iPad file management in Classroom

The iPad has become a popular education technology device over the past 2 years in our K-12 classrooms at the W.E.C.D.S.B..  The iPad has worked well in the classroom when packaged together in a portable sync/charging cart with an Apple Airport for wireless connectivity and an AppleTV with speakers and LCD projector for presentations.  This is an expensive package but the flexibility of movement combined with the great variety of Apps, Airplay ability, excellent integrated cameras and long battery life make a very functional learning tool in the classroom.

However, using a mobile set of iPads in multiple classrooms has presented some challenges.  The iPad was originally designed around a "1 device to 1 user" model so there was never any provision made for separate user spaces on the device.  When the iPad is used by only one person, file management is a non-issue but when you move to a "1 device to many users" model it becomes a big issue.  It then becomes a really big problem when Apple Configurator is used to manage App licensing on the iPads because supervised iPads are unable to connect to iTunes on any other computer to transfer files.  So two big dilemmas to solve are how do we preserve student work in an isolated space when using the iPad, and how do we enable the ability for students to import their own personal digital content to the iPads?

Cloud to the Rescue!

Cloud storage can provide a secure location to backup work before the iPad gets used by another student, but this solution also needs to give users the ability to import their personal documents, pictures, audio and video back onto the iPad at a later date so they can continue their work.

The key pieces required for a working Cloud solution are a wireless Internet connection, a Cloud account such as Dropbox or Google Drive and a very handy little App called iFiles.  The iFiles App normally costs $3.99 but it does occasionally go on sale for as little as $0.99.  This App enables file transfer between a connected Cloud service and the iPad and it gives the ability to open those files in other Apps.  The key difference between iFiles and the free Google Drive App or DropBox App, is it allows you to send pictures and video to your Camera Roll and it allows you to open documents and music in the App of your choice.  So, by using iFiles and following a few simple steps, students can backup their data such as iMovie projects to the Cloud and import their own music and video from other sources into an iMovie project.

The W.E.C.D.S.B. has leveraged the power of Google Apps for Education to provide each student with 5GB of Google Drive Cloud storage space.  By using Google Drive and iFiles we are able to provide a working Cloud storage solution to the file management problem on the iPad.

The following steps provide a how-to example using iMovie:

Backup your iMovie Project to Google Drive

• From opening page of iMovie make sure your project is in the middle of screen and select the square icon with arrow pointing to the right.
• Select Share Movie To "Camera Roll"
• Choose export size, Medium - 360p is recommended as it keeps the file size smaller for upload & download.
• Exit iMovie & Open iFiles
• In top left of Dashboard tap "+" to Add Service then select "Google Drive".
• Tap "Sign In" and provide user credentials for your Google Apps Account, then select "Allow access" when prompted, then select "Save", and then "Done".
• From Dashoard select your "Google Drive", then select "Home".
• Touch "+" at bottom of screen and select "Folder".  Type "Videos" and touch "Done".  This creates a new Videos folder on your Google Drive.  Touch the "Videos folder" to open it then touch "+"  and select "From Photos"
• Open your Camera Roll and select the Movie you wish to save to your Google Drive, then touch "Upload", your movie is now saved in the Cloud.

Import Video into iMovie from Google Drive

• Open iFiles on iPad and touch "+" to add your Google Drive service, sign in with user credentials and allow iFiles access to your Google Drive files.
• Open your Google Drive in iFiles and navigate to your Videos Folder.
• Touch and hold the video file you want to get into iMovie, when options appear select "Download".
• On Home window select "Movies" folder and your video will download to the iPad.
• Navigate back to "Home" and select "Movies" folder
• Touch "Edit" in top right corner, select video file you want to open in iMovie.
• Select "To Camera Roll" at bottom right.
• Close iFiles
• Open iMovie
• You movie file will now be available in the Video Library.

Import your music into iMovie from Google Drive

• Login to Google Apps Account on a computer that has MP3 audio file you wish to use in iMovie Project
• Create a Music folder on your Google Drive
• Upload MP3 file to the Music folder of your Google Drive
• Open iFiles and touch "+" to add your Google Drive service, sign in with user credentials and allow iFiles access to your Google Drive files.
• Open your Google Drive in iFiles and navigate to the Music folder.
• Touch and hold the MP3 file, when options appear select "Download".
• On Home window select "Music" folder and your MP3 will download to the iPad.
• Navigate back to "Home" and select "Music" folder.
• Touch and hold the MP3 file you want to open in iMovie, when options appear select "Open In", then select "Open in iMovie", then select an existing Project or create a New Project.  Your music is now imported into your iMovie Project.

Housekeeping

Remember it is important when using class sets of iPads to always open iFiles and delete your Google Drive service before returning the iPad to the cart to prevent other users from accessing your Google Drive.

Hope you find this as useful as I have!

Google Apps in Education Summit

I recently spent the weekend of April 20 & 21 in Kitchener attending the very first Google Apps in Education Summit in Canada. It was a great opportunity to learn from experts in all things Google and while I learned many things, my favourite tip came from Ken Shelton when he showed us how to use a favicon on Google Sites to create a custom look.

It turns out that it is extremely simple to convert an existing GIF, PNG or JPG image into an ICO file that can be used on your Google Site. Assuming you already have a JPG logo, you can use a free online generator to upload your JPG logo file and it will convert the image and allow you to download a new file named "favicon.ico" to your computer.

Now login to your Google Apps account and open Sites, then select the website you wish to work on and from the More menu button select Manage site.  Select the Attachments category and choose the Upload button, then find and open the "favicon.ico" from your computer. That is it, you will now see a small version of your logo appear in the browser tab when you open your web site.

Check out Ken's web site for many more great tips on how to customize your Google Site.

Thanks Ken!

Rethinking Technology in Education

Education Leadership Institute 2012

Here are 10 ideas that stuck with me from this two day conference.

• Technology cannot replace poor pedagogy.
• Pedagogy, content and technology—one is not more important than the other.
• Traditional classrooms do not engage kids.
• The teacher is not the focal point in today’s classroom.
• Technology breaks down barriers to learning.  Sugata Mitra’s “Hole in the wall” experiment cited.
• Proven methods of learning are:  Socialization, Mobility, Visualization, Storytelling and Gaming.
• Technology in education should not just replace an old way of performing the same task; it should provide new tools that enable curiosity, creativity and collaboration. 
• Technology should challenge current learning models and allow for task redesign.
• Challenge based learning changes the entire concept of teaching.
• Kids are capable of solving problems, collaborating and learning more.

 What does all this mean?  I think it means we must carefully consider how to invest in technology in our classrooms.  We need to have a solid implementation plan that stresses equal importance on pedagogy, content and technology.  We need to understand that today's child lives in a world that is interactive, engaging and collaborative; this world enables them to instantly satisfy their curiosity no matter what the topic.  The world has essentially become their classroom and if we do not adapt our current learning models to involve the technology they view as a necessary appendage then we risk becoming irrelevant as educators.

If you want to see a different version of Sugata Mitra's "Hole in the wall" experiment, then give a 12 year old child an iPad and sit him/her down in front of a television tuned to the Science Channel and watch what happens.  It is amazing to see where their curiosity takes them!

Evernote in the Classroom

As we roll out technology into our schools it is important to provide software tools that enhance the delivery of curriculum so these devices do not simply become time wasting distractions.

One example of a terrific application that provides a conduit for rich note taking and project collaboration is Evernote.  This power software has the ability to type notes, store documents, capture audio or photographs and allows you to organize it all and access it from any device.

Have a look at how this School is using  Evernote, you may just find a whole new way of using technology in your classroom.

App Icons made easy!

I was looking for a way to create nicely polished icons for a web page that had the same appearance as an iPad App.  So I started with an image files like this one:

I was hoping to frame it with rounded edges and give it a nice glossy appearance.

Photo editing software seemed like the obvious place to start but I have found if you are not an experienced user many higher-end photo editors can be frustrating to use.

So I began searching the web for an easier solution and was fortunate to stumble across the ICONJ web site.  This site is easy to use, gives nice configuration options and produces exactly the end result I wanted.

Here is an example of what ICONJ produces in just a few seconds:

Awesome!

Give ICONJ a try and you will have professional looking App icons in seconds.

Web Portals for Schools

The idea is to create a very simple web page that appears much like an Apps page on a mobile device.  The original design idea came from Doug Sadler who is the lead for a new team called ET2You at the W.E.C.D.S.B..  ET2You is short for "Education Technology to you".  Spent a few hours today learning Google Apps Sites and was able to tweak a basic design to come up with a nice functional web page that works well on multiple devices.  Check it out at School Portal.