (yellow and green). 

The text box comes with an assortment of options, such as Size, Font, and Color. You can also set you text to bold, italics, or underline, and you can align the text within the box.

 The one thing I dislike about the text options is the layout of the color selection. The colors are organized in a long column. I would much prefer a color wheel, where I have more options to choose from. It would also make finding a color much easier as I wouldn't have to scroll through a list to find what I want.

The Insert Photo tool gives the user the choice of either inserting a picture from their camera roll or a photo can be taken with the built in camera.

Overall, I think $7.00 makes this app way overpriced for what it offers. There are many other "whiteboard" apps available on the market, some a lot cheaper and others in the $7 range offer more features.

If you already have SMART Notebook 11 installed on your computer (which is free with a SMART board), you may just want to consider an app like Splashtop 2. The iPad app is $4.99. It allows you to remotely connect to your computer. Going this route will give you access to SMART Notebook 11 on your iPad with all the other features for a smaller pricetag.



If you're using SMART Notebook app for iPad, let me know what you think in the comments below.