ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard App

Just created a quick video with ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard app--iPad. I can use this tool to create mini-lectures and upload them to YouTube or Angel.

The topic of this lecture is my dream app--an app that helps me grade my student's papers.

iPad up and running

Me again everyone,

I finally have my iPad functioning. Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin About Love" just finished....now I have Nelly's "Air Force Ones" blaring loudly :) What happens if we blow the speakers?

Let me explain how to start the not-so-intuitive iPad for those who might still have theirs in the nice soft case:

The on/off switch is a small black rubber button at the top on the BACK of the iPad, it is Not the obvious button on the front.
Take out the white cord and connect the flat end to the bottom of the iPad, the smaller end fits nicely into the USB port on your computer monitor or CPU (tower). Be sure your computer is turned on first.
iTunes opens and you are prompted to register your iPad. If you have an account with Apple you sign in, if you don't you create an account.
Answer a few questions regarding who you are and what you are using the iPad for then click "continue."
What happens next is you get a message that says, "Buscar Mi iPad gratis" I must have accidently clicked some other language than English? :)
Click what looks like "no" and then answer questions about what you want iPad to automatically sync: songs, videos, pictures, etc.

I might have forgetten a step but hopefully you will sail right through. Of course if you have an apple account but forgot your apple password, you have to wait until a link it sent to your email so that you can reset it and write it down so you don't forget.

Have a great weekend everyone - I will be app shopping tonight.

Survey results

Hi everyone,

Thank you to the 12 people who answered the tablet pre-survey so far. I promised Brett I would post results. I don't see an icon to add an attachment, I do have the results saved in a pdf.

4 responders are male
8 responsers are female

6 own a tablet
6 do not

Of those who own a tablet, 33% never use it
50% use it 1-2 times a day
16.7% use it 5-10 times a day
no one uses it more than 10 times a day

All agreed that having a tablet to manipulate prior to using it as a teaching tool
will help.

41% of responders are 51-60
33% are 41-50
16% are 31-40
8% are under 30

58% think their basic computing skill will improve using a tablet
41% do no think their basic computing skills will improve using a tablet


The other questions required multiple answers so I need to go through and review them.

Thanks,

Kim

Fun with electricity, even without apps

Today we used the tablets to take photos of us lighting a lightbulb by making a circuit out of ourselves, and to record data about transformers, circuits, and resistance.  I wish we had  an app for each lab. There has to be a way to do everything we need to do in a lab: easily see instructions, enter data, use a calculator, answer questions/ submit answers, and make a graph without flipping back and forth among screens and apps and browsers.  I have scoured the market and I don't think these devices are being used much in a classroom setting.  I can't find a simple graphing app!

But on a positive note, the tablets are very handy. They are easy to carry, easy to enter data with, use a calculator, take photos, and share information. I like using them in lab; the only clunky thing is that there is no app for each lab and we are having to create everything with google spreadsheets.

Faculty Pilot Begins!

Yesterday, in "Oprah" style (and I think in the former Oprah time slot) we distributed the tablets to our faculty pilot participants. Everybody gets a tablet! Well, everyone in the room anyway.


We talked with the group about the larger goals of the project first. Our goals are to engage:

• Students as active learners in the classroom: This goal speaks specifically to the paperless classroom in Natural Sciences this semester that Curtis Shoaf and Heidi Leuszler are co-teaching with the Acer Iconia tablets. Each student has received a tablet to use for their coursework - no textbooks, course packets or paper assignments!

• Faculty as innovators in teaching and learning: We have a pilot group of more than 30 faculty, who are investigating ways to enhance their curriculum with iPads and/or Acer tablets. We have at least two faculty members from each academic department participating this semester.

• Students as innovators in software development: Dave Bock, CSIT faculty member, is teaching a new course next spring (2012) on Mobile Application Development. Our faculty pilot participants will develop a list of "mini-apps" that they'd like to see developed for their courses. The Mobile App class will choose selected app ideas to develop for their course projects.

• Students and faculty as collaborators in learning: All participants (students, faculty and staff) in the larger project will use this blog to discuss/share the experiences, ideas and discoveries we make throughout the process.

We're excited to get started, and as our faculty dive into the world of "apps" they will begin to share with us some of the great apps they find and how they can envision using them in their courses. Stay tuned!

Got my iPad too...BUT

So I tried to update the iOS for my new iPad and it took 3 hours to download to my laptop! When I came back to the computer much later I assume the software had updated but there is no indication so. My iPad settings say version "4.3.3 (8J2)". I didn't check before to see if this has changed. Can someone let me know if this is the same as your iPad or different.

By the way, my Dell laptop is now running much slower. And even though iTunes will load when I connect the iPad, it doesn't seem to recognize it and my system keeps locking up. If someone knows what the heck is going on please let me know. Thanks!

Yeah! Just Got my iPad!

I just finished loading a bunch of apps to my iPad. Made sure to download a bunch of e-readers, especially e-textbook readers. My current favorites are Inkling and the Pearson e-book platform. Happy app hunting!