Creating Narrated Slideshows with an #iPad #ecisd

Note the annotation tools down the left-side, as well as the record buttons across the bottom.
Tool: Explain Everything ($2.99)

Since several schools are participating in the EC3 iPad Initiative, I've been exploring how to best accomplish tasks that  I would usually use a laptop or desktop computer with an iPad. One of those tasks includes creating narrated slideshows that can be used to illustrate a concept and/or share information.

Classroom teachers might find the creation of narrated slideshows--whether those are created with Powerpoint or a series of images arranged to effect--useful as a result of the recent reflection about the Flipped Classroom:

The flipped classroom model encompasses any use of using Internet technology to leverage the learning in your classroom, so you can spend more time interacting with students instead of lecturing. This is most commonly being done using teacher created videos (aka vodcasting) that students view outside of class time.

It is called the flipped class because the whole classroom/homework paradigm is "flipped". What used to be classwork (the "lecture") is done at home via teacher-created videos and what used to be homework (assigned problems) is now done in class.
Read more

Teacher-created videos could easily be the creation of content done with an iPad with Internet access.

HOW TO GET STARTED
In developing a narrated slideshow--imagine a Powerpoint slideshow with audio narration--I asked friend and education colleague, Wes Fryer (SpeedofCreativity.org) to share what HIS favorite slideshow narration tool is.

His response included an iPad app called Explain Everything ($2.99)--note the screenshot at the top of the screen--which enables you to import your slideshow--that you create in Powerpoint, Keynote, or a series of images and then place in some kind of cloud storage (e.g. Dropbox)--then take several actions with it, such as the following:

1. Annotate - allows you to draw arrows, squares, circle content as you are recording.
2. Record audio - This allows you to add audio narration per slide in the slideshow, treating each slide as different.
3. Export the MOV movie that is created from your slideshow, audio, and annotations to various places, including the iPad itself (which is neat because then you can import that video into the Keynote ($9.99) iPad app).

As you can see, with Explain Everything you can re-order slides, which can be handy on the fly!

You can also insert images from various locations, which is invaluable given that the iPad often makes it difficult to share data from one app to another (it's called sandboxing).

You can export individual slides as images--especially useful after you've "written" or annotated them--out to various locations.

And, of course, you can export the entire narrated slideshow to various places, including your own PhotoRoll on the iPad which means you can insert it into Keynote iPad app! What would make this export feature a real winner is export to WebDav, a feature that EC3 teachers and students will have access to!

 The instructional applications of a tool like Explain Everything are many. In the classroom, each student could create an image or representation of a concept, process, and then explain what's happening. Each slide could represent a particular perspective or step in the process.

Two other iPad apps that are available at no-cost and could be used in lieu of Explain Everything include 1) Educreations Interactive Whiteboard and 2) ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard.

Although I didn't spend much time with ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard since I found out about it last (and, of course, it's the no-cost option), I did create a product with Educreations Interactive Whiteboard.


You can see the result below provided you have an up to date Adobe Flash Player:


Although one of the co-founders (Wade) said EduCreations can't yet export your narrated slideshow as a video you can save on your iPad, it will allow you to upload it to their web site. Be sure to check out their showcase of lessons!

As to video export, Wade shares the following, "We don’t yet offer video file downloads of your lessons, but this is something we plan to offer in a future release."

By the way, if you're interested in The Flipped Classroom, you'll want to read my previous post on how to Flip Your Classroom with iPads!

3 Tips on Flipping Your Classroom with #iPads #flippedclassroom

Source: http://goo.gl/k01Rj

How would you flip a classroom with iPads? For fun, here's a quick exploration of 3 ways it might happen with iPad apps. If you're already doing it, please share a link in the comments area!

It seems pretty obvious that flipped classroom are an idea that have enchanted many folks. After all...consider the excerpts from articles I've been reading lately:

EdLab's Misconceptions about the Flipped Classroom Model:The Flipped Classroom model is the shifting of the classroom paradigm, so that lectures can be seen at home, while homework activities are done in class. This is to allow more time for applying the knowledge and receiving more personal help from the educator.

USAToday's Flipped Classrooms Take Advantage of Technology:
...teachers say flipped, or upside-down, classes offer greater control of material and more face time with students. In many cases, software allows students to chat online while watching the videos. Tegrity, a Silicon Valley firm that specializes in flipped instruction, allows students to time-stamp lecture notes. It boasts more than 1million student users, many of them in higher education.

Elevated Math's A Case for the Flipped Classroom
The flipped classroom is all about “making connections with learners and differentiating your instruction.”  Therefore, a teacher can have such a classroom as long as the needs of all learners are being met.  Bennett is commended for meeting the needs of his learners.  However, for a classroom to truly be “flipped,” prepared instruction must continue at home, not just in the classroom...what matters are “the relationships, the discussions, and the experiences,” then the flipped classroom provides an effective use of classroom time to build relationships, engage in serious discussions, and provide meaningful experiences for all learners. And let’s not forget one more advantage. The flipped classroom allows more time for student interaction with the teacher. The disadvantage comes when a student does not have access to the technology — an iPad or the Internet to watch instructional apps or videos.

Dangerously Irrelevant's The 'flipped classroom' webinarDespite its now-famous Dan-Pink-sponsored affiliation with our esteemed colleague, Karl Fisch, is the 'flipped classroom' a true innovation or just a new label on the old stale wine of lectures? Is it something we should be encouraging or discouraging? If it has benefits, are they worth the accompanying drawbacks?

American Public Media's Rethinking the Way College Students Are TaughtResearch conducted over the past few decades shows it's impossible for students to take in and process all the information presented during a typical lecture, and yet this is one of the primary ways college students are taught, particularly in introductory courses...Here's how he does it [peer instruction]: Before each class, students are assigned reading in the textbook. Pretty standard for a lecture class, but if you talk to college students you'll find that many of them don't bother with the reading ahead of time. They come to class to figure out what information the professor thinks is important, then they go to the textbook to read up on what they didn't understand. He expects students to familiarize themselves with the information beforehand so that class time can be spent helping them understand what the information means.

Edudemic's How a Flipped Classroom WorksMy thinking was, if I flipped the classroom, and provided the instructional/demonstration part of the course material as a series of video tutorials, that students could then work at their own pace, on their own time, to learn the software, rewinding, fast forwarding and repeating the lessons as needed – and apply what they’d learned as their homework during class time instead.

You can imagine that lots of folks are giving the idea of a "flipped classroom" some serious scrutiny. I won't bother going into the reasons why some folks--I have no opinion on the matter yet, except to say I'm intrigued and would like to try it out in one of my workshops--are not supportive of flipped classroom approaches/ideology, etc. The question going around in my head is, what kind of technologies can be used to support a flipped classroom?

Now, I haven't given this serious thought and I'm just playing with ideas here in a very superficial way, but it's fun to consider the following:

The elements of a flipped classroom include the following:

1) An easy way to record video/audio/screencasts and make those available to students, even when they are not connected to the Internet. 

Recording video/audio doesn't seem to be too difficult with iPads. The problem is making them quickly available to others, especially students in this scenario, without having everyone sync their iPads to iTunes. How can students access newly created content residing on one computer in the classroom and then save it to their iPads? The solution is obvious--AirPlay It, a free server and iPad/iOS/Android app that makes it easy to either stream video/audio or save it onto your device.

As you might imagine, recording video/audio with an iPad isn't necessary in an environment where you can take full advantage of a video camera or digital audio recorder, drop the file on a computer with AirPlayIt Server installed, then students with iPads running the app can install. However, there's no reason why you need limit yourself and NOT create video with an iPad (or pay $.99 for Wes Fryer's tutorial!). Or, you can also use an app like Qik--although this may not be a free option for long--to record video and broadcast it.

If your focus is on audio, then the free Dragon Dictation may be better suited to your needs. Record your audio, then stream it.

2) A way for students to process information and ideas, taking notes on what they are learning as they're exploring a topic or "meeting a problem" for the first time.

What technology could be used to help students take notes on what they are learning? Obviously, EverNote (free) and Notability ($.99) come to mind. If you're not familiar with EverNote--have you seen John Larkin's Evernote Workshop handout? Really neat!--there's a lot to love and encourage students to use. EverNote provides a lot of value for free, but you can tap into a lot more if you pay.

Notability is an alternative...I haven't played with it since I can't afford it (I'm on a free iPad app account), but it's definitely worth introducing to students if you're going to invest. Again, the idea of providing a virtual space students can use to explore a topic, share what they are thinking is critical in learning and has to be modeled. 

3) How could you use technology to deepen the relationships, discussions and the experiences students are going through?

There are a lot of traditional solutions--whether it's Edmodo (which has an iPad app) joining  GoogleApps for Education in February, 2012 or MyMoodle--there are increasing choices that can help students deepen the learning conversations taking place.

Whew, that was harder than I thought it would be. How do you see iPad fitting into the flipped classroom?

ECISD Network Outage Scheduled for July 16, 2012

To:       All ECISD Campus Principals, Department Heads and Office Support 

             Staff

From:  Technology Department

Re:       ECISD Network Outage Scheduled for 5:30pm - July 16, 2012

Thank you for your attention to this notification. Please be aware that the ECISD is upgrading its Internet Service Provider (ISP) so as to provide improved service and bandwidth for the 2012-2013 school year. Please note the impact to systems you may need to access below. Be aware that while every effort will be made to ensure that District Internet Service is restored by the start of business on July 17, 2012, unanticipated issues may sometimes arise. 

Server Outage Period:

Starting Date and Time:  July 16, 2012, 5:30pm

Ending Date and Time:  July 17, 2012, 7:00am

Systems affected and not available during maintenance:  All Internet and ECISD hosted applications, including the following: Eduphoria, ESC-20 Services (e.g. iTCCS, TxGradebook), Filemaker Pro Web, GoogleApps email, Winocular, HealthMaster, and SchoolFusion web pages/sites.

Purpose:  Staff will be reconfiguring district web servers and domain names to match new Internet Protocol (IP) addresses provided by the new Internet Services Provider.  The service outage may extend if unanticipated technical problems occur. 

If you have any questions regarding the outage or have any issues after the outage, please contact the ECISD Technology Department during normal business hours at 649-2343. 

Miguel Guhlin
Director of Technology Operations
East Central ISD
Email: miguel.guhlin@ecisd.net
Web: http://bit.ly/ecisdtech

Phone: 210-649-2343
*******************************************************************
Ask not what computers can do with students, but rather,
what students can do with computers.
*******************************************************************

Greetings!

Thank you for stopping by the Technology Office and meeting with me for a few minutes.

Now that you have your iTunes Gift Card, here is a link to a page that I created on the ECISD Technology wiki that outlines the process that we discussed. The page contains links to the forms that I showed you.

http://bit.ly/ecisdappselect

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Mary Ray, M.Ed

District Instructional Technology Specialist

East Central ISD
3602 South WW White Road, Building 17
San Antonio, Texas 78222

(210) 649-2343
(210) 649-1434 fax

21st Century Classrooms - BYOT In Your Future?

BYOT Criteria for Success

Ever wonder what a 21st Century Classroom might look like? While some may argue that we're well into the 21st Century--and should just drop the term--the term is still used to distinguish between today's technology-enhanced learning spaces and those classrooms of yesteryear.

This infographic below gives us one glimpse, although certainly not a definitive view, of what the possibilities are...one of the points that ECISD Technology Department has been working in collaboration with District leadership on is getting schools ready for Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT).

Case Story - Edina ISD
Students, parents and teachers all have responded positively to the Edina ISD’s adoption of the BYOT model (Source: http://goo.gl/nu9wW):

• Among participating students, 91 percent reported that having access to their own devices improved their learning.
• The majority of parents say their children are more organized and complete more assignments than they did before the program.
• Fully 97 percent of staff members say the combination of BYOT and a more robust notebook cart program has enhanced instruction.

The current timeline for BYOT implementation in the ECISD is Spring, 2013 at the high school and then deployment by Fall, 2013.  The delay involves getting the network infrastructure in place and providing professional learning opportunities for teachers at these campuses. To the end of getting BYOT going in the District, an ECISD BYOT Implementation guide is under development...you can view it online here.

Components of a 21st Century Classroom

Building Solutions In-House - #iPad Cart

Source: http://goo.gl/OHj5F

As a newcomer to the East Central ISD, I'm thrilled at the opportunity to learn what some have referred to reverently as "The EC Way." For example, building solutions in-house when it makes sense to rather than spending money paying for a solution.

You may not know about the EC3 iPad initiative, but iPad tablets are finding their way into classrooms during the 2012-2013 school year. EC3 Cohort 1--the first group of teachers to participate in the pilot--have been meeting for quite some time, working through the details of classroom management and more.

During Technology Department team meetings, staff noticed that there was a need for a way to manage both iPads and iPod Touch devices.

The problem? If you don't have some type of multi-sync and recharging solution--which allows you to load apps (or programs and documents) onto the device while charging the battery--you have to do each device ONE BY ONE. Now, one by one may seem like OK when you're dealing with a personal device, but if you have a class set of devices, you are going to spend quite a bit of time plugging in and unplugging devices to load apps AND recharge their batteries.

Once you get up to 10-12 devices, whether they are iPads or iPod Touch devices, you're wasting a considerable amount of time providing support. When you get up to more than 12 devices, you'll need to invest in a $2500 cart--similar to the one below--that enables the work.

Marguerite Lowak, Tom Grove, Mary Ray and others in the Technology Department meeting made the suggestion that we ask folks like ECISD's own Steve Standtke (steven.standtke@ecisd.net) to build an in-house solution for 12 or less iPads. The group also asked itself, "Wouldn't it be neat to have something similar for iPod Touch devices?"

Below, you can see a few snapshots of the iPad prototype, which took about 4 hours to construct and cost approximately $150 in materials (Steve said he made it out of scrap wood). I was stunned to see the work of a master carpenter, since it would take me at least 4 hours to even try to imagine what something like this might look like...

As you can see from the image below, an iPad fits comfortably within one of the 12 available slots with a Macbook Pro on top, which serves as the required sync station running Apple Configurator:

The rear view of the solution--all of which is made of wood--appears below and features a place to store the external USB hard drive:

Some of the suggestions that came to mind--offered by Tom Grove, Mary Ray, Marguerite Lowak, and I, as well as key staff from ECISD Maintenance Department--included the following:

• Adding a "lip" behind the Macbook Pro to prevent it from slipping off the top.
• Adding additional bar of wood across the back to make it difficult for iPads to be accessed from the rear end of the cart.
• Adding a door that will go up and slide into the top of the "cart" and also offer the ability to lock the iPads in.

As you might imagine, there are some other key components missing, mainly the electronics components that will allow for synching and charging. Those are USB hubs that will all be connected to the Macbook Pro.

Power is also a consideration for selecting the USB hubs that all the iPads will plug into, as this chart below demonstrates:

Source	Voltage	Current	Power
PC USB	5 volts	0.5 amps	2.5 Watts
iPhone Charger	5 volts	1.0 amps	5 Watts
iPad Charger	5.1 volts	2.1 amps	10 watts

 The search is on for a USB hub that will charge 12 iPads at once! More updates to follow.

Good evening EC³ teachers,

I have good news! The iTunes Gift Cards have arrived! I will be available to meet with you on either Wednesday afternoon between 1 pm - 3 pm or on Thursday morning between 7:30 am and 11:30 am at the Technology Office. At this time I will dispense the gift cards and go over the Google docs forms that you will be using to request/recommend apps.

Ms. Doran, Ms. Thomas, and Ms. Allen please contact me at your earliest convenience so that we can schedule a time for me to meet with you over the trainings that you missed.

On another note, I am going to have to reschedule the PreLaunch PD day on July 31st. The MacBooks Pros have not arrived yet and with everything that the technicians have going on this summer I know that they will be hard pressed to have the computers and carts set up, much less stage 410 iPads by the end of the month. Unfortunately, I will be on vacation for the last two weeks of July and therefore unable to assist them. Right now I have 7 teachers signed up for July 31st - (Cynthia Johnson, Stephanie Zunker, Brad Grant, Tanya Allen, Krista Gorzell, Deborah Schroeder, and Jeff Johnson) - How many of you would be able to move to the August 13th date? Please let me know as soon as possible.

As always, thanks so much for your hard work and dedication to the students of East Central ISD,
Mary

Mary Ray, M.Ed

District Instructional Technology Specialist

East Central ISD
3602 South WW White Road, Building 17
San Antonio, Texas 78222

(210) 649-2343
(210) 649-1434 fax

No Cost Must-Have iPad Apps

Source: http://goo.gl/RRZPb

Suffer from "app addiction?" If so, you've come to the right place if you're into productivity tools for your iPad!! Here's my latest list for iPad along with a few extra items thrown in for good measure! I'll be revisiting this list from time to time, pruning it, expanding, so be sure to check back periodically! 

APP LISTING

I hope you'll find the list useful and contribute to it in the comments of this blog entry!

1. Cloud Storage Solutions 
1. ecCloud - This is East Central ISD's OwnCloud solution that provides 2-5 gigs of space for folks in the EC3 iPad initiative! You can access content from work and home,and it's ideal for sharing work with students. Be sure to check the EC3 web site for more details!
2. For other storage that is not provided by the District (please don't use it with students to house confidential/FERPA data):
1. Box (no cost) - 50 gigs of free storage, 25 meg upload limit per file. Great for sharing!
2. Dropbox (no cost) - Check out this Dropbox cheat sheet (or quick ref guide!). 
3. SugarSync (no cost) - an easy way to access videos from your iPad and not have to use iTunes to get them on the iPad!
2. Content Curation
1. Curating - Also,be sure to read this blog entry.
1. EverNote (no cost) - This is the best app on the iPad, IMHO, with its note-taking capabilities that include still images, audio and more. I simply love this app. If I find out that upgrading will result in saving EverNote content to my iPad for offline viewing, then I will happily pay for it.
2. Pinterest (no cost) - "Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard. It lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find in your life."
3. LiveBinders (no cost) - If you've played with Livebinders, you'll know how it works. This app allows you to view and edit existing LiveBinders. If not, check some Livebinders out!
4. Pearltrees (no cost) - A nice visual interface that allows you to create trees of content you like, share it, and allow others to contribute/curate with you.
2. Reading Other's Curation (all no cost)
1. Zite - A phenomenal app enabling you to read content from everywhere. I love that you can drop content into section topics, exposing you to content you didn't know existed about stuff you are interested in!
2. Flipboard - This incredible app turns RSS feeds into beautiful magazines you can flip through easily. Some other possibilities: Flud
3. Taptu - More magazine goodness on your iPad, but not based on social media. Some other possibilities in this category include Zinio.
4. News360 - Access news on your iPad. Other competitors include News.Me, Pulse.
5. Showyou Video Curation - Shows you video content. Hmm. 
3. eBook Reading Software
1. Stanza (no cost) - free ebook reader. I use this app all the time! Create your own eBooks, PDFs, and then make them available to students via Stanza!
2. Commercial eBook Reading Software:
1. Nook (no cost) - Since I own a few Nook books, and the Nook reader serves as an ebook reader, this is a nice one to have.
2. Amazon Kindle  (no cost) - I don't currently own any books on Amazon for myself, but plan to in the future.
4. Image Editing/Annotation
1. Photoshop Express (no cost) - Edit and share photos.
2. Skitch for iPad (no cost) - Edit and share images, etc.
3. PicStitch (no cost) - An easy tool to "stitch" photos/images together using panels. Easy to use, and great for juxtaposing images.
5. Multimedia and Video
1. Creating Video
1. Videolicious (no cost) - A great tool for creating videos!
2. Viewing Video
1. flex:Player (no cost) - This app allows you to view more than the standard video formats supported by iPad; flex:Player supports AVI, DivX, Xvid, VOB, MP4, MOV.
6. Note-Taking
1. EverNote (no cost) - This is the best app on the iPad, IMHO, with its note-taking capabilities that include still images, audio and more. I simply love this app. If I find out that upgrading will result in saving EverNote content to my iPad for offline viewing, then I will happily pay for it.
2. Dragon Dictation (no cost) - This is an app I really didn't pay attention to until I watched the video above. "...speak and instantly see your text or email messages. In fact, it’s up to five (5) times faster than typing on the keyboard."
7. Productivity/Office Apps/Printing (view comparison chart)
   Note: Office 2 HD (works with MS Office and GoogleDocs) and Keynote (presentation software) will be provided for EC3 iPads in use in ECISD, but feel free to explore the following!
1. CloudOn - This app enables you run MS Office on your iPad at no charge, if you need it.
2. Office 2 HD ($7.99) - This is a must-have app if you use GoogleApps, need WebDav, Dropbox, Box.net, and integration with other systems. I bought this and love it's ease of use. You might want to read this comparison chart. It provides MS Word, MS Excel, and Powerpoint compatibility, as well as integrates with GoogleApps.
3. Idea Sketch Graphic Organizer- This app provides for graphic organizer creation (e.g. concept/semantic mapping, cluster maps). 
8. Screen Capture/Mirroring
1. ScreenChomp (no cost) - Essentially, narrate/annotate tools for your iPad screen capture.
2. EduCreations Interactive Whiteboard (no cost) - "Educreations turns your iPad into a recordable whiteboard. Creating a great video tutorial is as simple as touching, tapping and talking. "
3. Skitch - Just as nice on the iPad as on the desktop.
4. Explain Everything ($2.99) - Same
5. Reflection ($15.99) - Mirror your iPad/iOS device to your computer using this app. There's a nice review shown here. Note: This will be provided to ECISD EC3 iPad users.
9. Social Media Tools (all no cost)- 
1. Twitterrific - An alternative to the standard Twitter app, Twitterrific is simply fantastic in ease of use. Has some advertising so avoid using it with students.
2. Twitter - This is the official free Twitter app and is available without advertising, unlike Twitterrific above.
10. Web Browsers -
1. Apollo Browser+Addons (without Flash) - Great options for sharing including Evernote, Pinterest, Instapaper, G+, Twitter, Facebook.
2. Diigo Browser  (without Flash) - offers Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Diigo support in addition to others.
3. Rover Browser with Flash support

Other apps that aren't must-have's but worth exploring:

1. iPad as Interactive Whiteboard - While I confess I don't like the idea of IWBs, if you're already spending money on an iPad and an Apple TV, then you might as well consider one of these two apps.
1. EduCreations Interactive Whiteboard (no cost) - "Educreations turns your iPad into a recordable whiteboard. Creating a great video tutorial is as simple as touching, tapping and talking. "
2. Doceri (no cost) - Although the app is free, you have to pay for the desktop software that installs on your computer.

Programming on the iPad

One of my main complaints about the iPad was that it didn't offer support for Scratch programming from MIT...however, there are other solutions out there, such as the ones outlined in this blog entry--6 Awesome Code Editors for iPad.

Special Education

You may also want to check out these Autism related Apps.

More Free Apps

Many of the best apps in life are free...check out this list from TCEA/McAllen ISD. And, 40 best iPad apps for Young Learners.

Here's a list of resources from school districts:

• Abilene ISD, Abilene, Texas
• East Central ISD, San Antonio, Tx

Finally, here's my curated list of iPad content:

• iPads in Education
• More on iPad Apps

Exploring Content Curation #iPad

Source: http://www.mmyrstad.no/2011/05/content-curation-growing-up-and-coming-of-age/ 

Content curation can seem such an overwhelming task, an impossible mission for folks new to twitter, the internet, such a big jump for folks who have trouble managing their email inbox. 

Content Curation is the act of discovering, gathering, and presenting digital content that surrounds specific subject matter. . .[it includes] generating content [and] amassing content from a variety of sources, and delivering it in an organized fashion. For instance, a content curator is not necessarily responsible for creating new content, but instead, for finding relevant content pertaining to a specific category and funneling this information to readers in a mash-up style. (Adapted from source)

As you might imagine, content curation can be a fantastic role to engage students in! It is increasingly a necessary role for classroom teachers.

Content curation empowers those who are overwhelmed by the slew of data, information, opinions and ideas. While it would be nice to be a "generalist" or "know-it-all" in regards to all the neat stuff streaming into your eyes, ears, the truth is, you can easily gag on the softest data or suffer death by a thousand cuts, the cacophany of uncurated content crashing your mind's pad. How do I know? Well, I have a confession--I occasionally get despondent pondering the limitless depths of content coming at me via my GoogleReader, Twitter, Facebook, Plurk and Google+. Even though I have shut the door on Plurk and Google+ except when I'm bored stiff, the outpouring from the remaining faucets is enough to turn my mind into the equivalent of the scene in the matrix where humans stare incomprehensibly at a wall of green characters, constantly changing.

As I reflected on what tools people use for content curation, including myself, I decided to make a list. It doesn't pretend to be THE top 5 of content curation tools, only a list of tools I've noted in my woebegone wandering.


#1 - EverNote - http://www.evernote.com

If you haven't spent time with EverNote, then you are certainly missing out. This is the most fantastical wonderful tool to use, no matter what device you decide to use. I have occasion to access Evernote for everything from personal to work content, automagically sharing curated content (yes, I have a notebook category for curation) on a wide variety of topics such as BYOD, iPads, iPadApps, Infographics, my favorite images, and more. Each notebook has its own shared URL that doubles as an RSS feed fed through Dlvr.it which is auto-posted to my Twitter and Facebook feeds. Simply, EverNote makes organizing audio, text, still images easy no matter the device, and a straightforward matter to share with the world. And, I'm able to grab content from just about anywhere, including Zite, Flipbooks, web pages, Facebook, Twitter, wherever, whenever. Cost? Free. 

Read this blog entry about Evernote to get going with more ideas on using it in your classroom!

#2 - Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com

To be blunt, I haven't spent a lot of time with Pinterest except to study the beautiful creations of other educators on Twitter have created. It's clear to me that Pinterest is a tool i could easily fall in love with. It is content curation at its most graphical.

#3 - Diigo - http://www.diigo.com

Every year, Diigo gets better and better. Although I eschewed social bookmarking years ago, instead switching to Evernote because it facilitated clipping content from a wide variety of sources and, at the time, Diigo was still figuring out its pricing model for educators (which is quite nice these days), Diigo remains for some the ultimate tool for curating and sharing content. 

#4 - List.ly - http://list.ly

I didn't know about List.ly until recently, when Lisa Johnson (@techchef4u) was kind enough to introduce it to me during a workshop she facilitated on the use of iPads in the Classroom. It is a pretty impressive resource, enabling team curation around a list of items--such as nproductivit tools for iPads--and has some neat sharing features (e.g. Twitter, Facebook connections). The only feature it appears to lack--and maybe I haven't seen it so feel free to correct me--is an RSS feed so you can drop a list.ly into a mega-RSS feed of some sort. Of course, List.ly does allow you to embed the list of content (such as via an iFrame in a GoogleSites wiki) so that's great.

#5 - Scoop.it - http://www.scoop.it

If you haven't been on the receiving end of a Scoop.it twitter post, then you must not be following the right people. At first, I hated the ubiquity of Scoop.its being unleashed on the Twittersphere, but I've grown to appreciate how much content is actually being shared in just one or two "scoops." Although I haven't played around with Scoop.it myself--after all, isn't that what I'm using Evernote and my Around the Corner Blog for?--it does seem a powerful tool. Another related tool is Paper.li, which was the first content curation and sharing tool I had the opportunity to see.

Finally, I like these tools because they enable you to easily organize, re-arrange, invite others to share content with others via various social media tools. I encourage you to explore these tools in more detail on your own. While I don't pretend to be an expert on content curation--I'm not a librarian, after all--I do hope that an awareness of these tools will help alleviate some of the anxiety folks have with the mass of data flowing their way.


Content Curation on the iPad


Since I'm using my iPad more and more, it's natural to ask, how does one accomplish content curation? While there are many tools available, here's the current crop of tools to curate and read content. And, yes, I've added them to my must-have iPad apps list already.

1. Curating:
1. EverNote (no cost) - This is the best app on the iPad, IMHO, with its note-taking capabilities that include still images, audio and more. I simply love this app. If I find out that upgrading will result in saving EverNote content to my iPad for offline viewing, then I will happily pay for it.
2. Pinterest (no cost) - "Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard. It lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find in your life."
3. LiveBinders (no cost) - If you've played with Livebinders, you'll know how it works. This app allows you to view and edit existing LiveBinders. If not, check some Livebinders out!



A Mashup of List.ly, Scoop.It, Paper.li created with PicStitch on an iPad

4. Pearltrees (no cost) - A nice visual interface that allows you to create trees of content you like, share it, and allow others to contribute/curate with you.
2. Reading Other's Curation (all no cost)
1. Zite - A phenomenal app enabling you to read content from everywhere. I love that you can drop content into section topics, exposing you to content you didn't know existed about stuff you are interested in!
2. Flipboard - This incredible app turns RSS feeds into beautiful magazines you can flip through easily. Some other possibilities: Flud
3. Taptu - More magazine goodness on your iPad, but not based on social media. Some other possibilities in this category include Zinio.
4. News360 - Access news on your iPad. Other competitors include News.Me, Pulse.
5. Showyou Video Curation - Shows you video content. Hmm. 

Exploring iPad Browsers

Note: This blog entry is part of a series of investigations that involve trying to find the right set of tools for the iPad initiative that's been launched in ECISD. There are many apps available for the iPad, but finding the right combination of free and un-free can be challenging. Find out more about the EC3 Initiative online at http://bit.ly/ec3tech

Image Source: http://ipadbrowsers.blogspot.com/2012/05/understanding-learning-best-ipad.html

My number one desired feature in any mobile device app, especially a browser, is a YES to this question--Can I share and/or curate content easily via various social media tools?

If you've used Safari on the iPad, you may have been left feeling a bit underwhelmed. Take a look at the sharing options on Safari:

Hmm...tweet and mail link are the only two options. Kinda unsatisfying, huh? Although one can certainly post to content curation and social media sites via email, who wants to remember them to type them in?

In order of preference, Zite and Flipboard provide more options for sharing. 

...there is no way to change iOS’s default browser. While you can use any browser you want for your basic browsing needs, you can’t set it as the default browser. That means that home screen bookmarks as well as links in emails, SMS messages, and in other apps will only open in Safari...Most iOS users default to Safari because doing otherwise is too difficult. (Source)

Consider the options a browser like iCab Mobile browser on  makes available:

Not bad, right? This pretty much makes iCab Mobile the browser of choice for folks who like to "Share" out to their networks. At least, that's what I thought when I started this blog entry. Read on to find better, no cost solutions!

RECOMMENDATION
If you're looking for a browser that will empower your sharing--including to content curation sites like Pinterest, Evernote--you'll want to take a long hard-look at the no-cost Apollo Browser+Add Ons. After doing the comparison, it dethrones iCab Mobile Browser on my iPad as the best sharing tool. For Diigo users, you'll probably be satisfied with Diigo Browser which has some nice features.

You'll still need a Flash friendly browser for some web sites--even though Adobe is "dropping Flash" by August 15--and my pick is Puffin browser, although others (like Marguerite Lowak) also prefer the Photo browser, which wasn't available for my review.

Apollo browser

Top 3 iPad Browsers Available for Free:

1. Apollo Browser+Addons (without Flash) - Great options for sharing including Evernote, Pinterest, Instapaper, G+, Twitter, Facebook.
2. Diigo Browser  (without Flash) - offers Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Diigo support in addition to others.
3. Rover Browser with Flash support

Top 2 iPad Browsers that Cost Money:

1. iCab Mobile Browser ($1.99)
2. Puffin Browser ($2.99)

What would I get? If you're a heavy Diigo/Tumblr user, go with Diigo Browser and Puffin. If you're an Evernote, Pinterest, Facebook,Twitter user, then go with Apollo Browser+Addons and Puffin. 

Diigo Browser is a hair's edge from taking top spot as THE free Internet browser...it just needs to flesh out the MORE... option on its browser to include content curation tools.

Not a heavy Flash user on iPad? Substitute Puffin with Rover if you would rather not pay for Flash capability.

Comparison Chart - Sharing via Your iPad Browser

	Safari	Chrome	iCab Mobile Browser	Diigo Browser	Apollo Browser+Add ons	Dolphin HD	Skyfire	Puffin	Rover
Best Features vs Price	No	No	Best for cost browser w/o Flash	2nd best free	Best free browser w/o Flash	No	No	Best cost with Flash Support	2nd best free with Flash
Cost	Free	Free	$1.99	Free	Free	Free	$4.99	$2.99	Free
Twitter	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Mail the Link	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Flash (FLV) Playback	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Evernote	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Facebook	No		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Diigo	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Tumblr	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Pinterest	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Google+	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Instapaper	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
List.ly	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Scoop.it	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Paper.li	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Pinboard	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Convert to ePub	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Convert to PDF	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Pocket	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No