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!

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.

Make a Film with iPad! (a Featured Category in the App Store)

Apple's Featured Category: Make a Film with iPad
I Happened across this featured category while perusing the App Store on my iPad today. It features an assortment of apps to help you create your own "film" on the iPad from planning and pre-production to the end. Here is a closer look at what's available.

YouTube Kids App Review!

YouTube Kids Android and iOS App Released!
On February 23, 2015, Google released a new Youtube app. This time focusing on its youngest users! I've given this new app a spin and here's my review at launch.

Get your FREE Google Classroom iPad App User Guides! **UPDATED 9/15/2016**

Guides were updated on Sept 15, 2016!
**now with the Annotation Tool**

Get your FREE user guide for the new Google Classroom iPad App!
Google released an Android & iOS app for Google Classroom. It's not full featured (yet) so it's important that teachers and students understand exactly what you can and can't do with the 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!

A Curation of Resources for The Hour of Code 2014 (and Beyond!)

The Hour of Code will soon be upon us and it's going to be the largest global learning event in history!

Last year the Hour of Code reached 15 million users and 10 million girls just within 5 days! That was an introduction. And now there is a push for more Computer Programming courses in education. This year the goal is to reach 100 million users! So how can you participate and what resources are available for you and your students? I've curated everything I could possibly find for The Hour of Code (and beyond...)!

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!

MOOC-Ed: Coaching Digital Learning, Unit 6 Reflection

In the final unit of the Coaching Digital Learning MOOC-Ed, we learned about the importance of and practiced evaluating EdTech tools and resources, such as iPad Apps and websites with the use of rubrics and evaluation tools.

One of the these tools is +Kathy Schrock's iPad App Evaluation Form. I used it to practice evaluating the app, Book Creator, which I already know is great for students! But I liked how the evaluation form focuses on different features of apps that allow students to do certain things. You can see my evaluation of Book Creator below as well as a link to the blank form.


What challenges have you faced in selecting the appropriate digital resources for your own use or other’s use? How did you overcome these issues?

One of the biggest challenges when selecting a digital tool or resource for my teachers and students, is its ease of use and reliability. Teachers often want a tool that is quick to learn, easy to use, and fits in perfectly with their lesson on unit. Finding the right tools to fit this criteria can be very difficult and often impossible. I have to be careful in the way I present the tool, and it can be a delicate process in helping the teacher to figure it out. One wrong move with the tool, and teacher may lose interest without fully exploring its use and opportunities.

After reviewing this Unit’s Resources and Activity, what resources/checklists/rubrics, etc. would you consider sharing with your colleagues in order to build their capacity around choosing appropriate technology to maximize learning and teaching? 

Next school year, I'll be working at a new school in my state that has a continuing 1:1 iPad Program.

After exploring Kathy Schrock's iPad App Evaluation tool, I definitely think I'm going to help introduce the idea of an iPad App Evaluation tool to the teachers. I think it's important to think about the purpose and usability of an app. Does it fit a need in the class? Can it be used to enhance a lesson or a project? Using an evaluation tool can help teachers to better understand and think about how an app is going to fit in to the classroom. It may also help teachers to think about some aspects that they weren't aware of.

+Kathy Schrock  "Critical Evaluation of a Creation iPad/iPod App" and other rubrics

My Instructional Technology Coaching Action Plan. 

Please comment on the document and add your resources, opinions, and ideas!

My other Coaching Digital Learning MOOC-Ed Unit Reflections:

• Unit 1 Reflection
• Unit 2 Reflection
• Unit 3 Reflection
• Unit 4 Reflection
• Unit 5 Reflection
• Unit 6 Reflection

Check out my Coaching Digital Learning Pinterest Board with all of the resources and videos from the entire course!

Follow Michael's board Coaching Digital Learning, #CDL_MOOCed on Pinterest.

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.