Arizona Department of Education Exceptional Student Services

iPads in the Classroom

On Tuesday, January 13, 2015 you get to work with Tony Vincent to learn more about the kinds of things teachers and students can do with an iPad. It will be a hands-on workshop (so bring your iPad fully charged) and you will leave with ideas you can put into practice right away.

If possible, please update your iPad to iOS 8. To see if an update is available, open the Settings app and click General and then click Software Update.

If you have earbuds or headphones, please bring them for yourself.

Please install the apps on this page before coming to the workshop. You won't use all these apps, but having all 18 of them installed will be helpful. At the very minimum, install the first seven on in the list. The easiest way to find these apps is to access this page on your iPad and click View next to each app. The App Store will open right to the app for you to install.

 

Agenda

  • 8:30 – 10:00 – Introductions, QR Codes & Finding/Saving Images
  • 10:00 – 10:15 – Break
  • 10:15 – 12:00 – Collages, Padlet & Visual Productions
  • 12:00 – 1:00 – Lunch
  • 1:00 – 2:30 – Accessibility Tips, Narrations & Movie Productions
  • 2:30 – 2:45 – Break
  • 2:45 – 4:00 – Books Creator, Review Games & Summary
 

CAMERA

  • Vertical Video Syndrome PSA (edited for kids)
  • Be aware of the microphone's location when recording video.
  • Tap the screen to focus and white balance that part of the photo or video.
  • The light source should not be behind the subject of your photo or video.
  • Double tap the screen when taking a video to change the aspect ratio to widescreen for computer and TV playback.
  • Photos and videos are saved into the Camera Roll, which is an album in your Photo Library. You can view your Photo Library in the Photos app.

  • Video modeling is a strategy involving the use of videos to provide modeling of targeted skills. (YouTube video about video modeling)

QR CODES 

GOOGLE DRIVE

  • Use the Google Drive app to upload videos, photos, and files to your account.
  • After they are uploaded, you can share your videos, photos, and files. Google Drive gives you a URL to copy.

Steps for Making Any Photo of Video in Your Photo Library into a QR Code:

  1. Open the Google Drive app and sign in.
  2. Click the + button at the top right corner of the screen.
  3. Click Upload Photos or Videos
  4. Click to select your video.
  5. Click the blue check button.
  6. Wait for the upload to complete.
  7. Find your uploaded video in the list. 
  8. Click the video's i button.
  9. Click Get link.
  10. Open your web browser and go to goqr.me.
  11. Click the URL tab and paste into the box.
  12. Now you have a QR code you can display or download and save!

It's probably better to do this on your desktop or laptop computer so that you can print the QR code. Go to drive.google.com and click the check box next to your video. Click the More button and choose Share and Share again. Change the visibility options so that anyone with the link can view the video without logging in. Copy the link and paste into goqr.me.

FIND COPYRIGHT FRIENDLY IMAGES

You can find public domain and Creative Commons images at:

You can find Creative Commons images by searching Google Images and selecting Search Tools and then Usege Right. Choose Labeled for Reuse. You will most likely be asked to give credit to the image's owner.

To save an image you are viewing in Safari, press and hold the image until the Save button appear. Clicking Save will place a copy of the image in your Camera Roll for use in other apps.

The stand Tony uses with his iPad is the Belkin Portable Tablet Stage. It's a podium, but also can hold an iPad about an object or book to be used as a document camera. Read more about using iPad as a document camera.

10 Ways to Mirror Your iPad, including adapters, software, and Apple TV.

If photos or microphone is turned off within an app, turn back on in the Settings app under Privacy.

COLLAGES

  • Use Pic Collage to combine images and text.
  • Use the Share button to save to iPod's Camera Roll/Photo Library.
  • If an image is in the Photo Library, it can be synced, opened in other apps, emails, or copied to Google Drive. 

PADLET

Padlet is a free website where you can create a wall. You can open the wall up for others to post. Posts can have text and allow for uploads and links. On an iPad you can only upload photos and videos.

Suggested Padlet Wall Settings:

  • Log into Padlet.com.
  • Click the Modify Wall button.
  • Under profile, give your wall a title and description.
  • Under Layout, change from Freeform to Stream or Grid.
  • Under Privacy, checkmark Moderate posts.
  • Under Address, give your wall an easy to type web address.
  • See the QR code under the Share menu.

ThingLink

ThingLink is a free app and website where you can add more information to an image. When a viewer accesses your image, they can touch targets and see text, images, videos, and web links.

Sign up as an teacher on ThingLink Edu so that your students do not have to have email addresses to have an account. Read more about this on Free Tech For Teachers.

VISUAL PRODUCTIONS

  • Skitch - Draw and type on top of a photo
  • Trading Cards - Choose a template and fill in a image and information about a person, place, or thing
  • Phonto - Add stylish text on top of a photo. Check out the filters and text shadow effects.
  • ThingLink - Add targets to an image that link to extra information, another photos, video, or web link.

Styluses

There are times when you might want to use a stylus with your iPad. You probably draw better with a stylus. Your handwriting is more legible with a stylus. You don't leave fingerprints with a stylus. Using a stylus doesn't block your view of the screen. You can spend a little or a lot on a stylus. You can even make your own.

Accessiblity

Access many features that can help make an iPad more usable in the Settings app under Accessibility, including Zoom, VoiceOver, Speech, and Guided Access

Luis Perez has a great set of videos that explain many accessibility options.

You can install third party keyboards that might be helpful for your students. Keyboards include Swift Key, Keedogo, Mazec Handwriting, and Text Expander 3. If you install a keyboard app from the App Store, you must then open the Setting app and go to General and select Keyboards. Find the keyboard and enable it. You can then toggle among your enabled keyboard by clicking the Globe icon on each keyboard.

MOVIE PRODUCTIONS

  • 30hands - Import images and record your voice on each one. In the end, save the final product as a narrated slideshow to your Camera Roll.
  • Shadow Puppet Edu - Import images or use their built-in copyright friend image searches. Record one narration while flipping through the photos. Saves to your Camera Roll.
  • Tellagami - Choose an avatar and record your voice to make him or her speak. 30 second time limit.
  • Funny Movie Maker - Import a photo, cut out the mouth, and replace it with a recording of your own. 30 second time limit.
  • ChatterPix Kids - Import a photo, draw a line to make a mouth, and add your voice. 30 second time limit.
  • Educreations - Draw or import images. Click record to capture your voice and everything you do on screen. Video is saved to educreations.com.
  • Adobe Voice - Select a theme and record your voice on each slide. Video is saved voice.adobe.com. 

DIGITAL BOOKS

Read and store digital books in the iBooks app. You can download a pair of free books all about apps for learning. Choose Open in iBooks after the download is complete to being reading.

Book Creator is an iPad app for making digital book that can be read in iBooks. It’s priced at $4.99, but there is a free version. Each page of the book can have any combination of text, images, audio, video, and drawings. Book Creator has the ability to combine multiple books into one, making it a great way to create a class anthology. Books made in Book Creator are in the ePub format and can be read using iBooks or another reader that can open ePub documents.

Examples: Social Skills Volume 3: Manners On The Bus and The Respiratory System by Xavier Smith

Book Creator epub books can be opened in other apps like Google Drive.

REVIEW GAMES

Stick Around is Tony Vincent's app for making review puzzles. Make a background, add stickers, create and answer key, and then share. 

SketchParty TV requires one iPad to be connected to a projector or TV. It's a fun Pictionary-style drawing and guessing game. The best part if that you can make your own word lists. SketchParty TV is $3.99.

Flipboard

Use Flipboard to view what people post to Twitter as a magazine. Try making a magazine from these hashtags: #sped, #ipaded, and #slpeeps.

Come to Mobile Learning Experience 2015 in Tucson in June!

KEEP IN TOUCH WITH TONY