CLOUD STORAGE

Source: gizmodo.com / Accessed 20/08/2013

In recent years, cloud storage solutions have sprout up everywhere offering free GB worth of storage space. In essence, cloud storage refers to saving your data off site. This is great for a number of reasons, not least of which is the ability to access files from multiple devices (which many people now have) without having to physically move them between the devices (via USB or similar) nor having to email them to yourself (an interesting notion at best!). With it comes some concerns and considerations, however when all weighed up, the benefits are well beyond the concerns. In fact, many sites effectively act as cloud storage for photos (eg Facebook) and music (eg Spotify and iTunes). With careful consideration of your purpose for using cloud storage and an understanding of the terms and conditions, we can all live happily in the clouds... so to speak.

Here's a round up of a few I use and some I've heard about that make sense (to me... from what I've seen... but I haven't actually tried them... yet!):

Source: sheknows.com / Accessed 20/08/2013

With Mountain Lion's iCloud integration on MacBooks and iOS devices, this is a brilliant cloud storage solution. Upgradable for a price (of which I will be look into over the next 6mths). Sometimes opening a file on two devices can confuse you into saving the non-latest version, but the folding and integration is excellent. 5GB comes free and standard with Apple IDs. Love it.

Source: tuaw.com / Accessed 20/08/2013

2GB free and upgradable, a very user friendly cloud storage site. I love the ease at which you can share selected files/folders by a simple link. Great for teachers getting documents to students, and not having to resend updates, and vice-versa.

Source: goodlogo.com / Accessed 20/08/2013

Stores docs without chewing into your quota, and integrates with them. Has it's own app which is excellent for organising files. 15GB free is a whole heap - and one of the largest free storage options.

Source: infoinspired.com / Accessed 20/08/2013

The Microsoft Windows version of cloud storage. Integrates with just about any device and links with Outlook nicely which many businesses run. Many times I've been to conferences where people have stated "wait... I'll just get it from my SkyDrive". Nice.

Source: zdnet.com / Accessed 20/08/2013

5GB free - highly customisable sync features (ie not just one big folder to sync).

Source: thetechstuff.com / Accessed 20/08/2013

10GB free or, wait for it, infinite for $99/year. Wow! Not quite sure I would need infinite storage, but a great point of difference. It's claimed to be a very easy solution for streaming photos, videos and music.

Also, check out BOX and COPY which offer slightly different takes on extending the amount of space, as well as how they handle the files for syncing and on different devices.

SOCIAL MEDIA - AN OVERVIEW

From the moment 'Publish' is pressed on this post, this information will likely be outdated. Social Media sites are constantly changing and evolving, we would like to think for the better, but... well... perhaps not always. This post explains a little about Social Media sites that a re popular with children; what the 'rules' are; and some info about the site.

As with any site where personal information is required for registration (sometimes needed, sometimes not, but it's asked for anyway), users need to consider whether they are comfortable with sharing this information which, despite a website's best intentions, can be opened to certain individuals who are hellbent on accessing it. As well as this, kids sharing this personal information is something, that perhaps is not always unavoidable, but should be explained and outlined in a conversation of risk vs reward. Risk of someone else knowing identifiable information vs the reward of meeting up with mates online.

FACEBOOK

Age restriction: 13 years and older

Users: 1.11 billion (http://investor.fb.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=761090)

https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/

Most popular social media site on the planet (particularly for teenagers), where users can create networks of their own by 'friending' other users, joining groups, liking pages, poking other users and posting updates via text, photos and videos.

TWITTER

Age restriction: no age restriction

Users: 200 million (https://blog.twitter.com/2013/celebrating-twitter7)

https://twitter.com/tos

A micro-blogging platform where users follow and are followed by other users, updating their network with a 'tweet' of 140 characters or less. Photos and videos can also be uploaded and shared. Hashtags (the subject or relevant keywords related to the tweet) can be used to combine tweets and allow for searching of related topics. Retweets (tweeting another user's tweet) give users the opportunity spread messages across their own network, thereby moving between a large variety of followers and groups of followers.

INSTAGRAM

Age restriction: 13 years and older

Users: 100 million (http://www.geekshut.com/instagram-hits-100m-monthly-active-users/8930)

http://instagram.com/about/legal/terms/ http://instagram.com/about/faq/

Owned by FaceBook, Instagram is a photo sharing platform where users upload photos and, similarly to Twitter, is fed to the user's followers. Filters and effects can be added, along with text, comments, likes as well as hashtags. Interestingly, Instagram (and many other social media sites) do not own photos uploaded, but the user - by agreeing to the terms and conditions - give Instagram non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty free, transferable, sub-licensable, work-wide license to use the content users post. Hmmmm...

SNAPCHAT

Age restriction: 13 years and older (plus, must be 18 years or older OR must have parental consent?!)

Users: 5 million daily active users (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/jun/25/snapchat-app-self-destructing-messaging)

http://www.snapchat.com/#

More of an app than a social network, but certainly used in similar ways to the three above.

ASK.FM

Age restriction: 13 years and older

Users: 70 million

http://ask.fm/about/tos http://ask.fm/about/safety

A creative idea that when used innocently, can be a bit of fun, but can also be a tool for bullying to occur with limited tools to stop. Users 'ask' and 'answer' questions, either anonymously or as their user profile. The site has been attributed to suicides in the UK, and the site has been accused of not doing enough to protect it's users and delete or discourage comments/answers to questions that controvene is terms of use.

There is a real danger here for kids to use this to harass, bully and perhaps even get in trouble with the law. There are plenty of strategies, despite it seemingly being a task fast becoming out of parents hands. Some are included below:

• Blocking is not as good as monitoring. Blocking is never fully up to date, and almost any blocks can be transcended through anonymizers or various proxy sites. Nothing like standing over the shoulder to see what's happening! Of course not possible for a class of students, or at home...
• Clear consequences. Nothing helps kids know expectations than consequences when they cross the line. Does this mean they won't do it again? No. But in the role of communicate appropriate social behaviours, this clearly communicates where the line is.
• Communication. Discuss sites and apps with children, to do this productively for adults, chances are it means the need to read up, download and test/use the apps so an informed decision/discussion can be made/had. Conveniently has the bonus of looking 'uncool' and scaring kids of using the app if mum/dad/teacher is using it!
• Use Privacy Settings/Parental Controls where possible. Not always possible on an app (although sites like SnapChat offer alternatives for users under 13yo) but certainly on the device, which can block apps with a restriction.
• Use a parent's email address or shared password. This is a good compromise for children starting out so that parents can check the FaceBook page, or receive directly friend/follower request/advice.
• It is OK to say no to under 13 year olds. In fact, parents should say no. It's the rules. Have a plan for when the child is 13, though, as this can be an 'in' for parents to guide them through their first foray into social media.
• BEST TIP: Keep devices in public areas of the house. NEVER IN THE BEDROOM. More risks will be taken out of the public areas of the house, which is not good when children are interacting with the world.

CAMOUFLAGE APP (for laptops)

A great app to hide Desktop icons is 'Camouflage'. Particularly for people who project their laptop in front of an audience. Teachers particularly face this problem, particularly with files that may contain confidential details such as student names, or identifying features of what information the file may contain.

The Camouflage app is easy to use. In fact it doesn't even have a screen when you open it - very QuickTime-esque. The icon sits in the task bar at the top of the screen, and waits for your command to wave the magical digital wand to hide those pesky documents on your desktop.

Click the Camouflage app and select 'Hide Icons' to... you guessed it... hide the icons. Watch them vanish and reveal the desktop beneath, until you click again to find those files by selecting 'Show Icons'. Other options include setting preferences such as 'Open at Login' and links to the Display and Wallpaper preferences for easy access.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/camouflage/id445264274?mt=12

At the moment, Camouflage is available through the Mac App Store on Mac laptops for $6.50, although I'm sure other products will soon become available that may even perform more functions or offer greater control - despite the simplicity of this app being a selling point - and possible for a cheaper price. I look forward to writing the update with these new apps in the near future.

Preparing an Effective Device Deployment

There are many steps involved in an effective device deployment at schools and colleges operating a 1:1 program. Many are guided, rightly or wrongly, by companies who they purchase devices through, which is usually an excellent starting point from which schools can personalise and make as low key or 'pumped up' as they desire. Many schools who have operated 1:1 programs for a number of years will have a system derived perhaps from other schools' experiences, and perhaps from repeating last year's successes and eliminating last year's failings or areas for improvement. 'Customer' feedback (i.e. parents and students) also provide an area from which subsequent deployments can be improved. In this post, many of my experiences will be detailed, of which many have been gained from all the above situations. Essentially, planning is the key! It is July as I write this, and we have already begun planning for our two deployment sessions (one in early December, one in early February).

The following four step process can be useful in planning a successful deployment. More detail follows.

PLANNING

• Communicate with:
• ICT Staff (internal and/or external)
• External suppliers
• Teaching staff
• Parents
• Students
• Other members of the community as needed
• Refer to 'why' within teaching and learning process, this will guide decisions made during this process to always reside in the realm of what is best for the teaching and learning process
• Paperwork - assignment sheets for parent/student signing, ICT Code of Conduct/Terms of Use, Help sheets, List of Apps etc.
• Record jobs/dates/prices for future deployment. A project plan with dates across the top and jobs down the left, can help guide this process.

TESTING

• Communicate with:
• ICT Staff
• Teaching staff (as a whole group? as a focus group?)
• Parents (as a whole group? as a focus group? at an info session?)
• Students (as a year level cohort? as a class? as a focus group?)
• Have students involved where possible - what do they think? What do they want?
• Volume Purchase Program or Apple Configurator or Casper JAMF Software (or other?) to distribute/image/manage devices initially and on an on-going basis
• Production line / quality control when arranging the deployment packages
• Look for everything/anything to go wrong!

DEPLOY

• Communicate with all stakeholders:
• prior to
• during
• after
• Contingency Plans
• What happens if you are one or two laptops short?!
• What happens if a student does not attend the deployment session
• Do you need wireless? Do you have enough access?
• What happens if one laptop does not work as expected?

REVIEW

• Communication from:
• ICT staff (internal and/or external)
• External suppliers
• Teaching staff
• Parents
• Students
• Forms of communication/feedback
• Emails
• Survey (Obsurvey, GoogleDocs form, Survey Monkey, Survey Gizmo)
• Wiki (on the school's intranet, external intranet)
• Formal meeting (focus group?)
• Anecdotal discussions (parents, staff, students)

Good luck!

Using Shared Photo Streams

Using iOS 6 devices, photos can easily be shared with a selected audience. This means teachers using 1:1 iPads in their classroom can easily share relevant images with their students rather than email several times or upload multiple images to a shared web space. It also automatically updates when images are posted to the shared album. These images can also be viewed on a laptop using iPhoto.

Firstly, on the iPad, go to 'System Preferences' select 'Photos and Camera' (you can also see these options under 'iCloud' and 'Photo Stream'). Ensure that both 'My Photo Stream' and 'Shared Photo Streams' are turned on.

After these options are set, go to the 'Photos' app. There are multiple options at the top - select 'Photos' and ensure you have at least one image you want to place in your Shared Photo Stream album as you can not create an empty album. Select 'Edit' at the top right, and select the images you wish to share. Notice that when you select the photos they will display a blue tick icon at the bottom right of the selected image/s.

Once the images have been selected (you can add more later), at the top left of the screen, click the 'Share' button. The options include sending the images to Facebook, printing through AirPrint or copying - choose the 'Photo Stream' option. This launches a list of the Photo Stream albums you have. To add to existing albums, select the album. To create a new one select 'New Shared Photo Stream'.

Select a name for the album, and invite others using their Apple IDs. If you wish to make it available for the whole world, select 'Public Website'. Comments can be made on the album, as well as on individual images. Click 'Post' at the top right to finalise the creation of this Shared Photo Stream. This will now appear under the 'Photo Stream' option. Easy!

Taking screenshots and adding them to this Shared Photo Stream is one of the easiest way to share images or information. Caution will need to be taken with respect to copyright. Good luck!

SOCRATIVE

One of the best websites/apps for use in the classroom is Socrative. Without a doubt.

http://www.socrative.com/

WHAT IS IT?
A free application or website that students access as a response (or 'clicker')  system. Teachers can create quizzes pre-class and have students use laptops or the app on a mobile device to respond to multiple-choice or short answer questions. This can gauge up to 50 people's responses in one sitting/class/event etc. and presents info in a downloadable pdf report or editable excel file.

HOW I USE IT
There are many features/functions, yet they're all remarkable simple and presented on an uncluttered display.

http://m.socrative.com/lecturer/#mainScreen

• Run a pre-made quiz/test for students to complete during class as pre-test or post-test, with:
• Questions set at individual student pace -vs- Question set at teacher pace (e.g. next question after discussion, to stop students 'going ahead' if needed);
• Random answer choices (to avoid sharing "question one is option 'B' " comments etc.);
• Immediate feedback on/off (I LOVE this feature, for me this is the power of the system - students get instant feedback as to whether they are right or wrong - and no marking for me! Brilliant!);
• Question explanations on/off upon student answer selection.
• Use the 'Exit Ticket' quiz to run after each class to quickly gauge student understanding after (or during) a class. Questions are predefined as:
• How well did you understand the material? (multi-choice);
• What did you learn today? (short answer/free response);
• Please solve the problem on the board (short answer/free response).

• 'Space Race' runs a quiz but assigns students to teams and tracks progress of the group via Space Ships moving forward on correct answers;

http://m.socrative.com/lecturer/#spaceRace

• Automatically generated reports that are sent instantly to your inbox. No marking - correct answers are highlighted green, wrong in red (as shown below);

• Sharing a quizes - use as template or run as is from another teacher's test.

MORE TO LEARN
As with any new ICT system/website/app, I am debating how it does a job for me. Currently, creating a test doesn't take me any longer to create but it saves me marking. This works for any multi-choice question, not short answer obviously. Would I use it for formal tests that end-of-course marks are dependent on, perhaps not, but it certainly does a job. Sharing these quizzes across our school is also exciting on a department level. This is certainly a must-have for the digital classroom!

AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM - ICT CAPABILITY

I have recently got my teeth into the General Capabilities of the Australia Curriculum. In many different formats, it is implied that ICT Capability is the number 3 of the 7 general capabilities that permeate throughout all learning areas. It states, "ICT capability supports and enhances student learning across all areas of the curriculum." It's nice to see this acknowledged and spelt out in this new document!

Other notable comments made in the Background of the Capability, include:

• "ICT capability is based on sets of relevant knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions."
• "ICT capability is based on the assumption that technologies are digital tools that enable the student to solve problems and carry out tasks."
• "...students come to perceive ICT systems as useful tools rather than feeling that they themselves are the tools of the machine (Maas, 1983). The later often occurs when users have little information about how ICT systems operate and simply follow set, standard procedures, determined for them by the system."
• "ICT capability needs to consider the types of tasks that provide authentic contexts for learning."

Broadly, the capability is organised into five elements:

• Applying social and ethical protocols and practices when using ICT;
• Intellectual property; Digital information security; benefits and consequences; changes.
• Investigating with ICT;
• Define/plan information searches; locate/access data; select/evaluate data.
• Creating with ICT;
• Generate ideas, plans, processes and solutions to challenges/tasks (by clarifying, generating products or solutions).
• Communicating with ICT;
• Share, exchange and collaborate to enhance learning; understand and apply social protocols; apply techniques or strategies to ensure safety.
• Managing and operating ICT;
• Applying technical knowledge; Using digital technologies efficiently (hardware/software); transferability of knowledge/skills, manage and maintain information.

This is essentially the basis for ICT that we all know and love (...to hate in some cases!). I especially like the comments relating to not letting the hardware or software determine what you do with it. In fact, the winner of any educational software/website/app is that it does not dictate what you do or how you use it! Applying social and ethical protocol and practices is an are where I believe our focus will be. Investigating, creating and communicating are evident in learning tasks for students, and managing/operating ICT still appear to be the root of negativity with using ICT. Having students become good, responsible digital citizens must be our focus as more and more communication and life tasks move digital. If kids cannot act responsibly online for their own and others' safety, as well as data safety, ICT stops 'doing a job for us' and starts to 'get in the way'.

Source: General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum, January 2012, © ACARA, 2012.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/

STUDENT DIGITAL MEDIA GROUP

At a recent ADE retreat we were given time to work on something. That's right... 'something'. Given a rare moment to work on something that has been sitting at the back of my mind but never having the hour or two to sink my teeth in to get it done has always been a regret, and a frustration.

My 'something' was the creation of a Student Digital Media Group (SDMG). I have already held a meeting to gauge interest and with the help of colleagues refined where this group may venture to. I was amazed to see 21 interested Year 7/8 students who lapped up the possibilities and offered some amazing suggestions arising from the passion in using digital media.

The goals of the group are:

• Provide a pathway for highly proficient technology users amongst student an opportunity to develop their skills and harness their knowledge for self-improvement, self-esteem and to assist the school;
• Provide an opportunity for students create and engage in non-academic activities;
• Develop skills of students with a passion for digital technology;
• Provide the student body with help from their peers during break time, via a student help desk;
• Provide an avenue for students to assist teachers as needed during class time.

Opportunities for group members:

• Contribute resources for students and staff in academic areas (eg Hyperlinked Keynote quizzes for study);
• Create regular podcast episodes highlighting school activities (eg interviews of recent incursions);
• Help students and staff on the student help desk (eg answer the "How do I print this document?" and "How do I use iMovie?" questions);
• Creating photo reflections after significant events, possible inclusion at assemblies (eg photo montage after a sport carnival to display to the school community);
• Service learning hours can be accrued for students;
• Autonomous task/projects completed during break times (eg build a website, create a school widget);
• A one/two day retreat with projects, guest speakers and visits to businesses who utilise new and innovative technologies (eg visit the ABC and see how cameras, greens screen, auto prompts are used);
• Participate in informal school-based and formal state, national and global competitions (eg short film festivals);
• Contribute to parent PD sessions as roaming problem solvers.

I am excited about what these guys can come up with, particularly due to one student creating a stop animation movie to show me and outlining how it could be used in a regular school video podcast. More to come!




This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

iCAL: CLASS CALENDAR SUBSCRIPTIONS

Communicating information to students becomes easier when using calendar synchronisation software. The corporate world has been doing this for years, but calendaring has strangely been quiet in classrooms. Even in schools, staff may be used to getting a printed A4 yearly calendar and then an updated A4 term calendar at the beginning of each term with individuals liquid papering, crossing out, drawing arrows and rewriting events as updates occur.

iCal makes calendaring within a class or school a piece of cake (if you use Apple devices). I love how my calendar is available on my MacBook, iPad and iPhone, but most of all I love how I can communicate with my class via our own calendar. No matter what time of the day it is I can update events and communicate what is required to be brought, or completed before an upcoming event. Students can check this each night from home to see what is happening the next day. It needs to be said that many software solutions are available including the online webpage version - Google Calendar, as well as Microsoft solutions such as Outlook, which links emails too. Check out the images below for more info on this valuable tool for teachers.

Image 1: iCal Calendar Example

Image 2: iCal Sidebar Features

Image 3: iCal Subscription Options

5 APPS I USE WEEKLY

GOODREADER ($5.49)

I see it as a 'Finder' equivalent for my iPad. I can organise pdf documents downloaded from the net, from my email or from my linked Dropbox account. The ability to create folders and add, delete etc files into these folders easily make it an excellent resource, particularly for those looking to move towards a paperless classroom. Recently I annotated my class marks from their reports using the highlight button and instantly shows how students are going - great for visual learners. I'm eager to try other features over this next term.




EVERNOTE (Free)
Links to so well between the Evernote website and the MacApp. Sometimes I need my iPad, sometimes I need my MacBook, it syncs seamlessly between both. Organising notebooks and notes within these is great for teachers - each student has their own notebook full of formal results, and informal notes. Along with the ability to tag notes, any info on students can be easily archived and located. This works the same for committee and meeting notes. It even suggests the name of a new note you create based on appointments in your calendar! A must have for iPad. A must have for teachers.



NUMBERS ($10.49)

Some people are not sold on this App, but I love it. It does work slightly differently to how the Mac version works, but that's its advantage. I use the 'tick boxes' on the forms section for a quick checklist in class. This works for attendance and record keeping. It still uses SUM, MAX, MIN, AVERAGE features of it's Mac brother, but generally if I want those features, I will use my Mac. Brilliant for 'on-the-run' mobile uses (eg Excursions).

SHOWME (Free)
I'm only juts getting into this one, but have hardly put it down. ShowMe essentially is a whiteboard that records all screen markings as well as voice. We set this up with students talking through how they complete Maths sums - and learned a little about their thinking, where their understanding trails off and their misconceptions. It's difficult to get this feedback from traditional pen and paper methods. Parents can be shown these movies to see exactly what they are doing in class. The movies can be uploaded to the web and then downloaded - having this synced more easily (Evernote style) would be a great advantage to future updates, but still works a treat.


SPORTING APPS
OK, another 5 to the list, but in my coaching roles I enjoy using the features that these apps offer to help develop skills of players.

iScore Basketball ($10.49)
Brilliant for keeping stats during a basketball game. We used this with our A team for each game last season. The stat reports and scoring charts provide invaluable feedback to coaches and players. Well worth the expensive price tag.








nxCricket HD ($14.99)
Another outstanding scoring/stats app. Scoring charts, manhattan graphs, score worms, ball-by-ball tracking features all allow individual palyers to disect their game, see their batting and bowling strengths as well as the coach to see how the team is playing on the whole. Again, well worth the money. Non-HD version available for a cheaper price.







Cricket Coach Plus HD ($2.99)

We used this extensively for its record function. It can show player their action and superimpose it against a video modelling good skill execution. Lines can be drawn on paused video to outline weaknesses in a batting, bowling and throwing action. The ability to email to players is also a great feature. A must have for the new-age cricket coach!







Footy Coach Plus HD ($2.99)
By the same developers of Cricket Coach Plus HD, and very similar features. With the help of older players and parents, we will be taking a bank of videos of each player's skill and working through it with them at the time and also to disect afterwards to aid skill development. Interesting to see the videos side by side from Week One to the end of the season!