Monday 23rd June 2014
The Box online storage service has announced that it now syncs iWork files using the Box Sync client for OS X.
iWork files have been an issue for Box syncing because, even though they appear to be a single file when viewed on a Mac, they are actually a ‘package’ of files.
Box offers 10 Gb of online storage for free, though many iOS users recently received a free upgrade to 50 Gb when they installed the updated Box iOS app.
Friday 20th June 2014
Creating class projects that develop higher order thinking skills, by focussing on un-Googleable questions…..
Read more about this teacher’s challenges in creating un-Googleable questions >>>
Thursday 19th June 2014
Darcy Moore discusses the implications of a BYOD program at Dapto HS, in the southern suburbs of Wollongong (NSW). The school is moving to a BYOD model in 2014.
Darcy considers BYOD models, technical issues, and the pedagogical underpinnings of a successful 1:1 ICT program.
Wednesday 18th June
Death by Powerpoint …. we’ve all been there – battling to keep our eyes open during an eye-glazing slide-show presentation, containing tonnes of irrelevant information, in tiny text that no-one beyond the front row can read!
Don’t become one of those presenters!
Tuesday 17th June 2014
Classroom is a new Learning Management System (LMS) environment being developed by Google to operate in conjunction with Google Apps for Education (GAFE).
Classroom is currently available for trial schools, and will be available for all schools using GAFE in September 2014. Classroom will be free for schools.
Classroom builds on GAFE to create and organize assignments, provide grades and feedback on those assignments, and communicate with students in classes. Students can organize their work, complete and submit assignments, and communicate directly with teachers.
The first video below provides a brief overview of Classroom, while the next two videos provide reviews by trial schools. (Set some time aside to watch these two – they are a little longer!)
From the information in the review videos below, it looks like Classroom has some way to go yet before it challenges Moodle and other mainstream LMSs.
| Google Classroom 101 – Google overview |
| Google Classroom – Teacher & Student views |
| Google Classroom – Thoughts from a trial school (UK) |
Monday 16th June 2014
With collaborative cloud apps rapidly becoming an accepted ‘norm’ for file creation and storage, ICT discussion in schools often turns to which of the popular online file-editing and file-sharing packages is the most suitable for use in a K-12 environment.
Microsoft, Apple and Google all offer a combination of remote ‘cloud’ file storage, and the usual suite of online, browser-editable ‘office’ applications, as well as apps that provide direct access to these services from a range of mobile devices.
However, there is more to consider when evaluating these services for use in schools.
Which of these services is the best option for your school? >>>
Friday 13th June 2014
This site provides a comprehensive overview of the BYOD program at Merrylands HS, in the western suburbs of Sydney.
Includes an overview of the BYOD program, information for students and families, student agreement documents, frequently asked questions, and evaluation information from the school’s trials of BYOD.
Thursday 12th June 2014
Think3 will present a workshop on integrating iPads in the Curriculum, at Helensburgh PS on Tuesday 24th June 2014.
Participants will be introduced to a wide variety of apps throughout the day to showcase the number of ways iPads can be used to successfully support and engage students in their learning.
This workshop will involve a series of practical demonstrations and a range of engaging hands on activities.
Literacy – Teachers will be:
Mathematics – Teachers will be provided with:
Wednesday 11th June 2014
Rather than spending limited school budgets on computers and software licenses, which need to be renewed every few years, savvy schools are now focusing their technology planning on the deployment of infrastructure that can support student-owned and teacher-owned devices, leaving the cost of device renewal to the owners of those devices.
The key technology planning considerations for schools in the modern BYOT era are:
Where does your school’s technology infrastructure sit on the transition continuum – moving from school-owned technologies locked in remote computer rooms to the integrated use of personal devices supporting learning activities?
Read more about transitioning to BYOT, and download the continuum overviews >>>
Tuesday 1oth June 2014
Introductory step-by-step guides for a wide variety of Google Apps.
Learn how to use Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, and other Google products, such as Search, Video editing, etc.
Thursday 5th June 2014
When schools rolls out a BYOT program they might be adding hundreds of new devices to their network. All using the school’s existing bandwidth to access the Internet.
You will definitely need more bandwidth to support BYOT. But you can make better use of your existing bandwidth using a proxy server.
Every time a student clicks on a link to a web page, resources are downloaded over your school’s Internet connection from a remote web server to the student’s computer – using a small slice of your bandwidth. Multiply this by hundreds of students all downloading resources from remote servers and you will soon reach your bandwidth limits.
So, imagine if you could store commonly used web resources inside your school network, and encourage students to use those common resources from inside the network, rather than repeatedly downloading the same resources over the school’s internet connection – freeing up your Internet bandwidth, and thereby helping to speed up your school’s shared Internet access?
Well, you can. And it can help improve the school’s pedagogical model too.
Wednesday 4th June 2014
This brief guide, published by the consumer advice group Choice, provides an insight into the dilemma facing parents in choosing the most suitable device for BYOT schools. (And the dilemma facing schools in communicating those requirements to parents!)
Tuesday 3rd June 2014
Overnight, Apple have announced a stack of new features at their annual Worldwide Developers Conference, held in San Francisco.
Check out the new OS X Yosemite, iOS8, iCloud Drive, MailDrop, HealthKit, and increased connectivity and sharing options between all your mobile devices and family members.
Monday 2nd June 2014
Would you like to focus on the use of new technologies in your classroom to support higher order thinking skills and creative learning activities?
Kathy Schrock has published a page suggesting suitable iPad, Google, Android and web apps to support each level of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy.
These apps are also linked to the SAMR model of the use of technology to support higher order outcomes.
Friday 30th May 2014
A class web page can be used to share links to web sites and other resources that support your class activities – but how do you find sites that are suitable for your students’ reading level?
Google can filter your search results based on the reading level of the pages in the results….
Learn how to filter search results based on reading levels >>>
Thursday 29th May 2014
Would you like to encourage a cycling activity with your students?
Maybe you have some experienced students that need something a bit more exciting to ponder?
Then check this out…
(The risk assessment forms might be a challenge though!)
Wednesday 28th May 2014
Arthur Phillip High School invites Principals and Technology Coordinators to a showcase of digital learning.
This event is an opportunity to hear the story of the school’s journey from DER to BYOD with Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education.
Following morning tea in the Governor’s Room, school principal Lynne Goodwin will lead a presentation describing the circumstances and choices that led the school to launch a BYO Chromebook program in 2014.
Visitors will attend a variety of lessons, allowing them to meet some of the project’s lead teachers and hear from the school’s students. The school will also outline the technical aspects involved in the setup of this initiative.
Register to attend this free event (Friday 6th June 2014) >>>
Tuesday 27th May 2014
David Zyngier has undertaken a study of the effects of class size on student academic performance. He finds:
Monday 26th may 2014
A key goal of teachers using technology to support the curriculum has always been the integration of new and innovative technologies in day-to-day classroom activities.
Unfortunately, the cost of new technologies has always been a hurdle to achieving this goal. When ‘technology access’ is located in a secure ‘lab’ in another building in the school – accessible once a week through a booking schedule – the chance of the technology becoming ‘normalised’ in regular classroom activities is practically zero. ‘Technology’ becomes it’s own subject.
The broad adoption of mobile electronic devices in the wider community has changed the options for schools.
Now, more often than not, every family member has their own mobile device, each with more computing power than the previous generation of their desk-bound predecessors.
Schools are leveraging this community ownership with BYOT programs, leaving them able to focus school-owned technology resources on permanent infrastructure and teacher professional learning.
Where is your school positioned on the transition continuum? >>>
Friday 23rd May 2014
Blended learning is a teaching practice that has developed to meet the needs of 21st-century learners.
It is methodology that can be used in all learning contexts, from face-to-face classrooms through to totally online learning environments.
The NSW Rural and Distance Education site provides useful resources for educators in a wide variety of environments to integrate new technologies in their classroom.
Visit the NSW R&D Education Blended Learning page >>>
(Follow the link to the PDF document at the bottom of the page)
Thursday 22nd May 2014
Register your school now for free electronics recycling from Apple.
Register by 15th June 2014 and an Apple recycling partner will pick up your unwanted Mac computers, PCs, and qualifying peripherals from any manufacturer by 31st July – for free.
Wednesday 21st May 2014
Have you checked out Showbie yet?
The video below demos the latest release of Showbie Pro, and gives a concise overview of the features of the app.
There is also a free version for classes of up to 35 students, with similar features.
Definitely worth checking out.
Tuesday 20th May 2014
Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes when you send that email, or connect for a Facetime chat?
This NBC report about Apple’s solar power initiatives give a rare sneak peek inside their iCloud data centre.
| Go to original NBC video >>> |
Monday 19th May 2014
Year 9 students at Sydney BHS are expected to bring their own computing device to school every day.
The school makes recommendations as to the model of device students may choose to bring, or students can choose an alternative device that meets the school’s specifications.
The site includes information and links to documents outlining school policy, student charter agreements, and device specifications.
Worth a read if you are considering a BYO program at your school.
Friday 16th May 2014
Animoto is an online and mobile video creation service that makes it easy for students to create and share videos using their own pictures, video clips, words and music.
Students choose a theme, then upload pictures and video clips to the video editor.
Next, they personalize their movie with text and music, then click a button to create their digital masterpiece.
How could you use this tool to support learning outcomes in your classroom?
Thursday 15th May 2014
The two articles below , published by Dominic Norris at Innovate My School, discuss reasons why schools are choosing tablets to fulfil their 1:1 ambitions and suggests a slight tweak on how this by-now-familiar formula might be improved.
As Dominic writes….
Fundamentally, schools want to bring the undoubted benefits of a really powerful and functional device to every one of their students, to be accessed whenever it is the most effective tool to support learning.
It’s rarely more complicated than that. Tablets are simply the best option currently available for distributing access to personalised computing.
Worthwhile reading for schools who are considering BYOT, or other 1:1 models….
Wednesday 14th May 2014
How old are the Wireless Access Points (WAPs) on your network?
Could they be responsible for slow network speeds in your school?
Last week I visited a school that was having issues connecting to the Internet using their wireless network. In the staffroom an old Airport Extreme (spaceship) base station was being used for wireless Internet access.
The data throughput was terrible, so I swapped it for a more recent Extreme base station for comparison.
The results were quite remarkable…
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| ‘Old’ Airport Extreme (2003 – 2007) | ‘New’ Airport Extreme (2013) | |
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Both tests measured download speeds using speedtest.net, on the same network, using the same computer. The two access points (base stations) were connected to the same network switch, and located only a few metres from the testing computer.
Tuesday 13th May 2014
Thinking about implementing BYOD in your school?
The BYOD Sandpit contains support documentation and resources developed by teachers, school communities and consultants.
The material at BYOD Sandpit is provided to help inform discussion on the implementation of BYOD in K-12 schools.
There is a great deal of info on this site relating specifically to NSW DEC schools, including step-by-step guides to connecting as variety of devices to the NSW DEC wireless network.
Monday 12th May 2014
For those old enough to remember…
When the web first made an impact on the broader population, Netscape was really the only web browser available.
In August of 1995 Netscape was valued at $3 billion.
So, where did it all go pear-shaped for Netscape?
Friday 9th May 2014
Discover what is happening at North Baddesley Infants School in Hampshire in the UK.
This engaging site provides the school community with a clear insight into various aspects of school life.
Great example of a school web site.