Big Screen
I was successfully able to connect my Ipad to the big screen in L111 lecture hall. I did this last week during lecture and the students were able to view some of the anatomy apps that I have downloaded. It was pretty cool.
The people from AV support were great in helping me to do this! I appreciate their support.
So, it is possible to connect the IPAD to the projector screen with the right tools! It didn't bother me that is was not wireless as I usually stand by the podium to lecture anyway.
That is all for now.
When do we hand these in????? I forgot........
Monday, November 28, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Hi All,
Now that it is time to be handing in these IPads, I have finally figured out a few things that I can do with them. I have utilized the anatomy apps during my IStan simulations to allow the students to review anatomy while we are doing a scenario about that particular system. The first time, they thought it was OK. The second time, many of the students thought it was way cool and was really excited, guess it took a few times for it to catch on!
I also started utilizing it as an electronic medical record tool for my students to chart their assessment of the patient during the simulation to practice charting. Just started that this week, I am a late bloomer.
For Dave's class, I think it would be cool to have an app to instruct students how to read a blood gas sample and the different disorders. A fluid and electrolyte app would be really cool too, examples of imbalances and the signs/ symptoms.
That is all for now, and yes, getting used to the blog thing alitte more now too, Just takes me awhile! Dec 7 is not that far away, did I really sign something??
Deb
Now that it is time to be handing in these IPads, I have finally figured out a few things that I can do with them. I have utilized the anatomy apps during my IStan simulations to allow the students to review anatomy while we are doing a scenario about that particular system. The first time, they thought it was OK. The second time, many of the students thought it was way cool and was really excited, guess it took a few times for it to catch on!
I also started utilizing it as an electronic medical record tool for my students to chart their assessment of the patient during the simulation to practice charting. Just started that this week, I am a late bloomer.
For Dave's class, I think it would be cool to have an app to instruct students how to read a blood gas sample and the different disorders. A fluid and electrolyte app would be really cool too, examples of imbalances and the signs/ symptoms.
That is all for now, and yes, getting used to the blog thing alitte more now too, Just takes me awhile! Dec 7 is not that far away, did I really sign something??
Deb
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Has anyone seen my iPad?
Seriously......I was carrying my iPad back and forth to work every day, but realized that it was never coming out of its overly large zippered case that someone noted resembles an Inuit parka. I decided that this made as much sense as carrying all those ungraded papers back and forth every day without putting any red ink on them. Thus the iPad was relegated to a convenient half wall I have inside the back door of my house where I pile all my ignored work materials - to the dismay of my wife.
She was once excited by the prospect of getting an iPad, but has yet to touch the darn thing. My daughter, who spends two thirds of her waking hours texting and Facebooking, is barely aware the thing exists. When it disappeared, no one noticed for a week or more. Not even me. Every member of my family has an iPhone. If one of those disappeared I wouldn’t hear the end of it. All that testing of the IRIS alert system this past week was a personal favor.
I used to be a slow adopter of technology. But now the more technology I use the more I want. And the more I use the further I want to push the limits of their capabilities. I now know how to make an Angel LMS scream for mercy. My iPhone can do tricks, it fits smartly into my pants pocket, it wirelessly syncs all my audio books through the iCloud with my iPad (even if iLost it, iAssume), and it has my GroupWise email and schedule! Now I never miss anything – except for 8 a.m. meetings.
A few weeks ago, before I lost the iPad, I lost the charger. But that was not an immediate problem because of the incestuous nature of Apple devices, which are becoming so common and specialized that there will soon be a 5.827 inch iPalm to fill that all important niche of paperless bathroom reading. Seriously! Apple already has the second largest market capitalization of any public company in the world – behind Exxon Mobil, of course, although probably not for long. How did this happen?! Oh yeah – the Wilsons own four iPhones.
My personal laptop has a huge monitor; maybe bigger than the monitor on our desktop. Despite that it’s also thin and very portable and fits neatly on my lap. I use it for a variety of reasons including browsing the internet, word processing, and email. This is truly a great tool for all the evening and weekend grading and email that I do for my online course. No red ink. No Safari. No fingerprints all over the monitor.
Oh wait. I know where it is. I put it in my computer bag with my laptop when I went to my workshop last week. Not sure why. I guess I thought it might come in handy – but alas.
So, how exactly am I supposed to fit this tablet device into my life with all the other devices that already do what I need very well? Perhaps I should trick it out with one of those Bluetooth keyboards. That strikes me as an odd confluence of portability and complexity. Perhaps a clever paperweight? Nah, I already have a Wacom tablet device occupying that niche. Maybe a paperless bathroom reader? No, I’d have to cancel my iPalm on preorder.
I guess I’ll just have to figure out some clever educational strategy to convince my students that learning science is much easier and more fun if you do it while sliding your greasy fingers across the screen where a chemical reaction is being simulated. This shouldn’t be too hard; especially if I can convince them that there will be less red ink in their future. Perhaps the iPad can wirelessly transmit critical information to their brains during an exam through a cerebral iCloud interface device. I’m sure someday Dave Bock’s class will have a mini-app for that.
Dave
She was once excited by the prospect of getting an iPad, but has yet to touch the darn thing. My daughter, who spends two thirds of her waking hours texting and Facebooking, is barely aware the thing exists. When it disappeared, no one noticed for a week or more. Not even me. Every member of my family has an iPhone. If one of those disappeared I wouldn’t hear the end of it. All that testing of the IRIS alert system this past week was a personal favor.
I used to be a slow adopter of technology. But now the more technology I use the more I want. And the more I use the further I want to push the limits of their capabilities. I now know how to make an Angel LMS scream for mercy. My iPhone can do tricks, it fits smartly into my pants pocket, it wirelessly syncs all my audio books through the iCloud with my iPad (even if iLost it, iAssume), and it has my GroupWise email and schedule! Now I never miss anything – except for 8 a.m. meetings.
A few weeks ago, before I lost the iPad, I lost the charger. But that was not an immediate problem because of the incestuous nature of Apple devices, which are becoming so common and specialized that there will soon be a 5.827 inch iPalm to fill that all important niche of paperless bathroom reading. Seriously! Apple already has the second largest market capitalization of any public company in the world – behind Exxon Mobil, of course, although probably not for long. How did this happen?! Oh yeah – the Wilsons own four iPhones.
My personal laptop has a huge monitor; maybe bigger than the monitor on our desktop. Despite that it’s also thin and very portable and fits neatly on my lap. I use it for a variety of reasons including browsing the internet, word processing, and email. This is truly a great tool for all the evening and weekend grading and email that I do for my online course. No red ink. No Safari. No fingerprints all over the monitor.
Oh wait. I know where it is. I put it in my computer bag with my laptop when I went to my workshop last week. Not sure why. I guess I thought it might come in handy – but alas.
So, how exactly am I supposed to fit this tablet device into my life with all the other devices that already do what I need very well? Perhaps I should trick it out with one of those Bluetooth keyboards. That strikes me as an odd confluence of portability and complexity. Perhaps a clever paperweight? Nah, I already have a Wacom tablet device occupying that niche. Maybe a paperless bathroom reader? No, I’d have to cancel my iPalm on preorder.
I guess I’ll just have to figure out some clever educational strategy to convince my students that learning science is much easier and more fun if you do it while sliding your greasy fingers across the screen where a chemical reaction is being simulated. This shouldn’t be too hard; especially if I can convince them that there will be less red ink in their future. Perhaps the iPad can wirelessly transmit critical information to their brains during an exam through a cerebral iCloud interface device. I’m sure someday Dave Bock’s class will have a mini-app for that.
Dave
Saturday, November 5, 2011
I am ramping up to use it in my classroom...
I will have to be honest and say that I love the iPad...but, I have not used it nearly as much as I thought I would. Life has been busy and it is one more thing to "do" amongst a long "to do" list. But, when I have used it, it has almost always been work related and I have learned a lot! I have downloaded a lot of anatomy and physiology based apps. Some of which I took their mini-quizzes and realized I have a lot of tiny upper-level terms that I had not used in a while that I am rusty. It was humbling as an instructor. But, also very motivating at the same time.
I did pay for a "rotator cuff rehabilitation" app that is amazing. It allows for general diagnostics, provides recommendations as to where to go from here (for example see a doctor), and then it demonstrates both prehab and rehab exercises that could be used with the rotator cuff. I teach a human movement class and I have been very anxious to use that $4 app for the class. But, with only one iPad, it seems difficult to include. But, I still think it would be of value. So, at this time I am investigating the possibility of borrowing a few other iPads, paying about $16 to install it on 4 more machines and then have students break up into groups with a few case studies and then go though the diagnostics and go through the recommended rehab as if they were the patient. I am very excited about it! I love the fact that with the apps, they are not WiFi dependent and can be used without worry of network issues. BONUS!
We were also asked to reflect on another question...List at least one idea for a "mini" app that you'd like to see developed by Dave's spring 2012 class (how would it enhance your curriculum and/or the students' learning experience?)
Dave and I have had a couple conversations. I told him to "be careful of what he asks for" that I have more than enough to keep his students busy for years! ;-) But one that jumps out as the most beneficial app would be a blood distribution app where students can look at blood distribution comparing a resting individual to an exercising individual depicting acute changes in blood flow occur. Things that would need to be included in the app are: total blood flow increasing 5x, blood flow to the muscles increasing drastically while total blood flow to the brain would remain constant or elevate slightly, and touching on blood flow and distribution to the select organs/organ systems. It would be wonderful to have virtual people with a beating heart on the side visually while mathematically demonstrating cardiac output and stroke volume as exercise intensity increases.
I already passed the book and calculation off to Dave on the topic...I can't wait to see where it goes from here! :-)
Toni
I did pay for a "rotator cuff rehabilitation" app that is amazing. It allows for general diagnostics, provides recommendations as to where to go from here (for example see a doctor), and then it demonstrates both prehab and rehab exercises that could be used with the rotator cuff. I teach a human movement class and I have been very anxious to use that $4 app for the class. But, with only one iPad, it seems difficult to include. But, I still think it would be of value. So, at this time I am investigating the possibility of borrowing a few other iPads, paying about $16 to install it on 4 more machines and then have students break up into groups with a few case studies and then go though the diagnostics and go through the recommended rehab as if they were the patient. I am very excited about it! I love the fact that with the apps, they are not WiFi dependent and can be used without worry of network issues. BONUS!
We were also asked to reflect on another question...List at least one idea for a "mini" app that you'd like to see developed by Dave's spring 2012 class (how would it enhance your curriculum and/or the students' learning experience?)
Dave and I have had a couple conversations. I told him to "be careful of what he asks for" that I have more than enough to keep his students busy for years! ;-) But one that jumps out as the most beneficial app would be a blood distribution app where students can look at blood distribution comparing a resting individual to an exercising individual depicting acute changes in blood flow occur. Things that would need to be included in the app are: total blood flow increasing 5x, blood flow to the muscles increasing drastically while total blood flow to the brain would remain constant or elevate slightly, and touching on blood flow and distribution to the select organs/organ systems. It would be wonderful to have virtual people with a beating heart on the side visually while mathematically demonstrating cardiac output and stroke volume as exercise intensity increases.
I already passed the book and calculation off to Dave on the topic...I can't wait to see where it goes from here! :-)
Toni
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Whole Lot of Crap out There
I'm trying to find some good math animations, tutoring programs, activities, etc. So far the Droid Market is leaving much to be desired. I found:
A grapher that is less sophisticated than the graphing calculators the students already have
A statistics quick reference that is just pages from a textbook
An app that is nothing but a formula quick reference sheet
A math "game": if you get a bunch of math problems right, you unlock a game that has nothing to do with math
A series of tutoring lessons that are all audio, no visual at all
A tutoring app that will walk you through solutions steps but has no real explanation of those steps
Among the crap, I did find one promising app for statistics: DroidSurvey is designed to do market research. It allows you to set up a survey, and then walk around with your tablet and have people answer the survey right there on the tablet. Unfortunately, it doesn't calculate any statistics--you have to download the data to your computer and use a statistics program to do that.
So, disappointed with the available apps. As much as I hate Apple, I'm wondering if I should have gone with the iPad.
A grapher that is less sophisticated than the graphing calculators the students already have
A statistics quick reference that is just pages from a textbook
An app that is nothing but a formula quick reference sheet
A math "game": if you get a bunch of math problems right, you unlock a game that has nothing to do with math
A series of tutoring lessons that are all audio, no visual at all
A tutoring app that will walk you through solutions steps but has no real explanation of those steps
Among the crap, I did find one promising app for statistics: DroidSurvey is designed to do market research. It allows you to set up a survey, and then walk around with your tablet and have people answer the survey right there on the tablet. Unfortunately, it doesn't calculate any statistics--you have to download the data to your computer and use a statistics program to do that.
So, disappointed with the available apps. As much as I hate Apple, I'm wondering if I should have gone with the iPad.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Wheat and Chaff
Hi, folks. Sorry this is my first post about this project.
I'm a general biology teacher using an iPad and am enjoying it of course. The ease of use in setting up and getting files on it was exceptional. This is perhaps so for me personally since I'm a reasonably strong user of Apple products generally.
Unlike Toni, I'm not overly thrilled with all of the content I'm finding about my topic. The actual content of many of the apps relating to my area of expertise are deeply flawed. Animations that are technically inaccurate or for which there are only one or two (relatively) esoteric topics covered are the most common problems. One glaring exception is an iPad app version of a new book written by Richard Dawkins.
The title of the book (and app) is The Magic of Reality. The app has beautiful graphics and interactive activities in which the reader can manipulate simulations in order to get a deeper understanding of the topic in hand. The book is intended as a children's general science book and is beautifully illustrated and incredibly well written. (I can't wait 'till my 4 year old daughter is more along the lines of 8, so that I can share this with her. Dawkins says the target age is 12-14 years, but there's no way I'm waiting that long. :) The section on evolution uses a method of explaining the concepts of our ancestry in a clear and powerful way that I've never encountered before. I would love to find a way to share this content with my non-majors general biology class, and perhaps even the Evolutionary Biology class which I coordinate.
However, like Toni I'm having trouble figuring out how I could use this technology directly in the classroom. Getting what I see on my iPad up onto a projector is, I understand, not an insurmountable hurdle. It is at least a small hurdle, nonetheless. Otherwise I have no idea how to make this content generally available to my students as I couldn't expect them to buy an iPad just to see/read this one section of this book.
This difficulty is compounded by the fact that any original content I produce is difficult to get the iPad to use easily. Even if I were (or had access to) a programmer (I'm thinking about Bob Richardson and Brett here), I could not code an animation and make it viewable on an iPad easily. Apple controls what software/apps run on their machines fairly tightly. I have an idea or two about how to use a touch screen to demonstrate concepts to my students, but I don't think it's feasible to enact these ideas on the iPad. I suspect it would be much easier to implement them on an Android.
I'm thoroughly enjoying reading all of your input. Hope I contribute more in the near future. Thanks,
Scott
I'm a general biology teacher using an iPad and am enjoying it of course. The ease of use in setting up and getting files on it was exceptional. This is perhaps so for me personally since I'm a reasonably strong user of Apple products generally.
Unlike Toni, I'm not overly thrilled with all of the content I'm finding about my topic. The actual content of many of the apps relating to my area of expertise are deeply flawed. Animations that are technically inaccurate or for which there are only one or two (relatively) esoteric topics covered are the most common problems. One glaring exception is an iPad app version of a new book written by Richard Dawkins.
The title of the book (and app) is The Magic of Reality. The app has beautiful graphics and interactive activities in which the reader can manipulate simulations in order to get a deeper understanding of the topic in hand. The book is intended as a children's general science book and is beautifully illustrated and incredibly well written. (I can't wait 'till my 4 year old daughter is more along the lines of 8, so that I can share this with her. Dawkins says the target age is 12-14 years, but there's no way I'm waiting that long. :) The section on evolution uses a method of explaining the concepts of our ancestry in a clear and powerful way that I've never encountered before. I would love to find a way to share this content with my non-majors general biology class, and perhaps even the Evolutionary Biology class which I coordinate.
However, like Toni I'm having trouble figuring out how I could use this technology directly in the classroom. Getting what I see on my iPad up onto a projector is, I understand, not an insurmountable hurdle. It is at least a small hurdle, nonetheless. Otherwise I have no idea how to make this content generally available to my students as I couldn't expect them to buy an iPad just to see/read this one section of this book.
This difficulty is compounded by the fact that any original content I produce is difficult to get the iPad to use easily. Even if I were (or had access to) a programmer (I'm thinking about Bob Richardson and Brett here), I could not code an animation and make it viewable on an iPad easily. Apple controls what software/apps run on their machines fairly tightly. I have an idea or two about how to use a touch screen to demonstrate concepts to my students, but I don't think it's feasible to enact these ideas on the iPad. I suspect it would be much easier to implement them on an Android.
I'm thoroughly enjoying reading all of your input. Hope I contribute more in the near future. Thanks,
Scott
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Taking the good with the bad...
I've enjoyed browsing the app store over the last few weeks. I teach mass communication courses (PR, Advertising, Introduction to Mass Communication, etc.) and have been encouraged by several I've found, specifically:
1. Coyne Hot Sheet - a sampling of hot-off-the-presses PR campaigns that could serve as case studies for discussion. Direct Marketing News also has an app that could be used for a similar purpose.
2. Terminology - a writing app that claims to help anyone from a novelist to an advertising exec find just the right word. I can envision it being useful for in-class writing projects. This is the first app I paid for - it was $2.99.
3. Popplet (I downloaded the free "lite" version) - it creates a series of what I perceive to be thought bubbles/a brainstorming web. It might be also be useful to create video advertising story boards.
But then I ran across something rather disturbing...Marketing and Advertising Essays.
Here's the description:
Give yourself the edge with 1000++ Professional Marketing & Advertising Essays and Assignments.
Are you studying Marketing & Advertising? Struggling with a Marketing & Advertising essay? You've come to the right place. We've included Marketing & Advertising essays on this application to help.
What you really need, however, is an original, fresh answer to your Marketing & Advertising essay question, written just for you. That's exactly what we provide - and your answer is written by a certified professional.
We have writers who have undergraduate and masters qualifications in Marketing & Advertising, and who are experts in your subject. Many work in the Marketing & Advertising sector and so have both the practical experience and also theoretical knowledge, the work they produce is as you would expect to the highest standards (I'm typing this verbatim - grammatical issues and all). The essays provided on this application are special for you.
End of description.
It was free so I went ahead and downloaded it to see if it was worth being concerned about. It is. The pre-written essays run about $30 a piece from what I can tell (50% off - what a deal!), and they offer the ability to preview portions before you buy. The few I read aren't perfect, but I wouldn't expect a freshman essay on the 4 Ps of marketing to be flawless. I didn't dig deep enough to see how much the essays written "special for you" are.
I was aware of paper writing services, but it hadn't occurred to me that there would be an app for that. :( Perhaps I'm just being naive though.
Is there a way to report something like this to Apple?
1. Coyne Hot Sheet - a sampling of hot-off-the-presses PR campaigns that could serve as case studies for discussion. Direct Marketing News also has an app that could be used for a similar purpose.
2. Terminology - a writing app that claims to help anyone from a novelist to an advertising exec find just the right word. I can envision it being useful for in-class writing projects. This is the first app I paid for - it was $2.99.
3. Popplet (I downloaded the free "lite" version) - it creates a series of what I perceive to be thought bubbles/a brainstorming web. It might be also be useful to create video advertising story boards.
But then I ran across something rather disturbing...Marketing and Advertising Essays.
Here's the description:
Give yourself the edge with 1000++ Professional Marketing & Advertising Essays and Assignments.
Are you studying Marketing & Advertising? Struggling with a Marketing & Advertising essay? You've come to the right place. We've included Marketing & Advertising essays on this application to help.
What you really need, however, is an original, fresh answer to your Marketing & Advertising essay question, written just for you. That's exactly what we provide - and your answer is written by a certified professional.
We have writers who have undergraduate and masters qualifications in Marketing & Advertising, and who are experts in your subject. Many work in the Marketing & Advertising sector and so have both the practical experience and also theoretical knowledge, the work they produce is as you would expect to the highest standards (I'm typing this verbatim - grammatical issues and all). The essays provided on this application are special for you.
End of description.
It was free so I went ahead and downloaded it to see if it was worth being concerned about. It is. The pre-written essays run about $30 a piece from what I can tell (50% off - what a deal!), and they offer the ability to preview portions before you buy. The few I read aren't perfect, but I wouldn't expect a freshman essay on the 4 Ps of marketing to be flawless. I didn't dig deep enough to see how much the essays written "special for you" are.
I was aware of paper writing services, but it hadn't occurred to me that there would be an app for that. :( Perhaps I'm just being naive though.
Is there a way to report something like this to Apple?
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