This is the second of three blog posts about my experience at the Learning 2.0 conference.

A very informative session I attended was on the implementation of iPads. The presenter, Sheldon Bradshaw from Western Academy in Beijing had recently implemented iPads into the school and was sharing with us some of what he learned throughout this process.

His recommendation on iPad covers was to weigh the cost of the cover versus the cost of the iPad. Some of the best covers cost close $100 (otterbox.com & goballisticcase.com), meaning that with a class set of 20 iPads, the cases could add another $2000 to the purchase, or in other terms, take three iPads out of students’ hands. His suggestion was to find something reasonably priced, that when closed covers the entire iPad.

His suggestion on carts was that a homemade solution is going to be more cost effective without losing functionality. Some of the carts can cost $1000. His school built one for a little over $100 that works well.

Syncing and charging has brought some challenges to his school. Apple did not follow international USB standards, meaning standard USB hubs will not both charge and sync the iPads. WAB chose not to buy expensive charge & sync ports, but to use two processes. The have USB strips on the cart to charge and bought an extra set of cables to sync (with D-Link 7-port powered hubs). They only sync every couple of weeks. When OS 5 comes out there will be wireless syncing, so this might not be an issue very soon.

App purchases are a challenge for WAB to do legally. Apple does not have volume licensing internationally and in China the app store is very different from the US app store, and does not carry all of the apps they need, or at least does not carry the English version of the app. The way they resolved this was by having someone who was traveling to the US purchase iTunes Store gift certificates for the budgeted amount. Then they set up a “master” iTunes account for the school that they used to make the purchases and sync the iPads. They also set up a sub-accounts for each iPad, to legally purchase one license for each iPad. The master account “gifts” money to the sub-accounts to purchase the necessary apps.

Another topic of discussion was app evaluation. He recommended that the school come up with some type of process for making the decisions on the purchases, including who decides, what criteria is used for evaluating an app, how to track what has been tested, collection of information, and how to keep track of what apps are purchased and what version of the app is on the iPads. Sheldon also recommended these two sites for iPad app reviews: iear.org and momswithapps.com. He said to remember to focus on purpose. Don’t get caught up in the hype. These are the apps WAB uses. More detailed notes from this session by Wes Fryer.

You might be interested in my post on teachers’ favorite iPad apps.

Apps shared (In no particular order):
Prices not listed. Almost all of the apps are free.
Flipboard – A fast, beautiful way to flip through the news, photos, videos, and social networking updates.
Zite – Personalized news, articles, blogs, videos and other content from both mainstream and niche publications & sites.
SoundCloud -Capture sound & share it online.
BrainStorm – Multi-device brainstorming.
ProHDR – Fully functional photo editing.
CamScanner – Scan using your camera.
Diigo Browser – Browser that is very similar to Chrome.
PowerSchool – App to access PowerSchool.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit – Interactive Peter Rabbit book.
BrainPop – Learn something different each day.
Comic Life – iPad version of the popular Apple app.
Poplet – Capture ideas & collaborate with others.
ScreenChomp – Use this like an interactive whiteboard.
GPS Log – Document your adventures & share them online.
Google Translate – Translating tool.
Word Lens – Translate printed words using your camera.
Texit – Easy way to create mathematical equations.
Formulus HD – Find the formula you are looking for.
Math Ref – Math reference application. Formulas, tips, & examples.
EduTecher – Powerful app for free ed tech resources.
Jibbigo – Korean speech translator. They have other languages also.
My LessonPlan – Lesson plan creator.
Audiogalaxy – Stream your music or playlists.
RedLaser – Barcode & QR code scanner.
i Like Free – Lets you know which apps are free for a limited time.
Soundrop – Draw lines & watch as they begin to create music. Very addicting!
Edmodo – Stay connected to Edmodo.
Epic Citadel – Want to see how incredible iPad graphics can be? Download this.
Moms with Apps – Recommendations of children/family friendly apps.
Seoul Bus – Seoul bus information, including closest stop & how many minutes until your bus arrives.
GoodReader – Robust pdf reader.
AudioNote – Combination notepad & audio notetaker.
Idoms – Idioms for English learners.
FlickStackr – Flickr photo sharing.
Prezi Viewer – View Prezis on the iPad.
SnapSeed – Add high quality effecs to your photos.
iMapMyRide (iPhone) – Map your bike ride & share rides with others.

Web links:
KIS’s list of iPad apps
40 Interesting Ways to Use QR Codes in Class
Wes Fryer’s notes for Sheldon Bradshaw’s iPad rollout session at Learning 2.0
Bloom’s iPad apps
iPads in Education Ning
Apple’s iPad Page
Educational apps
Built in iPad apps
iTunes U
20 Must have educational apps
What do students think of using iPads in class? Pilot survey results

iPad Apps for KIS elementary

This is the first of three blog posts about my experience at the Learning 2.0 conference.

For the second year in a row the Learning 2.0 conference in Shanghai far exceeded my expectations. The opportunity to learn, share, and network provided me with a rich variety of experiences that will make me a better teacher and leader. This year the conference began each day with several 7 minute keynotes, as opposed to the traditional 30-40 minute keynote. Most of the presenters used the Pecha Kucha style of presenting. The keynotes were from teachers, professors, educational leaders, and students. Jabiz Raisdana shared his experience and growth through his personal learning network.

Learning Leaders

I participated in the Technology Leaders Cohort. Charlotte Diller and George Couros led this cohort, opening the first of our five cohort sessions by renaming it the “Learning Leaders” cohort. The underlying thought being that what we are doing isn’t about the technology, it is about the learning. The cohort was made up of about 45 leaders in various positions such as tech directors, facilitators, administrators, & teachers, from schools in Asia & North America.

The Learning Leaders cohort had several focus groups, including coaching (professional development), implementing 1:1, cloud computing, and blogging. I spent my time in the coaching group. The gains I experienced in this group were not so much about taking what we are doing to the next level, but fine tuning our PD plan. Two of the big ideas I took away from this group:

1. We as leaders need to “build capacity” in our teachers.
2. To do this we must cultivate relationships with our teachers.

This year we started doing professional development sessions during the school day. We run enough sessions each week so that all of our 162 teachers have at least one chance to attend. At first it seemed as though we were the only ones doing during the school day PD, but I eventually found one other school that is also doing this. Ivan Beeckmans and Jay Priebe are doing a similar training model at New International School of Thailand. NIST is doing during the school day PD, but only on Wednesdays. They have used this model for years. The first sessions of the year are for new teachers and are mandatory. Then they move on to more advanced sessions. Ivan told me that in exit interviews the teachers rave about the PD opportunities. In general, what I learned about our PD model is that we are on the right track.

Some areas I will continue to think about for our ongoing PD:

• Make sure that it is meaningful.
• Keep the groups small.
• Decide what should be required, especially for new teachers.

Some ideas to consider for the future of tech integration and PD at KIS:

• Let teachers know what we have and what it can be used for. (hardware & software)
• Document the help we give to teachers. Review at the end of the month.
• Make screencasts for the greatest needs and post them.
• Use the “Lab-Site” model. Co-teach with someone while others observe.
• Find other leaders & cover their class while they help a colleague integrate tech.
• Experts on campus are a resource that is underused. Develop and promote them.
• Date night with your Mac, unconference model.
• Speed geeking (example from Clint Hamada)
• Begin listing NETS in PD.
• Can we add some tech questions to the teacher interviews?
• Get Ed Tech and IT into the same location. If that can’t be done, improve communication & meet together.
• Teach the students to teach the teachers.

Some ideas for helping people to help themselves:

• People don’t try to figure things out on their own. Teach them to use Help in the applications.
• Make a checklist of what to do when something doesn’t work. For example:

1. Check the cables
2. Quit the application (command-Q) and restart it
3. Restart the computer

*These could be turned in to questions we ask a teacher when they call us for help.

How To Change Icons –

My students have digital textbooks for several of their classes, including my social studies class. These texts are basically pdf files of the book, with a much more confusing navigation. I’m not a big fan of textbooks, and we rarely use them in class. I prefer to have my students doing their own research, or creating a product, rather than reading a textbook.

Today I asked them what they think a digital text should include. These were some of their ideas:

• Video
• Links to sources (My students want the author’s sources so they can check the reliability of the textbook, or do further investigation.)
• Activities they can download
• Intuitive navigation (like a web page)
• Loads quickly
• Customizable fonts
• Adjustable page size
• Colorful
• Searchable
• Links to sites of experts on the topic
• Question and answer section where they can post and respond
• Live chat with other students and recognized experts
• Rollover of terms to see the definition
• Linked table of contents
• Printable pages
• Voice controls (They are 7th graders.)

These ideas would make the text more of an interactive web site than a text book.
Note to publishers: That is a good thing.

To keep this short, I?ll just refer you to our homepage (http://www.embedplus.com), which offers more details and motivation.  Please share if it’s relevant.  Perhaps we can also garner some expert input from you about new ideas that could further help EmbedPlus as a teaching tool.”

I tried it out (see below). Wow! This is super cool. Definitely has lot of classroom applications. Play with my video below, then use EmbedPlus to add features to any YouTube video you’d like.

Nice work Tay!

Or check out the video on the embedplus site.