Have you received a personal iPad to use for the school year? Or do you feel that you could use your current iPad more effectively?
Then the following tips and suggestions are for you.
The tips focus on:
a) Using your iPad to its full potential to augment your normal everyday work.
b) Developing a productive workflow that allows you to effectively work on your iPad, Smartphone or laptop.
This means that you will not only be using the apps, listed below, on your iPad. You will also need to use the services these apps offer on other devices. At the end of each section there is a 'DOWNLOAD & INSTALL:' section which reminds you what apps, software or services you need to install.
Everything, everywhere, anytime!
If you start using your iPad in this fashion it means that all files are available and usable on all your devices. Also, everything you do is backed up in the cloud just in case something breaks down. When your iPad's storage starts filling up you can confidently delete files because you know that they are stored in the cloud.
Apps to install
Google Drive: create, view, and edit documents and spreadsheets.I use Google Drive, on my Mac, iPad, or iPhone to create the majority of the documents I use at school. Lesson plans, presentations, spreadsheets, letters home, assignments, resources, handouts etc. I can always access these documents on all devices and can easily share them with staff when required. Remember that not all Google Drive services are available, or have the full features, on the iPad. Docs and spreadsheets work well, but you can't create presentations. I'll discuss alternatives later on.
Storage on GoogleDrive:
If your school uses Google Apps For Education (GAFE) then you get 30Gb of free storage. If not, tell your school that they are missing out! You can still make a personal Google Account and receive 15GB of FREE storage.
The default settings for Google Drive require you to be online to access your files. When you have important files, make them 'Available Offline' in the file details so you can always access them.
Now, whenever you go to create a document THINK, "I'll create that in GoogleDrive!" I guarantee that you'll thank me when a colleague emails you asking for an important document ASAP and all you have is your phone or tablet.
DOWNLOAD & INSTALL: GoogleDrive on your iPad, SmartPhone and Laptop.
QuickOffice: edit Microsoft Office files.
GoogleDrive suits my needs 95% of the time, but not all teachers use it, yet! Sometimes workmates send me Microsoft Office documents. You can view these documents on the GoogleDrive App but Microsoft Office documents cannot be edited in Drive on iOS. If you need to work with a Microsoft Office document, like Word, PowerPoint or Excel, on your iPad, then you will need to use QuickOffice or CloudOn.
Laptop users note: if you don't want to pay for Microsoft Office on your Mac or PC (like me), even though teachers receive it at a reduced price, you can use CloudOn in a browser or Open Office Software. You can convert Word and Excel documents to GoogleDocs or GoogleSpreadsheets in Drive on your laptop but the formatting sometimes mucks up.
QuickOffice, CloudOn, and OpenOffice are not 100% perfect, but they do the job for me.
DOWNLOAD AND BOOKMARK: QuickOffice and CloudOn on your iPad. If you don't have Microsoft Office on your PC or Mac then bookmark CloudOn in your browser and download Open Office.
Evernote: note taking and saving resources, articles, emails etc.
I've nearly ditched paper completely (I still can't kick my sticky note addiction!) and it is all due to Evernote. I use Evernote when taking notes during staff meetings, for anecdotal assessment during class, when ideas pop into my head, for my ToDo list, reminders and to even host this blog. You can scan documents with Evernote so it is great to store digital copies of student work. You can insert photos to accompany your notes and assessment. Best of all the notes sync to your computer, devices and the web.
You can make NoteBooks (sort of like Folders) so you can group notes on the same subject and you can tag notes making them easy to find later on. I would recommend making a Notebook for each of the subjects you teach, your ideas, to-do list, reminders and Professional Development. I would also recommend that you name your Notebooks with simple one word terms, like 'maths', and use only lowercase letters.
This is why:
Use Evernote to save resources, articles and things you find online.
Your Evernote account comes with a built in email system. If you find something online that you want to save the easiest way to save it from your tablet or Smartphone is by emailing it to your Evernote. Your Evernote email is located in account settings.
Say if I wanted to save a maths lesson on fractions that I found online I would click on the Share button in the app that I found it in and email it to my Evernote address. If I wanted to place it in my 'maths' notebook all I have to do is put @maths at the end of the subject line in the email. I can add a tag of 'fractions' by adding #fractions after @maths in the subject line.
Nearly anything is possible with Evernote, but I don't want to overwhelm you with the technical stuff. Just start using it for note taking and saving resources and then worry about the more advanced features, like blogging, annotating photos or files with Skitch, audio notes, and writing with Penultimate. Evernote becomes addictive!
Evernote is free, but be careful saving heaps of photos to it because you get a limited amount of MBs per month. If you take lots of anecdotal notes and incorporate photos to document student learning, especially Kindergarten and lower primary teachers, you would probably be best to use Notability. You can also use Notability to annotate, write on, highlight documents and images.
DOWNLOAD & INSTALL: Evernote on iPad, iPhone and Mac or PC. Possibly Notability $2.99.
DropBox: automatically store your iPad's images and videos.
I stopped using my Dropbox for files. I use it for storing school related photos and videos.
You get 5GB free with Dropbox and 3GB extra for turning on automatic camera uploads. This means that all photos you take on your iPad are automatically stored in your DropBox. You can also get extra free storage by referring friends to use DropBox.
If you don't have a DropBox account yet help me out and use my referral link to start up your DropBox. https://db.tt/xmuHqVbg This way I receive some much needed free GBs.
As your storage fills up you can delete the photos you no longer need, move them to portable storage or another cloud service like Box, 5GB or 50GB free.
DOWNLOAD & INSTALL: DropBox on iPad, iPhone, Mac or PC. Using this link.
Flickr: storage for personal photos.
I use Flickr for my personal photos and videos because it gives you a crazy 1 terabyte free. You probably only need to do this if DropBox and other cloud storage starts filling up. I do not enable automatic uploads, set privacy settings for all photos to private. Then add your personal photos when you need to.
I do not use Flickr for photos that contain students' faces because I'm a little uncertain about all the terms and conditions you accept when signing up with Flickr. There are no specific cases of people's photos being misused, but I feel more comfortable saving student photos to DropBox. It is also easier using photos from your DropBox on all devices.
DOWNLOAD & INSTALL: Flickr on iPad, iPhone and Bookmark it in your browser.
If you have any questions then please contact me on twitter @jacklawicki.
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