iPads with Apple

Posted on March 27, 2011 by admin

John Wenborne and Jeff Vardy joined the AGQTP iPad pilot teachers at Oxley College for several sessions exploring using the iPad for classroom-based learning.

Below are some links and resources to support the session. You can still access the links and activities from the first workshop.

Brainstorming Activities

We can use this Google Doc to begin to develop the activities you want to pilot using the iPad with students.

Comments and Feedback

“Default Set-up”

One of the things we’d like feedback on is which apps should be part of a “default” set-up. Here are some suggestions. Use the Comment link to add your ideas to the thread started for this topic.

Also consider:

  • myPad (group networking & communications)
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Add a Post

Posted on March 18, 2011 by admin

After getting a WordPress Blog, you will want to make a Post. Here are the steps after logging in to your Blog.

From the Dashboard, you can add a post in one of three ways. Click the image here to see a larger version.

We recommend using #1 or #2 as they give you more layout and embedding options, but if you only have a brief “shout-out”, go ahead and use #3, the “QuickPress.”

Once you are in the “Add New Post” screen, add your title and the content you want to appear in the post.

Use the “Rich Text” / WYSIWYG editor (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) to format the text the way you want. Highlight sections, for example, and then click the “Bulleted List” icon to do just that. Play around. Experiment. The exact way your text appears once you publish the post depends on the IWB Blog’s style sheets, so don’t fuss things too much – some is out of your control…

The colorful icons starting with YouTube are all for embedding videos from a range of Web sites. Use the right one for the video you want to embed and it will play right in your post.

To add other media, you can upload / insert it. Use the clip below as a guide.

Once you have the content the way you want, it’s a very good idea to add Tags/Categories so that your post can be filed and retrieved more easily. Use the boxes to mark your post appropriately.

The first time you post your page, you’ll use the “Publish” button. Every time after that, the button turns into “Update Post.”

To see your post actually online, I like to use separate browser Tabs for the Dashboard and the published blog. To do this simply right-click on the link at the top of the Dashboard to open the Blog in a New Tab.

You can see a video from YouTube that covers roughly the same process

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Logging in to your Faculty Site

Posted on March 11, 2011 by admin

Tutorial

1. Navigate from the main OxleyLearning site to your blog

2. At your blog, look to the bottom of the right sidebar for the “Meta” heading and “Log in”

3. Click on Log-in and enter your username (usually your surname) and your password.

4. If you do not know your password, you can reset it by following the “Lost Your Password?” link.  Enter your school email address and click “Get New Password”.

You will get 1 email to confirm that you want to reset the password.  Click on the link in the email message.

This will take you to the site where you can enter your password (twice).  The indicator tells you the strength of your password, but it will accept even if it is “weak.”

5. Once you are logged in to you blog you will see that you are in the “Dashboard” area.

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Change your Blog Password

Posted on March 8, 2011 by admin

To change your password, follow the link after “Howdy” to go to your profile.

This takes you to your profile page:

Scroll down this page until you get to the New Password section.  Double enter your preferred password and click “Update Profile.”

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Testing, Motivation and Learning

Posted on January 27, 2011 by admin

One of the main readings selected for teaching staff to review for the recent professional learning sessions was Testing, Motivation and Learning by the Assessment Reform Group in the UK.  People can download a digital copy of the reading or join in a collaborative analysis using a version in Google Docs.

English Faculty Session

You might also want to engage staff in a real-time collaborative writing activity using EtherPad.

Group analysis of an online resource using Diigo.  Join and get the toolbar?   Then try it on a sample?

SMART Teaching Strategies

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iPad Back-Ups

Posted on January 25, 2011 by admin

If you have used one of the College’s iPads, you would have customised it for your interests.  This might include Apps, Books, podcasts, etc.

So that you can return to your particular set-up, it’s important that you backup your iPad in iTunes so that you can “Restore from Backup” when you use it again or even purchase your own.

This is simple to do and takes seconds.

  1. Open iTunes (either Mac or PC).
  2. Connect your iPad.
  3. Wait for the iPad to appear as a Device in the left sidebar.
  4. Simply “Right-Click” on the iPad and select “Backup” from the pop-up menu.

You can guess what you do when it comes time to get your content back onto an iPad. That’s right, “Restore from Backup.”

Posted in How-To!, iPad Trial | Tagged | Comments Off

Staff Summer iPad Trials

Posted on December 29, 2010 by admin

Note: Once your iPad is set up for local networks with its WiFi Address, make sure you know your wireless passwords. Once you have added these zones, they will be remembered and you won’t have to log into them again.

Do you want to download the handout?

test dropbox

Initial Sharing

As we wait for WiFi access, let’s share what we’ve found so far. Some things can be demonstrated through the projector.

Common Tasks

Things you might like

  • ABC iView (media streaming)
  • TED – Technology Entertainment Design (consider an iTunes Subscription)
  • Others?

Subject Specific Apps (Free + Paid)

Activity #1 – Shared Analysis

In this activity we will use the Diigo Web Highlighter in the context of discussing uses for the iPad in the classroom.

  1. Go to this Web site: 10 Ways to use the iPad in the Classroom
  2. Make sure you have your Diigo Web Highligher installed
    • If you get stuck with the deleting bit, paste this into the Bookmark in your iPad when you are editing the Web Highlighter:
    • javascript:s=document.createElement%28%27script%27%29;s.type=%27text/javascript%27;s.src=%27http://www.diigo.com/javascripts/webtoolbar/diigolet_b_h_ipad.js%27;document.body.appendChild%28s%29;
  3. Make sure you have a Diigo Account
  4. Go ahead and highlight, add a new comment or comment on someone else’s comment.
  5. Should we use an education account? A possible pilot project?

Activity #2 – Social Bookmarking

Now that you have access to Diigo and the Oxley Learners Group, let’s help each other by adding links to our shared collection.

  1. Make sure you have the WebHighlighter bookmarking button, a Diigo account and membership in the Oxley Learners Group.
  2. Surf the Web and when you find a link that you want to share with students or staff, Click the WebHighlighter and add it to our Group.
  3. Use the Tag Dictionary or add your own tags

Here is a cloud of current links:

Activity #3 – Shared Writing

Try our a shared document. Here is a Google Doc that is open for everyone’s input. Share something interesting or whatever you like.

  1. Contribute to a Google Doc
  2. Do you want to sign-up for a Gmail / Google Apps account?
  3. Do you want to contribute to an FAQ page on our use of iPads?

Activity #4 – Online Survey

Google also provides online forms that work great for easily posted surveys or quizzes.

Resources from Apple

Posted in ICTs, iPad Trial, Professional Learning | Tagged | Comments Off

Protected: Sample Curriculum Mapping Units

Posted on November 12, 2010 by admin

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Staff ICT Survey Results

Posted on October 25, 2010 by admin

etch-a-ipadBack in May, all teaching staff at Oxley College took a survey asking about their use of ICTs (Information and Communications Technologies).  The reasons for doing this are explained in the document Rationale for Staff ICT Benchmarks (pdf).  The complete results are available (minus staff names and comments) in the Raw Survey results (pdf).

In order to begin developing a locally appropriate set of Benchmarks for all staff, the raw data has been categorised into two sets of summary tables.  A functional skill was categorised as “Benchmark” if approximately 75% of staff members could perform the skills “independently” and “with ease”. When less than 25% of staff members could do this, the item was classified as “Beyond Benchmarks.” Similarly, in the area of actually “teaching” with ICTs, a minimum staff performance of 40% was used to type an item as a “Benchmark.”

Please download the document below and work individually, as a department and whole staff to create a reasonable set of ICT Benchmarks for all staff members at Oxley College.

Benchmark & “Beyond Benchmark”  Summary Tables (.doc)

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Staff Survey Draft

Posted on May 28, 2010 by admin

Edit this draft

  1. download the Doc above
  2. “Save as” with your name in the title
  3. Add or edit any items related to your area of expertise
  4. Highlight your additions in red
  5. Get your file onto Tom’s thumbdrive
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